The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH)
The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) is a specialist in well-being at work, which carries out research, and provides services and training. Together with our clients, we develop well-functioning work communities and support workers’ work ability. Our clients include workplaces, decision-makers, individuals, occupational health units and other organizations that strive to improve well-being at work. Our vision is ”Well-being through work”, as it is healthy, safe and meaningful work that creates well-being. We have offices in Helsinki, Kuopio, Oulu, Tampere and Turku. Number of employees 500.
We have been active with the Arctic and Northern aspects of working life for a long time and especially when our Northernmost regional office in Oulu was founded in 1973. We support the Northern working life by means of research and services in a wide field of occupational health and safety. In cold research we focus on the following topics: working capacity, recovery, health effects, protection against cold and use and compatibility of personal protective equipment. The research is carried out in working places and in experimental set-ups. For that purpose we have internationally unique climatic laboratories in FIOH’s facilities in Oulu. Our research focuses on the general features of work in the cold and on the special features of economic life. Important sectors of industry are e.g. tourism, mining, construction work, safety and security professions, reindeer herding, forest work, agriculture, fishing, food processing industry and the construction and maintenance of electric power lines and telecommunication masts.
We build and make use of European co-operation networks and are involved in strengthening Nordic co-operation. We act as a developer of occupational safety and health in co-operation with government ministries and international organizations and an expert in WHO and the ILO. We are part of the UArctic network. Our objective is to ensure that the structures and operating methods of Arctic work are sustainable, also from the perspective of well-being at work.