Sitting under a tree in Kaisaniemi Park on a sweltering July afternoon, holiday-makers Mikko Sillanpää, Matti Grönroos and Eero Vänskä all believe applicants should be selected solely on the basis of their capabilities.

Six in ten Finns are of the opinion that they should be given priority over immigrant job-seekers whenever there is a lack of jobs, finds a poll commissioned by Helsingin Sanomat. One in three, in contrast, view that no such preferential treatment is necessary.

Vänskä, a 27-year-old carpenter, says that many of his Russian and Estonian co-workers at construction sites manage just as well as Finns, although the lack of a common language can at times complicate communication.

Ilkka Haavisto, a research manager at the Finnish Business and Policy Forum (EVA), says that he is not surprised by the results of the poll, pointing out that attitudes toward immigrants remain more critical in Finland than in other Nordic countries.

"The thought of immigrants taking jobs from Finns lives on," Haavisto explains.

Haavisto and Heikki Hiilamo, a professor of social policy at the University of Helsinki, remind that the number of jobs is not limited. "In the short term, Finland needs more labour force to be able to finance the welfare state," Hiilamo highlights.

According to him, people with a negative opinion of immigrants are typically people of low education who may have to compete for jobs against immigrant applicants. "It's increasingly difficult to cope in working life without an education. I believe this is related to the hardening of attitudes," views Hiilamo.

Finnish laws prohibit the unequal treatment of people in, for example, employment on grounds of gender or ethnic or national origin.

Sillanpää, Grönroos and Vänskä, who are about to embark on a cruise to Stockholm, all view that work is not the most important aspect of life, but that it is also important to make time for family, friends and hobbies.

Over half, or 55 per cent, of the 1,085 Finns interviewed for the survey by TNS Gallup similarly believe work should not always take precedence.

"People with nothing but work in their life are sad," the 26-year-old Grönroos says.

Both Vänskä and Sillanpää also indicate that they would be prepared to consider staying at home if a member of their family needed help.

On the other hand, Vänskä and Grönroos, a plumbing designer, say that they also like to work overtime. "If I'm asked to revise the designs at a site, it's only fair that I work overtime to ensure that the entire site is not at a standstill because of me," Grönroos explains.

Studies, Haavisto reveals, indicate that older and younger generations have different attitudes toward work. "For older [generations], the appreciation of work [...] was innate. They were appealed by notions such as 'work is the honour of citizens'."

"For younger people, the importance of free time was emphasised," he highlights.

Terhi Kinnunen – HS

Aleksi Teivainen – HT

©HELSINGIN SANOMAT

Image: Kalle Koponen / HS