In the future, working for a Finnish employer does not necessarily mean moving to Finland. From the perspective of the expert shortage, distance work could offer expatriate Finns an opportunity to participate in Finnish working life from outside of the country.
Text: Roosa Veijola E2 Research, published in Finland Bridge -magazine 2/2023
Distance and digital work allow people living outside of Finland to work more flexibly for Finnish employers without the need to live permanently in Finland. According to a survey, 82% of expatriate Finns would be willing to consider working for a Finnish employer partly or entirely remotely. A clear majority of them (62%) would also be prepared to travel to Finland from time to time at the employer’s request.
“It would also be great not to need to be present all the time and have a chance to work partly remotely. Then you wouldn’t have to choose only one country to live in.”
– Woman, 32, survey on expatriate Finns
This data was obtained from the final report of the International Talent Finland research project which was conducted by E2 Research and published in March 2023. In all 32 expatriate Finns and returnees were interviewed for the survey. Some of the interviews took place through Teams while others were done in Britain in May and June 2022. Altogether 252 returnees and 895 expatriate Finns responded to the research project’s survey between February 15 and March 13, 2022.
Employers benefit from investing in the recruitment of expatriate Finns
The pandemic has intensified a turning point in working life, introducing distance work in an increasing number of professions. In addition, maintaining professional connections in Finland could encourage and streamline a later return there. However, expatriate Finns’ have relatively few professional contacts with Finland and few of them (14%) actively monitor job openings in Finland.
The survey suggests that Finnish employers and labor officials should consider how to keep expatriate Finns informed about jobs available in Finland. Expatriate Finns are not as familiar with how the Finnish labor market functions as residents of Finland. It is more difficult to create work-related connections from overseas, and weaker networks undermine the position of expatriate jobseekers.
Since Finland is suffering from labor shortage, the Finnish labor market should meet expatriate Finns half-way and employers should boost their readiness to hire expatriate talent.
As opportunities for distance work increase, employers should consider which positions and job descriptions employees could be carried out from overseas, at least partly, and what kind of added value that could bring to the company. Expatriate Finns’ language skills and understanding of both the Finnish and international circuits of their field might bring a significant competitive edge to companies.
“Ways of attracting (expatiate Finns): allowing them to live overseas for 50–70% of the time (distance work), genuine trust in international work experience and appreciation of cultural insight, appropriate salary – -,”
– Woman, 36, survey on expatriate Finns
Employers’ campaigns and recruitment targeted at expatriate Finns could increase the flow of information on vacant jobs and encourage expatriate Finns to look for jobs in Finland as well. Many of the expatriate Finns interviewed expressed the hope that Finnish companies would approach them more actively and openly announce in job advertisements that they are willing to hire overseas applicants.
The expatriates we interviewed for our research proposed a recruitment event, organized during the summer vacation period, for instance. It would allow expatriate Finns and Finnish employers to meet since many expatriates visit their home country during the summer.
Hindrances to location-independent work should be lowered also at the state level. We need cooperation between the public and private sector to make distance work possible. In our interviews, expatriate Finns brought up issues related to taxation, permit practices and regulations as the largest challenges for multi-location work.
One-stop service to streamline returning – not forgetting family members
In addition to allowing distance work, moving back to Finland must be streamlined. Returnees expressed the wish for public services that would be as simple as possible. Services connected with settling in and working should be designed to support the needs of both foreign experts and returnees, since these groups share the same needs to a surprising extent.
Employees are often accompanied by family members. Their adjustment and thriving may ultimately decide whether the returnees and their families stay in Finland. Consequently, it is important to invest also in spouses’ employment and networks.
“– – we could move to Finland as far as my work is concerned – –. But since it’s not just about one person’s job, some Finnish company should be ready to recruit my non-Finnish-speaking spouse.”
– Interview with an expatriate Finn
Social events arranged by a workplace where family members are also invited provide good networking opportunities for spouses. Another meaningful way to boost family members’ settling in and employment is cooperation with cities and the spouse programs of other organizations. Partners moving to Finland with expatriate Finns are often experts whose talent should not be allowed to go to waste.