Title
Remote work in the Finnish Defence Forces: Employees’ experiences of changes in organisational culture
Authors
[ 1 ] Department of Leadership and Military Pedagogy, National Defence University, Kadettikouluntie 7, 00860, Helsinki, Finland
Year of publication
2024
Published in
Article type
scientific article
Publication language
english
Keywords
EN
- changes
- COVID-19
- Defence Forces
- organisational culture
- remote work
Abstract
EN This paper investigated what changes took place in the organisational culture of the Finnish Defence Forces during the COVID-19 pandemic, and also afterwards when remote work has remained permanently available to staff. A total of 468 employees of the Finnish Defence Forces participated in the study by reporting their experiences of changes in organisational culture. In the analysis of qualitative data, the Gioia methodology, which classifies the data into categories and themes, was used. Remote work creates challenges for leadership, and more equality, changed management competence, and remote work management skills were expected from management. However, it would seem that the organisational culture in the Finnish Defence Forces has developed in such a way that trust within the organisation is even stronger than before. Remote work has developed the personnel’s skills in managing digital tools as well as the employer image of the Finnish Defence Forces in the eyes of their personnel. This is the first study to map employees’ experiences of remote work from the perspective of changes in organisational culture in the Finnish Defence Forces. The research provides novel information that can be utilised in developing the operations and management of organisations. The Finnish Defence Forces have taken significant steps towards a modern work community. There are still some challenges to be solved in terms of how to improve leadership of remote work. A particularly important resource in resilience to change is the trust that is manifested in the organisational culture of the Finnish Defence Forces.
Date of online publication
05.01.2024
Comments
Corresponding author Tiina Kähkönen . Online first.
License type
CC BY (attribution alone)
Open Access Mode
open journal
Open Access Text Version
final published version
Release date
05.01.2024
Full text of article
Access level to full text
public
Ministry points / journal
70
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