Finance Minister Riikka Purra, who also leads the Finns Party, has criticised the remote work policy at Kela, the Finnish Social Insurance Institution, according to newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.
The daily cited a report from Iltalehti saying that the agency's remote work policies — devised by its new Director General Lasse Lehtonen — were straining the nerves of employees.
IL explained that Kela now requires its employees to work on-site at least one day per week, or four days a month.
Purra slammed the policy in a post on social media site X, but underscored she was speaking about working from home in a more general sense.
She suggested that the self-distancing pandemic era was a thing of the past, according to HS.
"As rule tightening, one day a week sounds ridiculous. The [coronavirus] times are far behind us, but public sector remote work practices haven't really tightened up much," her post read.
She went on to say that she has seen how remote working has complicated getting things done.
"It undoubtedly reduces productivity and complicates all kinds of things, even if it can sometimes work for some cases," her post continued.
"And of course, working from home is surely much more comfortable for many people! If you ask the person themselves, they will certainly say they are more efficient at home. Sometimes that may be true, but honestly, can this really be considered true more broadly in public sector jobs?"
According to Purra, having lunch and face-to-face conversations are “in principle a good thing”, HS reported. She also pondered the need for "expensive office spaces in the city centre if no one even visits them".
HS pointed out Iltalehti's reporting that Kela's new on-site work policy was causing resentment among its workers because the agency has closed several of its branch offices across the country in an aim to cut costs.
As a result, some Kela employees from the shuttered service points would need to commute long distances to work on site, according to the paper. Additionally, when the workers do come in, there may be a lack of workspaces.
HS noted that it reported on data from Eurostat in October suggesting that Finland has a relatively high level of remote working compared to the rest of Europe.
Fireworks blast in blaze
Many newspapers covered a dangerous fire that broke out at a fireworks warehouse storage facility in the Southern Finland municipality of Janakkala on Wednesday night.
Some outlets, including Yle, posted amateur video footage of the blaze, which ignited fireworks stored in shipping containers, and resulted in massive, loud and colourful explosions that lit up the surrounding rural landscape.
An amateur video clip posted by Ilta-Sanomat offered one of the better views of the spectacle.
The paper noted that rescue services reported the fire was dying down by around 5:30 on Thursday morning, but that there was still a risk of further explosions.
The storage facility has rows of dozens of containers filled with fireworks, according to the paper. It was not immediately clear how many of the containers had caught fire.
The paper also pointed to reporting from Yle saying that the Vähikkälä school, which is relatively close to the storage facility, was closed for the day on Thursday over safety concerns.
Ilta-Sanomat reported at 7:51am on Thursday that authorities had decreased the cordoned-off area to a radius of 250m from the accident site, with rescue officials saying the fire was still smouldering.
Sanna Marin plugs new book on Daily Show
Promoting her new memoir in the United States, Finland's former prime minister Sanna Marin appeared on American TV's late-night Daily Show on Wednesday night, Helsingin Sanomat reported.
Among other things the show's host, Jordan Klepper, asked Marin about Finland's political system and "marvelled" over Marin's experience as PM at such a young age. When she stepped into the job, Marin became the world's youngest premier at age 34.
The paper said that Marin resonated with the audience on the often politically focused satirical talk show, "judging by the applause" she received.
Klepper's initial questions were of an introductory nature, possibly to familiarise the audience with Finland.
In keeping with the satirical show's tone, Marin was self-deprecating about the glowing opinions of Finland that many outsiders seem to hold.
For instance, the host asked about Finland's status as the "happiest country in the world". Last spring Finland again received that ranking on the World Happiness Report — for the eighth year in a row.
"Well, I mean, I read this book, and I get jealous of Finland," Klepper said. "It seems like a very happy place. It's voted, year in and year out, the happiest place on the globe. Like, why is that? Do you guys not have social media?"
"Well, we do [have social media], unfortunately," Marin explained.
"Finland is the happiest country in the world. But if you ask the people, they will answer you, we're not happy at all. No, we are not cheerful. We aren't happy," she joked.
The interviews also included discussion about Marin's time as PM amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Finland's accession to Nato, the pandemic — as well as her experience in politics.
Klepper asked Marin about how she managed to reach the top of Finland's political arena at such a young age.
"You also talk [in the book] about how Finland is very different than places like America. But you talk a bit about the Nordic welfare state. Tell me a bit about that and also if that— like, I think when we hear that somebody is 34 in a position of power in America, our minds explode. We don't even let you consider being president of the United States at 34," Klepper said.
"Is there a connection to the welfare system in a place like Finland, and your ability to get into politics so early?" Klepper asked.
"Well, I think the most amazing thing — and one thing that I'm really proud of in Finland — is our schooling system that allows everybody to become anything, even though your background might be difficult, like mine is personally as well," Marin said.
"I come from a poor, unprivileged family. But we have amazing daycare system, an amazing schooling system that gives people equal opportunities. And I think this is amazing," she said.
Marin did not shy away from discussing the media-driven scandals during her time as PM, which she also detailed in her book.
A clip of her appearance was posted on YouTube.
