The social and cultural sustainability of multicultural workplaces in Finland

Abstract

Demographic changes and growing immigration have increased the need for better integration in Finland, requiring workplaces to consider their cultural and social sustainability policies. The objective of this thesis was to help Finnish small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) develop practices to ease integration of multicultural resources. The purpose was to determine whether multicultural work environments have an impact on the cultural and social sustainability of a Finnish SME.

An anonymous survey was launched to collect quantitative data along with a series of interviews conducted to collect qualitative data. The data was analysed and connected to theoretical elements of cultural and social sustainability. The analysis indicated that multicultural workplaces added value to the social and cultural sustainability of companies through improvements, for example corporate language choice, although various challenges such as miscommunication may occur.

The thesis was commissioned by TAMK Talent Boost, a development programme with the goal of increasing internationalisation within Finnish companies and organisations. The research concluded that multicultural workplaces can have an impact on a company’s cultural and social sustainability. The results developed from the analysis were shared with Talent Boost’s networks. Further research is encouraged due to continuous internationalisation of the Finnish society.