Employer satisfaction of foreign employees : In South Ostrobothnia
Niku, Juho (2025)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025060420453
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025060420453
Tiivistelmä
The aim of this thesis was to find out how employers feel about foreign employees. The number of foreigners has increased in recent years, and they account part of the workforce in South Ostrobothnia. This topic has mainly been studied from the perspective of employees, and that is why this thesis was made from the perspective of employers, because that side had not been studied enough.
The thesis study was conducted using qualitative research. The data was gathered by a survey with open-ended questions. The number of respondents was ten, and they worked at companies of various sizes. Each company currently had or had previously had a foreign employee or employees. Some of the respondents were in such a position at the company that they did not know about the hiring process but knew about the integration process; then, the instruction was to type “I do not know” in the section the respondent was not able to answer to.
The results showed that the Finnish language is not a requirement for these companies, it is more of a benefit. Most of the companies that responded had a common working language, and for most it was English. None of the respondents had any negative experiences with foreign employees, and for the respondents, nationality was not a factor related to the selection of an employee. None of the respondents had faced any bureaucratic issues or issues with the background of an employee. Almost every respondent mentioned that they faced normal communication issues, which could happen in every language. Cultural differences were the section with the most differing answers; several respondents mentioned hierarchy, the level of which is somewhat lower in Finland compared to other countries, especially in Asia. Other responses worth of mentioning were Ramadan and teamwork. Many companies had integration processes as a target for improvement, and that is something most of the respondents were actively paying attention to.
The thesis offers the perspective of employers and how they feel about foreign employees. This thesis can be used especially as a hope for foreign employees that nationality is not an issue. The most important matters are the high quality of work and having proper knowledge of the job.
The thesis study was conducted using qualitative research. The data was gathered by a survey with open-ended questions. The number of respondents was ten, and they worked at companies of various sizes. Each company currently had or had previously had a foreign employee or employees. Some of the respondents were in such a position at the company that they did not know about the hiring process but knew about the integration process; then, the instruction was to type “I do not know” in the section the respondent was not able to answer to.
The results showed that the Finnish language is not a requirement for these companies, it is more of a benefit. Most of the companies that responded had a common working language, and for most it was English. None of the respondents had any negative experiences with foreign employees, and for the respondents, nationality was not a factor related to the selection of an employee. None of the respondents had faced any bureaucratic issues or issues with the background of an employee. Almost every respondent mentioned that they faced normal communication issues, which could happen in every language. Cultural differences were the section with the most differing answers; several respondents mentioned hierarchy, the level of which is somewhat lower in Finland compared to other countries, especially in Asia. Other responses worth of mentioning were Ramadan and teamwork. Many companies had integration processes as a target for improvement, and that is something most of the respondents were actively paying attention to.
The thesis offers the perspective of employers and how they feel about foreign employees. This thesis can be used especially as a hope for foreign employees that nationality is not an issue. The most important matters are the high quality of work and having proper knowledge of the job.