Satu Ojala

I am a social policy and labour market researcher and teacher. Expertise areas: population representative survey and register data, quantitative methods, social policy, working conditions, labour market, active labour market policies.

Research projects:

Työtä vailla olevien työ- ja sosiaaliturvapolut ja työttömyysturvan poiskäännyttävät vaikutukset [Employment and Social Security Careers of the Population out of Labour Force]. Kone Foundation 2021 - 2025. PI Satu Ojala.

Fragmented Work Careers? The Finnish Work Environment Fund 2018 - 2020. PI Satu Ojala. We used the Finnish FOLK total register data to study industrial workers' careers over time, since the 1980s. We co-operated with The Finnish Centre for Pensions' labour market researchers, as well as with the employer and employee unions' representatives at the industrial sector (chemistry, technology, forestry). 

The future of work: Opportunities and challenges for the Nordic models. I participated in the Pillar III, which published a comparative report edited by Anna Ilsøe and Trine Pernille Larsen (Eds. 2021) Non-standard work in the Nordics: Troubled waters under the still surface, TemaNord 2021:503.

I have participated in the following projects funded by the Government’s analysis, assessment and research activities:

- Palvelujärjestelmän toiminta: osa-aikatyö ja tilapäinen työ sekä siirtymät kokoaikatyöhön [Employment services, part-time jobs and transitions to full-time employment]. PI Merja Kauhanen from the Labour Institute for Economic Research. Consortium partners Work Research Centre, Tampere University / PI Satu Ojala, and VATT Institute for Economic Research / PI Tomi Kyyrä. 3/2021–1/2022. 

- Työllisyyden kuntakokeilujen työllisyys-, kustannus- ja hyvinvointivaikutusten arviointi. PI Kari Hämäläinen from VATT Institute for Economic Research. Consortium partner Work Research Centre, Tampere University / PI Simo Aho. 2/2021–6/2023.

- The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on gender equality in Finland. PI Merita Jokela from THL Finnish Institute for Health and We lfare. Consortium partners Tampere University / PI Anna Elomäki, Statistics Finland/ PI Hanna Sutela and Kela Social Insurance Institution Finland. 1.12.2020–31.5.2022.

Working hours, health, well-being and participation in working life – WOW (NordForsk 2015-2021), PI Mikko Härmä & Kati Karhula from the Finnish In stitute of Occupational Health. Tampere PI Jouko Nätti, with researchers Satu Ojala & Timo Anttila.

Earlier projects:

Discrimination at work and Later Work Careers [Työssä koettu syrjintä ja myöhempi työura] (The Finnish Work Environment Fund 2015-2017), PI Professor Jouko Nätti

Economic Crises, Well-being at Work and Later Work Careers [Talouskriisit, työhyvinvointi ja työurat] (The Finnish Work Environment Fund 2015-2017), PI University Lecturer Pasi Pyöriä

Temporal flexibility of work and its effect on later work and family life (FLEXLIFE) (Academy of Finland 2014–2018), PI Professor Jouko Nätti

Job quality and later work career in part-time and temporary work (The Finnish Work Environment Fund 2013-2014), PI Professor Jouko Nätti

Spatial dispersion of paid work (SPACE) (Academy of Finland (2010-2013), PI Professor Jouko Nätti

Successful organizations and employee well-being in knowledge-intensive work (WORK Programme by the Academy of Finland (2008-2011), PI Professor Harri Melin

Paid work at home (The Finnish Work Environment Fund 2007-2008), PI Professor Jouko Nätti

Work Research Centre WRC

Work life research: work careers, working time, temporal and spatial flexibility, time use analysis, labour market, active labour market policies

Areas of teaching: Social policy, work life research, quantitative methods

Selected publications:

Riekhoff Aart-Jan, Pyöriä Pasi & Ojala Satu (2021) Career stability in turbulent times: A cross-cohort study of mid-careers in Finland. Acta Sociologica. 

Ojala Satu, Pyöriä Pasi & Riekhoff Aart-Jan (2020) Career stability in 14 Finnish industrial employee cohorts in 1988–2015. Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies.

Järvinen Katri-Maria, Pyöriä Pasi, Ojala Satu, Liudmila Lipiäinen & Saari Tiina (2020) Työurien vakaus ja taantuma: yksityisen sektorin työntekijöiden työurapolut 2007–2015 [Career stability and recession: Private-sector employees’ career trajectories, 2007–2015]. Työelämän tutkimus 18 (2) 81–99. Abstract in English.

Ojala Satu, Pyöriä Pasi (2018) Precarious work and the risk of receiving a disability pension. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health.

Ojala Satu, Pyöriä Pasi (2017) Mobile knowledge workers and traditional mobile workers. Assessing the prevalence of multi-locational work in Europe. Acta Sociologica.

Ojala Satu, Nätti Jouko & Lipiäinen Liudmila (2017) Types of temporary employment: an eight-year follow-up of labour market attachment . Social Indicators Research.