Project

Coping and health of professionals in independent production companies' film and TV productions (AVAT)

There is little information available about the coping at work of those employed in the productions of independent film and TV production companies in Finland. It has been observed in the industry that many people move away from film and TV content production at a relatively young age because they find the job to be stressful or maintaining a work-life balance difficult. This research project maps their well-being and provides recommendations for the industry to promote coping at work.

Timetable

11/2023–12/2024

Objectives

An increasing number of film and TV production professionals work in independent production companies, where employment relationships are typically fixed-term and short. Long working days, working at unusual times of the day and physically strenuous tasks are characteristic features of the industry. People in the industry tend to move between jobs as they need to move from one production to the next. Operators in the industry have observed that there is an increasing need for highly skilled professionals, but that many professionals switch from content production to other tasks as they consider the job to be stressful.

In this project, we investigate the factors that affect the well-being of those working in productions and which development measures can be used to influence these factors in a way that promotes employee retention in the industry.

Our goal is to

comprehensively survey the well-being of the professionals of independent production companies and the factors affecting it,
identify the key development needs related to well-being at work and
provide recommendations for productions to meet these development needs.

Data and methods

The target group of theresearch project is professionals working in independent production companies' film and TV productions, excluding performers, actors and the permanent staff of TV channels.

The research project consists of four parts:

A survey is carried out to gather wide-ranging information about work-related well-being and the factors that affect it.
A workshop is arranged to collect the participants' views on the key development needs affecting well-being in the sector and work on ways to meet them.
Based on the survey and the workshop, the research team and the representatives of the co-operation partners assess the identified development needs and the feasibility of the solutions.
The research team prepares recommendations to promote well-being and coping at work in productions.

Results and impact

We produce comprehensive and reliable information on the well-being of those employed in productions and the development needs of the industry. We provide development recommendations for the industry based on current information. With the recommendations, the productions of independent production companies are better equipped to promote the well-being of their employees and strengthen employee retention in the industry.

Research group

Heli Ansio | Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (ttl.fi)

Päivi Vanttola | Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (ttl.fi) (Principal Investigator)

Partners

The research project is carried out by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in co-operation with the following parties: Audiovisual Producers Finland – APFI ry, the Union of Film and Media Employees Finland SET and the Union of Journalists in Finland

The study is part of APFI's Avaus - Audiovisual Industry Sustainability Project.