Project

PEPPI – Developing employee retention in early childhood education and care through well-being management

The PEPPI project focuses on well-being at work and the related management competencies. The project provides immediate supervisors and work communities in early childhood education and care (ECEC) with research-based tools that can be used to manage workload and promote well-being at work – and thus increase the appeal and employee retention of the sector.

Timetable

8/2024–7/2027

Objectives

Increase ECEC supervisors’ ability to identify and manage workload factors, which has a positive impact on well-being at work.
Provide tools for workload management and support co-creation in ECEC work communities.
Activate development agency in ECEC work communities, which will promote the communities’ functional capacity, resilience and well-being at work.
Strengthen the appeal and employee retention of the sector by developing well-being at work.
Distribute the tools, operating models and lessons learned in the project widely to the ECEC field.

Results and impact

The project will impact early childhood education and care in Finland at both local and national level:

ECEC work units will develop competencies to manage well-being at work and control workload factors.
In the long term, well-being at work will develop positively and the negative cycle of workload factors in the participating ECEC work units will break.
The lessons learned, the tools developed and the supporting materials will be used widely and frequently after the project, both in the participating units and more extensively throughout Finland.
Improved working conditions will increase the appeal of the sector and facilitate workforce availability.

The project will result in:

idea cards for managing well-being at work in ECEC
a digital workbook to promote ECEC supervisors’ well-being at work
a work community game that can be used by ECEC supervisors and work communities to illustrate workload, reflect on the ways to manage it and develop practical solutions.

Project implementation

Supervisors from both public and private ECEC organisations from the North Ostrobothnia region will participate in the project activities.

The project activities consist of four work packages:

Data collection and analysis
In the first phase, we will carry out interviews, observations and an initial assessment of the participants. The aim is to deepen understanding of the workload factors in the ECEC sector and to ensure that the content of the workshops is meaningful to the participants and that the tools developed are suitable.
Workshop planning and implementation
In the second phase, we will plan and implement a series of six workshops for supervisors in ECEC. The workshops will offer practical tools for improving well-being at work and work ability. Participants will carry out interim tasks in their own work units.
Group coaching
In group coaching, FIOH experts will support the participants in carrying out interim tasks in their own work unit. The discussions will focus on practical challenges and support the supervisors' own work as well as the development agency of the work community.
Assessment and distribution
We will formulate and distribute the tools tested with the participants extensively and assess the impact of the project measures. We will use existing networks to distribute the tools.