Significance of action plans in the development of occupational well-being in the schools of Finland and Estonia

This article is part of a long term project "Promoting the Occupational Well-Being of School Staff-Action Research Project in Finland and Estonia, 2009-2014." The purpose of this article is to describe the significance of action plans in the promotion of the occupational well-being of primary and upper secondary school staff in Finland and Estonia from 2010 to the turn of the year 2011-2012. An electronic open questionnaire was sent to occupational well-being groups in Finland (N=18) and in Estonia (N=39). In Finland, the questionnaire was responded to by 16 (n=16) occupational well-being groups, and in Estonia, by 38 (n=38) groups. The qualitative data were analyzed using the inductive-deductive method and content analysis. The obtained results indicate that the schools had named goals for action plans in all aspects of the promotion of occupational well-being in schools (worker and work, working conditions, professional competence, working community) and that these goals were mainly realized in the schools in a systematic way. Schools felt that the action plan for occupational well-being helped them to set goals for occupational well-being and that the planned actions were realized in a more systematic way than before.