The role of leadership in digital business transformation is a topical issue in need of more in-depth research. Based on an empirical investigation of eight Finnish organizations operating in the service sector, we gain understanding of the role and focus of leadership in the context of digital business transformation. Through a qualitative content analysis of data from 46 interviews, the four main leadership foci of digital business transformation are found: strategic vision and action, leading cultural change, enabling, and leading networks. The findings are discussed in the context of extant research on leadership and digital business development.

The purpose of this study is to examine how COVID-19-related job demands and resources have been associated with employee well-being in Nordic countries across specific occupational groups. The study investigated four occupational groups: (1) professional, scientific, and technical occupations in Norway (n = 301); (2) teachers in Finland (n = 315); (3) health and social service occupations in Norway (n = 267); and (4) geriatric nurses in Finland (n = 105). Hypotheses were tested using two-step hierarchical regression analysis. Work–home imbalance in Groups 1, 2, and 3, workload increase in Groups 1 and 3, and fear of infection in Groups 2 and 3 were positively related with exhaustion. A positive attitude towards digital solutions was positively related to work engagement in Groups 2 and 3. In addition, there was a significant positive relationship between COVID-19-related organizational support and work engagement in Groups 2, 3, and 4, and a negative relationship with exhaustion in Group 2. In conclusion, pandemic-related job demands and resources were differently associated with employee well-being across different occupational groups and countries. Further, organizational support may act as a supportive element for sustaining employee well-being during pandemics.

BackgroundBecause the working age population in Finland is decreasing, working careers must be extended at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of working life, unemployment must be reduced, and disabilities, absences and presenteeism due to illness and psychosocial strain must be curtailed. The overall aim defined in the Finnish strategy for social and health policy titled Socially Sustainable Finland 2020 is to lengthen working careers by an average of three years by 2020 when compared to the year 2010. The better people feel in the workplace and the more healthy they are, the longer their working careers will be and the more productive they will be. At the moment, the minimum cost of lost labour inputs, occupational accidents and diseases and health care costs are 25 billion euros a year according to calculations of Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.Description of the problemThe strategic importance of personnel well-being and work ability as human and intellectual capital of the organisation is a scarcely researched topic. In this presentation we will introduce the emerging concept of wellbeing at work capital.ResultsThe foundation of well-being at work capital lies in the so called extended view of intellectual capital, which includes the following: work-place social capital and leadership, structural i.e. organisational capital, knowledge capital, and psychological capital. Psychological capital refers to mental resources like self-confidence, resilience, optimism and hope.ConclusionsIn addition to traditional ideas of intellectual capital, there is an increasing need for attitudinal capacities like entrepreneurship, the capacity to lead oneself and the ability to use one’s own resources in a sustainable way. From the point of view of an individual, being an active participant in the modern working life requires, most of all, capacity for lifelong learning and renewal.