The number of workplace accidents and sickness absences in the forest industry has stabilised at a lower level than in the previous decade. Occupational safety has been improved systematically across the sector, which was particularly evident in the significant decline in sickness and accident-related absences during the last decade. However, in 2025 both the frequency of workplace accidents and the number of sickness absences increased slightly compared with previous years.

In 2025, the frequency of workplace accidents leading to absence in the paper, sawmill and panel industries, expressed using the LTAF indicator (Lost Time Accident Frequency), was 6.9. In the paper industry the accident frequency was 5.0, while in the sawmill and panel industries it was 10.5. The accident frequency was 6.2 in 2023 and 6.3 in 2024. Since 2010, the number of accidents has decreased by approximately 70 per cent.

Accident frequency (Lost Time Accident Frequency, LTAF) is a commonly used indicator that measures workplace accidents resulting in absence per one million hours worked. All incidents that result in at least one full working day or shift of absence are recorded as workplace accidents.

Sickness absence increased slightly

Last year, sickness absences in the chemical and mechanical forest industry amounted to a total of approximately 5.0 per cent of regular working hours. In the paper industry, sickness absence accounted for 4.9 per cent of regular working hours, and in the sawmill and panel industries almost the same, at 5.0 per cent. Since 2013, the proportion of sickness absence relative to regular working hours has stabilised between four and five per cent, although there has been a slight upward trend since 2017. In 2024, sickness absence accounted for 4.8 per cent of regular working hours.

“Absences due to illness increased slightly compared with the previous year in both the paper industry and the sawmill and panel industries, but the change has been relatively minor. However, it would be important to put sickness absence back on a downward trend,” says Paavo Honkanen, labour law counsel at the Finnish Forest Industries Federation.

Increase also in near-miss and safety observations

Occupational wellbeing is a key component of organisational success and employees’ ability to perform their work. It is not limited to individual coping but forms a broader entity that affects the quality, smoothness and productivity of work. From an economic perspective, investing in occupational wellbeing is justified, as its positive effects extend to the working atmosphere and organisational performance.

The development of occupational wellbeing is built primarily on everyday practices. Effective solutions do not usually require significant investments; rather, they are based on the purposeful organisation of work, the systematic strengthening of skills, and ensuring that the conditions for performing work are in place. When work and competence are in balance, employees have better opportunities to succeed in their roles.

Responsibility for occupational wellbeing is shared across the entire work community. It requires active participation and commitment from management, supervisors and employees alike to common goals. In the forest industry, this has been reflected in practical cooperation in which different levels of stakeholders promote occupational wellbeing as a long-term part of organisational operations.

“A positive sign of companies’ safety cultures is the increase in proactive safety reports in both the paper industry and the sawmill and panel industries compared with the previous review year. In the paper industry, the increase was 21.8 per cent and in the sawmill and panel industries 4.6 per cent. It is important that every member of the work community is committed to developing safety,” Honkanen notes.

The accident and absence statistics of the Finnish Forest Industries Federation cover approximately 80 per cent of personnel in the paper industry and 82 per cent in the sawmill and panel industries. The statistics are compiled annually.