Gas and a desk to work, please!

Virolahti, Finland. It is the southeastern-most municipality, right at the borders with Russia. People go to the bus station but not in order to travel. They visit the working station that has been set-up there. There are similar workstations in other places in the region. Gas stations and cafes are the hosts. Working remotely is a new reality in Finland too.

People seek more and more work-life balance. No need for time-consuming commuting every day to work. The Finns test it and signs are good. But what are these working stations? And how can locals and visitors benefit?

Office on the go!
Nicely put in a corner at the bus station or spanning whole rooms in cafes or gas stations, these workstations have all a modern employee needs: computers, flat screens, nice comfortable chairs, high-speed internet, coffee.No, no! Coffee is not included in the package. Everything else is funded by the municipality in an effort to make people stay in their hometowns and not move to greater cities. One can visit the workstations and work from there for as long as he/she wishes. Plain and simple. No questions asked.But who can really benefit from this? Not only the remote workers but also entrepreneurs who start their own businesses. After all, these stations can become melting pots of ideas and brilliant minds from the region.

You see, 1 in 3 Finns has to commute to work, outside of the municipality of residence, daily. And 5% of them need to travel more than 100 km. That’s a looot! Finland is a huge country with a relatively small population. Most of the best career opportunities are in larger cities which may be far, far away from home. Remote work is gaining in popularity. Problem solved. The Finnish way!