Attitudes Towards Workplace Data Collection Among Factory Workers: Results from a Finnish Survey

Milla Immonen; Satu Marja Mäkelä; Eija Kaasinen; Elina Annanperä; Anna Rohunen; Kari Hiekkanen; Anu Hanna Anttila; Pekka Siirtola

doi:10.1007/978-3-032-28819-6_16

Attitudes Towards Workplace Data Collection Among Factory Workers: Results from a Finnish Survey

Milla Immonen
, Satu Marja Mäkelä
, Eija Kaasinen
, Elina Annanperä
, Anna Rohunen
, Kari Hiekkanen
, Anu Hanna Anttila
, Pekka Siirtola^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Lapland University of Applied Sciences
University of Oulu
Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences
Finnish Industrial Union

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference article in proceedings › Scientific › peer-review

Abstract

This study examines the attitudes of factory workers’ towards the collection and use of data on the factory floor to support worker well-being. The study is based on a survey of 385 members of The Finnish Industrial Union who work as shop stewards or labor protection representatives. The survey was adapted from earlier study conducted for construction site workers [20]. Developing data-intensive solutions to improve work conditions, such as well-being and safety, requires increasing amounts of data collected from workers. The results of the study show that, in general, workers have positive attitudes towards collecting data on the factory floor. Workers are interested in their personal well-being and would like to obtain information about their physical strain, ergonomics, and emotional stress. However, respondents had concerns about unauthorized access to the data or the use of the information against them by the employer or colleagues. No statistically significant correlation was found between attitudes and work experience in years. The study suggests that involving workers in the decision-making process regarding data use is essential to increase acceptance. The study concludes that the introduction of new data-based technologies in factories requires open communication with workers, including clear explanations of the purposes of data collection and how the data will be used.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Digital Health and Wireless Solutions
Subtitle of host publication	Integrating AI, LLMs and Multimodal Health Data for Next-Generation Decision Support - 2nd Nordic Conference, NCDHWS 2026, Proceedings Part 2
Editors	Mariella Särestöniemi, Daljeet Singh, Erika Jarva, Jarmo Reponen
Publisher	Springer
Pages	245-262
Number of pages	18
ISBN (Print)	9783032288189
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-28819-6_16
Publication status	Published - 2026
MoE publication type	A4 Article in a conference publication
Event	2nd Nordic Conference on Digital Health and Wireless Solutions, NCDHWS 2026 - Oulu, Finland Duration: 16 Jun 2026 → 17 Jun 2026

Publication series

Series	Communications in Computer and Information Science
Volume	3010 CCIS
ISSN	1865-0929

Conference

Conference	2nd Nordic Conference on Digital Health and Wireless Solutions, NCDHWS 2026
Country/Territory	Finland
City	Oulu
Period	16/06/26 → 17/06/26

Funding

This work was supported by the Business Finland, the national Finnish funding agency.

Keywords

acceptance
data collection
data-based technologies
factory floor
Factory work
well-being

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-032-28819-6_16Licence: CC BY

Cite this

Immonen, M., Mäkelä, S. M., Kaasinen, E., Annanperä, E., Rohunen, A., Hiekkanen, K., Anttila, A. H., & Siirtola, P. (2026). Attitudes Towards Workplace Data Collection Among Factory Workers: Results from a Finnish Survey. In M. Särestöniemi, D. Singh, E. Jarva, & J. Reponen (Eds.), Digital Health and Wireless Solutions: Integrating AI, LLMs and Multimodal Health Data for Next-Generation Decision Support - 2nd Nordic Conference, NCDHWS 2026, Proceedings Part 2 (pp. 245-262). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-28819-6_16

Immonen, Milla ; Mäkelä, Satu Marja ; Kaasinen, Eija et al. / Attitudes Towards Workplace Data Collection Among Factory Workers : Results from a Finnish Survey. Digital Health and Wireless Solutions: Integrating AI, LLMs and Multimodal Health Data for Next-Generation Decision Support - 2nd Nordic Conference, NCDHWS 2026, Proceedings Part 2. editor / Mariella Särestöniemi ; Daljeet Singh ; Erika Jarva ; Jarmo Reponen. Springer, 2026. pp. 245-262 (Communications in Computer and Information Science, Vol. 3010 CCIS).

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abstract = "This study examines the attitudes of factory workers{\textquoteright} towards the collection and use of data on the factory floor to support worker well-being. The study is based on a survey of 385 members of The Finnish Industrial Union who work as shop stewards or labor protection representatives. The survey was adapted from earlier study conducted for construction site workers [20]. Developing data-intensive solutions to improve work conditions, such as well-being and safety, requires increasing amounts of data collected from workers. The results of the study show that, in general, workers have positive attitudes towards collecting data on the factory floor. Workers are interested in their personal well-being and would like to obtain information about their physical strain, ergonomics, and emotional stress. However, respondents had concerns about unauthorized access to the data or the use of the information against them by the employer or colleagues. No statistically significant correlation was found between attitudes and work experience in years. The study suggests that involving workers in the decision-making process regarding data use is essential to increase acceptance. The study concludes that the introduction of new data-based technologies in factories requires open communication with workers, including clear explanations of the purposes of data collection and how the data will be used.",

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Immonen, M, Mäkelä, SM, Kaasinen, E, Annanperä, E, Rohunen, A, Hiekkanen, K, Anttila, AH & Siirtola, P 2026, Attitudes Towards Workplace Data Collection Among Factory Workers: Results from a Finnish Survey. in M Särestöniemi, D Singh, E Jarva & J Reponen (eds), Digital Health and Wireless Solutions: Integrating AI, LLMs and Multimodal Health Data for Next-Generation Decision Support - 2nd Nordic Conference, NCDHWS 2026, Proceedings Part 2. Springer, Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol. 3010 CCIS, pp. 245-262, 2nd Nordic Conference on Digital Health and Wireless Solutions, NCDHWS 2026, Oulu, Finland, 16/06/26. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-28819-6_16

Attitudes Towards Workplace Data Collection Among Factory Workers: Results from a Finnish Survey. / Immonen, Milla; Mäkelä, Satu Marja; Kaasinen, Eija et al.
Digital Health and Wireless Solutions: Integrating AI, LLMs and Multimodal Health Data for Next-Generation Decision Support - 2nd Nordic Conference, NCDHWS 2026, Proceedings Part 2. ed. / Mariella Särestöniemi; Daljeet Singh; Erika Jarva; Jarmo Reponen. Springer, 2026. p. 245-262 (Communications in Computer and Information Science, Vol. 3010 CCIS).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference article in proceedings › Scientific › peer-review

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AB - This study examines the attitudes of factory workers’ towards the collection and use of data on the factory floor to support worker well-being. The study is based on a survey of 385 members of The Finnish Industrial Union who work as shop stewards or labor protection representatives. The survey was adapted from earlier study conducted for construction site workers [20]. Developing data-intensive solutions to improve work conditions, such as well-being and safety, requires increasing amounts of data collected from workers. The results of the study show that, in general, workers have positive attitudes towards collecting data on the factory floor. Workers are interested in their personal well-being and would like to obtain information about their physical strain, ergonomics, and emotional stress. However, respondents had concerns about unauthorized access to the data or the use of the information against them by the employer or colleagues. No statistically significant correlation was found between attitudes and work experience in years. The study suggests that involving workers in the decision-making process regarding data use is essential to increase acceptance. The study concludes that the introduction of new data-based technologies in factories requires open communication with workers, including clear explanations of the purposes of data collection and how the data will be used.

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Immonen M, Mäkelä SM, Kaasinen E, Annanperä E, Rohunen A, Hiekkanen K et al. Attitudes Towards Workplace Data Collection Among Factory Workers: Results from a Finnish Survey. In Särestöniemi M, Singh D, Jarva E, Reponen J, editors, Digital Health and Wireless Solutions: Integrating AI, LLMs and Multimodal Health Data for Next-Generation Decision Support - 2nd Nordic Conference, NCDHWS 2026, Proceedings Part 2. Springer. 2026. p. 245-262. (Communications in Computer and Information Science, Vol. 3010 CCIS). doi: 10.1007/978-3-032-28819-6_16