In TVO’s employ on five decades: Mika Junnila has no lack of stories to tell

Mika Junnila, 61 years, started in the employ of Teollisuuden Voima as a telephone installer in January 1984. He says that he has witnessed during his long career how the development of technology has changed the way in which people communicate with each other.

- When I started at TVO, there were no mobile phones. Instead, every employee got their own landline. In the early years of my career, the most important means to get things done included phone calls and conversations. Although the range of different communication channels is much larger today, it often feels that communication is more challenging than it used to be, Junnila ponders.

Junnila describes himself as an extrovert and says he still values face-to-face discussions.

- Often matters can be dealt with at once when people speak directly with each other. In my opinion, excessive communication and long email recipient lists only complicate matters, says the seasoned people person.

Originally from Säkylä, Junnila trained as an electrician and telephone installer before coming to TVO. He was a busy man also in other respects in the 1980s, playing ice-hockey in the Rauman Lukko team during eight seasons.

In the 1988 finals of the Finnish Championship League, for example, he played as a forward. Becoming a league-level player was quite an accomplishment for the young player. Although Tappara from Tampere robbed the Rauma team of gold, his memories of the game are still vivid.

- Team sports taught a lot for the working life. I find that in recent years, people are more self-absorbed and tend to give in when faced with difficulties. These can be problematic phenomena in the working life, even if one has good professional capabilities, Junnila says.

Transfer of silent knowledge is important

Junnila works in the Maintenance Team as a Work Supervisor.

- TVO’s telecommunications as well as video surveillance and access control are the responsibility of our team. The purpose of many technological solutions is to guarantee safety and security. Our professional capabilities are needed whenever something new is being built or old repaired. With newbuilds, for example, issues related to data communication cables must be considered in advance.

Despite fibreoptics being the modern solution, Junnila says that data is transferred in Olkiluoto still also in copper cables.

- The constant development of technology makes it necessary to also upgrade equipment on a regular basis. The extensive equipment expertise of our team is based on us handling the maintenance and modernisation of equipment in our field of responsibility.

Junnila started as a Work Supervisor in 2020. For the new position, he completed the managerial training course of vocational education provider WinNova.

- Our team consists of six installers and two equipment coordinators. I have been fortunate in the sense that during the past five years I have had the opportunity to build our team myself. I always find it important to have many different ages represented in work communities and teams. The so-called silent knowledge accumulated in practical work is transferred from one generation to the next as the older employees reach retirement age.

“TVO is an excellent workplace”

Junnila has been actively involved in various positions of trust, for example in the Finnish Electrical Workers’ Union. In his position of chief personnel representative, he appreciated the good relationship with the management of TVO even if his main task was to represent employees in matters that are important to them.

- Decision-making in a workplace is to a large extent based on functioning personal relationships, he notes.

Junnila points out that the benefits that are self-evident to employees, such as flexible hours and performance rewards, are the result of negotiations between employee and employer organisations.

- I remember that doubts about the functioning of flexible hours were still voiced as late as in the 1990s. The telecommunications team was the first to test it with good results, and gradually it spread to other teams. Flexible hours suit Olkiluoto employees well as it allows the balancing between work and life. And the benefit for the employer is the availability of workforce every day.

Junnila says that TVO is an excellent workplace with a flexible approach to different life situations.

- One indication of this is that many people who have left to build their career elsewhere have later returned back to Olkiluoto. I myself have never felt tired of my work as every day has been different.

Relaxing at summer cottage and playing golf

Having built strong basic fitness as a hockey player, Junnila has led a sporty life all through his career. He has pleasant memories from being one of a group from TVO to participate in the Finland runs running event from Utsjoki to Helsinki, for example. He has completed a total of 17 marathons.

- I have now put running on the back burner, but I do group exercise several times a week. Golf has become a new hobby. I travel with my partner all around Finland to play golf, and occasionally also abroad.

Junnila lives in Old Rauma. Garden chores await him at the summer cottage on lake Turajärvi, near Rauma.

- I have three grown-up children and two grandchildren aged 8 and 6, all girls. I like spending time with my granddaughters and they seem to value what grampa has to say, Junnila smiles.

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Text: Timo Sillanpää
Photos: Tapani Karjanlahti