Zara’s working conditions criticized as health risks rise among employees in Helsinki

Working conditions at Zara’s store on Aleksanterinkatu in Helsinki have worsened significantly. Reports from December highlighted that employment in Zara’s stores poses health risks to employees. Workers described burnout and stress symptoms as endemic within the workplace.

In the autumn of 2023, Finland’s regional administrative agency (AVI) discovered illegal shortcomings in working conditions. A follow-up inspection conducted in May indicated that while management had responded to some of the agency’s concerns, these efforts were insufficient. Currently, 60% of the store’s sales associates consider their work hazardous to their health, citing excessive targets, an unmanageable workload, unclear instructions, inadequate working conditions, and frequent interruptions as contributing factors.

Additionally, the use of fear-based management tactics, including shouting and arbitrary warnings, continues to persist according to the report. Employees described visits from international management as unpleasant or even traumatizing experiences.

Zara has made some efforts to improve conditions, such as updating tools and introducing self-service checkouts to ease the workload. The company has also provided multiple training sessions for staff. Zara emphasized the well-being of its over 140 employees in Finland and stated they regularly conduct employee surveys for improvement.

However, according to AVI inspector Saila Lähdesmäki, these measures mainly benefit supervisors, with nearly half of them having changed since the last inspection. While employees at Zara’s Ison Omena store feel slightly less burdened than last year, around 40% still report that their work adversely affects their health. The agency plans to conduct safety inspections at both key locations next year.