Kids at work: candy and coding lessons

On November 22nd, we participated in the nationwide Bring Your Kids to Work Day. We were delighted to participate in this day, aimed at promoting family-friendly workplaces and increasing children’s involvement in society.

A total of 14 children gathered at our Helsinki and Tampere offices to spend the day at work with their accompanying adult. The day began with a special breakfast treat, and yes – candy was available first thing in the morning.

The first activity of the day was an introduction to Hion and discovering what their adult family member actually does at work. It turns out that at Hioni, “all they do is press keys” and “earn money for candy.” Well, they’re not too far from the truth…

After the introductions, the kids played with Legos, practiced coding with Turtle Roy, decorated the office for the holiday season, played tag, and colored their own versions of the Hion logo (or Noih logo, depending on the paper’s orientation). In Tampere, the activities also included playing memory games and UNO, as well as testing the soundproofing of the Framery meeting pod.

A highlight of the day was the shared lunch, providing a chance to bond with new friends.

Why was organizing the day important to us?

We want to highlight the diversity of our work community and remind everyone that we all have roles in life beyond being an expert or employee.

Take Your Kids to Work Day offers an opportunity to share this important part of our lives with colleagues and also to show the children what the work of an important adult in their life entails.

The day also gives children the chance to learn about what adults do in their jobs and get to know a variety of professions and roles – some they may not have even heard of before. Perhaps through this experience, we can inspire future diversity and fresh perspectives in the IT industry!

Flexibility for different situations in life.

We aim to promote a flexible work culture that takes individual life situations into account.

This includes reasonable meeting practices, avoiding early morning meetings and those scheduled late in the afternoon. If a day is interrupted by a child falling ill or taking a parent to the doctor, there’s no need to take the whole workday off. We also offer the opportunity to work part-time if it suits one’s life situation best.

We believe that we work more happily and productively when the gap between work and other life is as narrow as possible, and transitioning between the two is easy. When work is flexible and supports the unique situations in life, absences decrease, and this saves time (and nerves)!

We see that understanding the diversity of different life situations strengthens a culture where everyone can thrive as their true selves—whether it’s juggling family life, pet ownership, caring for aging relatives, or living alone.

At the end of the “Take Your Child to Work Day,” we have to ask: were the mini-Hionilaiset themselves happy with the day?

“It was fun,” said many children before the office door closed behind them.