To understand well-being at work we need to understand emotional labour. “Emotional labour” refers to a specific, critical labour process. It can be understood as the management (e.g., inducing, suppressing, redirecting) of emotions to perform a demeanour of professionalism that is appropriate for a specific working context. This is a performance, because every worker will be carrying out their tasks within social and organisational contexts that form expectations around how they act while working. Yet, while emotional labour can be an enjoyable labour process, it is not always aligned with how a worker actually feels.
One of our PAWWS members, PhD researcher Nona Borgström, participated in the International Working Dog Conference 2025 (IWDC 25) in Warwick UK, presenting her poster with the topic: Medical pain alert dogs for patients with paroxysmal pain.
The conference talks covered a broad field of expertise and research covering areas such as breeding genomics, animal welfare, technology, stress impacts on our working dogs, case reports, olfactory research.
‘So, to me it was incredible [to meet the sled dogs]. I mean, it was incredible to be able to spend time with them and stuff. But in the back of my mind, I feel a bit, you know, sad for some of them that had to pull the sled and stuff, but maybe they liked it, I don’t know.’ (Interviewee 4)
This quote is from my master’s thesis where I studied tourists’ ethical views on sled dog safaris. I had a great opportunity to research sled dog safaris as a commission for the PAWWS project. The research data consisted of six interviews with international tourists who visited sled dog kennels in Finnish Lapland. I conducted the research via video calls in spring 2025 and I focused on four larger safari operators. In this overview, I present the findings of my research.
Last month, on a cold sunny day on February 19, our researcher, Nona Borgström, part of the University of Helsinki’s (UH) veterinary science and social health section of project PAWWS, had the unique opportunity to visit the Finnish Parliament to advocate for medical pain alert dogs. This visit was timely, as discussions are underway on a legislative initiative to grant medical pain alert dogs an official status. The visit also aimed to highlight the current assistance dog situation in Finland, especially concerns about their availability and the processes involved.
ZOOM RECORDING AVAILABLE BELOW 📅 May 22, 2025 🕒 15:00–17:45 EET
Project PAWWS (People and Animal Wellbeing at Work and in Society), funded by the Research Council of Finland, invites you to a free online event. This spring event will showcase the research being conducted by PAWWS’ three work packages – from University of Lapland, University of Helsinki, and Aalto University – on multispecies wellbeing at work in Finland. You can read the bios of the PAWWS team here.
Prof José-Carlos García-Rosell will open this event by sharing about his work in developing the first sled dog welfare criteria for auditing and certifying sled dog kennels in the Finnish tourism industry. Prof Kendra Coulter will close this event with a keynote entitled “Humane Jobs and Work-Lives”.
Thank you to the speakers and participants who came to project PAWWS’ spring symposium entitled “Interspecies Wellbeing at Work”. If you were unable to attend or wish to revisit the event’s contents, a recording has been made available and is shared below.
While the holiday frenzy has faded for much of the world, in Finnish Lapland, sled dogs continue to pull tourists through the snow-covered landscapes of the North—often until late April. Particularly in more popular places such as the official hometown of Santa Claus, Rovaniemi, and the ski resort Levi, husky safaris are now established as a key attraction rating as one of the top tourism activities For many, it is becoming increasingly “difficult to imagine a visit to Lapland without huskies” (Bohn, García-Rosell, & Äijälä, 2018; 3). With approximately 2 million tourists visiting Lapland in 2024, this creates pressures on husky safaris to cater to an increasing demand. As a result, the number of sled dogs, guides, and working hours continue to rise at a concerning rate. At the moment, there are over 50 kennels ranging from 12-500 dogs per operator.
Olemme toimittaneet seuraavan lakialoitteen eduskunnalle.
Sairauskohtauksista ennakkoon hälyttävät koirat tulisi lainsäädännöllisesti asettaa samaan asemaan toimintakykyä edistävien koirien kanssa. Toimintakykyä edistäviä koiria ovat mm. opaskoirat ja avustajakoirat. Sairauskohtauksista ennakkoon hälyttäviä koiria ovat kipu- ja vireystilakoirat. Koirat hälyttävät myös muunlaisista sairaskohtauksista.
Vid genomförandet av rehabiliteringstjänster involveras hundar i allt större utsträckning i olika uppgifter. Hundars roll inom rehabiliteringen kan vara mångfaldig. Hunden kan inverka på en persons rehabiliteringsstig på flera olika sätt samtidigt. I den här artikeln kommer vi särskilt att ta fasta på interaktionen mellan människor och hundar och de fenomen som uppkommer under denna interaktion. Samarbete och kommunikation mellan människor och djur utvecklas ständigt. Den senaste forskningen ger mer kunskap och djupare dimensioner till en gemensam interaktion.
