The cornerstone of unity

EVERYDAY AMUSEMENT 
90 WORKING BEES 

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In Finnish society, voluntary work in the form of working bees is an important form of production and social 
interaction. The objective of working bees has generally been to complete a large important task that requires a 
considerable work contribution, so neighbours, acquaintances and relatives are invited to participate. 
The essential thing about working bees is that they are purely voluntary in nature and no money changes 
hands. Neither is there any direct obligation to return the favour. 
Traditionally, participants were rewarded with good food and drink, and there would generally be a sauna 
(innovation no. 91) when the working day was over, often followed by a dance, so it was an occasion to have 
some fun together. Working bees had a considerable impact on improving production and productivity but, 
above all, they strengthened the community spirit. 
There is probably no sphere of life in which working bees were not organised, but the most common tasks were 
farming work, such as harvesting, hay-making and bringing in the potatoes. Working bees were also a common 
way of organising construction, for transporting timber or building walls or roofs, and launching and storing boats 
and hauling firewood are other typical examples. Construction bees mainly concerned men, spinning and carding 
wool was typical women’s work, and everyone would work together to bring in the harvest, gather flax and thresh 
cereals. 
Although work was not specifically asked in return, the working bee system can be viewed as being based on 
an unspoken agreement within the community, according to which each member could count on the help of 
neighbours to perform group tasks. Working bees have been an efficient way of organising work that would have 
required a massive effort from individuals or households to manage on their own, and some of this work would 
probably have ended up being left undone. Harvesting and hay-making, for instance, must be completed in a 
relatively short space of time, and working bees facilitated the quick execution of these urgent tasks; the Finnish 
climate demands that hay-making be completed within two weeks. 
Young people’s evening gatherings, where girls would do needlework and young local men would come for a 
visit, can also be considered a form of working bee. 
In south-western parts of Finland there were also other forms of mutual assistance through which certain 
village households would regularly help each other to make hay in distant meadows and with harvesting and 
threshing, and similar established working unions also existed among relatives living in different villages. 
Another form of cooperation through working bees has been traditional catering circles, whereby villagers would 
help each other in family celebrations and other parties with both the food and other practical tasks 
In modern urban surroundings voluntary work has taken new forms. For example in the city of Helsinki Ms 
Tuula Maria Ahonen established a movement called “a rubbish a day”. Participants in this movement collect litter 
and garbage from streets and parks. The city of Helsinki has provided collecting tools for those 600 persons who 
are now called “ godparents for parks”. The city also provides bulbs to these people planting in the waysides and 
parks. Other communities have similar projects. 
Finns do a lot of voluntary work in the connection of many popular events and festivals. As an example a 
remarkable voluntary work in the form of working bees was realized in the city of Lahti, where the world 
championship games in the Nordic Skiing were held in March 2017. The total of 2,700 voluntary workers helped 
to organize the games. As a reward they received costumes specially designed for the se games. They proudly 
wear the outfit as a sign of cooperation. These costumes will be preserved for decades. 
Reino Hjerppe 
– Emeritus director general,
Government Institute for Economic Research