People working together – the atmosphere at Valmet from summer trainee’s perspective

The working environment is an essential part of the workplace. It doesn’t only include the building and work area but also the people. The way people treat each other at a workplace makes a difference. When you have a good atmosphere within the employees, the working environment changes towards better. If you need help, you should be able to ask for it from anyone in your team. Your supervisor should also be in good relations with everyone in the team. This of course doesn’t mean you must be best friends but working with people who get along is essential.

Before working at Valmet, I had only worked in student environments for example cafeterias, library or other study places at university, or at home. The leadership development movement organization I volunteer at, AIESEC Jyväskylä, has an office on campus but it is very different from the Valmet Järvenpää office space I work in. Our AIESEC office is relatively small, almost the size of one office room here at Valmet, and sometimes we’re more than four people working there. 

My workspace at Valmet is located in an open office area. During my first week, I got to sit with my team member, who taught me how to use all the computer programs and how to contact customers. It was nice to be able to double check immediately from my colleague while learning how everything works. My second week started at my own desk. My desk is located almost on the other side of the building from the rest of my team, but luckily, the building is not that big and it is nice to walk a bit instead of sitting all the time. The coffee room is close to my team and every day everybody from our floor gathers there to meet and catch up, regardless of the team they work in.

What I like a lot about the atmosphere here at Valmet, is that I can engage in a conversation with anyone. Coming to work is not only to sit at my desk alone but to work together with my colleagues. Even though at first it felt like as a newcomer I asked a lot of questions and needed help, after a month I still ask my colleagues for their opinion and help. And even though I know how to work alone, it’s good to have someone back up your opinion or judgement of a situation. Sometimes I still ask for help to solve some situations regarding the customers or the items we sell, and my questions always seem welcome. I am still the newcomer and I don’t know all the things that come with the job, but I don’t have to. That’s why there is a team, that’s why people work together and that’s why everyone has someone as back-up.

I’m looking forward to learn more about how this organization works and how Valmet as a company works. The business environment is something I now see for the first time after being a student for many years. I think it is exciting, how business runs, how people work and how teams work together while everyone has their area of expertise.

Welcome to follow the blog series “My Summer at Valmet”, where Valmet’s summer trainees share their experiences during summer 2017. This blog post was written by Laura Koskinen - a summer trainee in Valmet’s Spare Parts Customer Service. Laura studies Information Systems Science at the University of Jyväskylä. She is interested in combining IT and environmental affairs.

Read the next blog post from Tanja: Boilers & factories, Power business mysteries - that's what my summer is made of