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01.12.2025 09:00

“Let’s behave” campaign reminds everyone of the importance of good behaviour when Christmas shopping

Let’s behave (Ollaan ihmisiksi) campaign of the Finnish Commerce Federation and PAM launches again on 1 December 2025 during the Christmas shopping season. It seeks to raise customers’ awareness of the role their behaviour plays in promoting the occupational well-being of customer service professionals.

The message of the Ollaan ihmisiksi campaign is clear: employees in the commerce sector should be allowed to carry out their work without threats, inappropriate treatment or other disruptive behaviour. Every customer encounter is built on safe and appreciative interaction. The Finnish Commerce Federation and PAM are particularly concerned about harassment towards young employees. Everyone who visits a store can contribute to good encounters.

The campaign takes place during the busy Christmas season and aims to remind customers that a customer service professional is always a person – someone’s child, spouse, friend, loved one.

“Politeness and respectful behaviour towards customer service professionals, even when in a hurry, help to create a good atmosphere during the hectic season. It’s best to maintain a relaxed Christmas cheer when shopping,” says Anniina Ulvila, Labour Market Expert at the Finnish Commerce Federation.

Although harassment can affect anyone, the Finnish Commerce Federation and PAM are particularly concerned about harassment towards young employees.

“Commerce is the largest employer of young people in the economy, and young people are often in their first job in the commerce sector, which places them in a more vulnerable position than usual when encountering harassment. Young people in particular may also encounter harassment from customers on social media channels,” says Erika Kähärä, Occupational Health and Safety Advisor at Service Union United (PAM).

Experiencing harassment is likely to weaken work motivation and the enthusiasm to stay in the customer service sector. Encountering inappropriate behaviour can also have a significant impact on the development of professional self-esteem at an early stage of one’s career, which can have serious, long-lasting results.

The youngest customers are more likely to recognise bad behaviour than others

According to a survey* by the Finnish Commerce Federation, as many as 40 per cent of Finns have witnessed disruptive behaviour from other customers in various customer service situations. Customers’ observations of disruptive behaviour from other customers have decreased somewhat since 2022, but the situation is still worse than in 2017.  The largest number of disturbing situations occur in stores, and the majority of the disruptive behaviour is directed towards the personnel.

People under the age of 35 seem to recognise inappropriate behaviour more often than people who are older. As many as 60 per cent of people under the age of 35 have been in customer service situations where other customers have caused disturbances. The share of people over the age of 35 who have experienced the same is one third.

“It is clear that bad behaviour ruins both the joy of working for the personnel and the service experience of the customers. For retail companies, it’s also a matter of occupational safety and workplace security,” Ulvila notes.

“It’s clear that bad behaviour spoils both employees’ joy at work and customers’ service experience. For retail companies, it’s also a matter of occupational safety and workplace security,” Ulvila notes.

The Finnish Commerce Federation and PAM provide tools – a renewed guide for addressing harassment

The Finnish Commerce Federation and Service Union United PAM have jointly prepared tools, guidelines and guides to support companies in the commerce sector in difficult customer situations.

The “Threatening customer situation” online course focuses on the management and anticipation of difficult customer situations, and the purpose of the “Addressing harassment in the commerce sector” guide, which was renewed this autumn, is to provide support for both companies and employees in the commerce sector in preventing and addressing harassment. Among other things, the guide contains example guidelines for preparing companies’ own workplace-specific guidelines of measures in case of harassment and sexual harassment.

In addition, the guide provides clear and concrete guidelines for employers and employees who encounter sexual or gender-based harassment as well as other forms of harassment. Digital harassment, which has unfortunately become more common in recent years, has also been included as a new addition to the guide.

The Ollaan ihmisiksi campaign will be featured on social media channels before Christmas

The campaign is visible in @kauppa‘s and @pamliitto‘s social media and stores from 1 to 14 December.  On social media, the following campaign tags are used: #ollaanihmisiksi, #vänligtbemött and #letsbehave.

Commerce companies can communicate about the themes of the campaign either with material produced by the Finnish Commerce Federation and PAM or alternatively with their own material, which includes the common Ollaan ihmisiksi campaign slogan and a mention of the origin of the campaign.

The Ollaan ihmisiksi website contains information about the campaign, campaign materials, related studies, guides and online trainings produced by unions for companies and employees, as well as articles and statements promoting a safer service environment.

The Finnish Commerce Federation and PAM have been campaigning under the theme Ollaan ihmisiksi since 2017.

Check the campaign at ollaanihmisiksi.fi

Attachment: Consumer survey on observations of inappropriate behaviour from customers in Finland (in Finnish)

Further information:

Anniina Ulvila, Labour Market Expert, Finnish Commerce Federation, tel. +358 40 501 9674, anniina.ulvila(at)kauppa.fi

Erika Kähärä, Occupational Health and Safety Advisor, Service Union United PAM, tel. +358 (0)40 764 5295, erika.kahara(at)pam.fi

More information about the consumer survey:

Jaana Kurjenoja, Chief Economist, Finnish Commerce Federation, tel. +358 (0)40 820 5378, jaana.kurjenoja(at)kauppa.fi

For more information on the Ollaan ihmisiksi campaign:

Pia Pere-Vanhanen, Communications and Responsibility Director, Finnish Commerce Federation, tel. +358 (0) 40 867 1708, pia.pere-vanhanen(at)kauppa.fi

*Jaana Kurjenoja, Chief Economist of the Finnish Commerce Federation, has designed the consumer survey and analysed the results in cooperation with Kantar Finland. The survey was carried out during an online panel between 24 October and 3 November 2025. The sample included 2,589 web users aged 18–79.  The comparison materials for the survey are from 2017 and 2022.

Keywords:

commerce sector occupational safety

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