Only Janne Karaiste A little over three years ago, he went to Germany as a project manager for the commissioning of UPM's biorefinery in Leuna, accompanied by his wife, three-month-old daughter and two German shepherds.
“Many people said we were crazy to go abroad with such a young child without any safety nets, but we felt like it was a good opportunity to leave right then because we only needed to arrange one work schedule,” he says.
"In Germany, society also supports a situation where one parent works and the other takes care of the children, for example through family taxation. Child benefit is also about twice as much as in Finland. There is no Finnish-style maternity clinic system in Germany, but there you go to the pediatrician both for vaccinations and when the child is sick, but it works well. The doctor was always the same, he had an appointment in a private house and you could always get an appointment if necessary."
There was also peer support, as there were other Finnish family members among my coworkers, some of whom also had a spouse at home taking care of the children. This way, the spouses had each other's company during the workday.
Life was pretty typical for a family with children in Germany too.
“We lived a little outside the center of Leipzig, where there was a lake and a park nearby, so our free time was mostly spent outdoors with the dogs and the child.”
Multinational environment
The years in Germany were an overall positive experience for Karaiste.
"It was worth going, because living in another country is different than just a vacation, you learn to see things differently. For example, it was exciting to notice that dealing with the authorities was done by filling out paperwork at the office - in a way it was more laborious than in Finland, but on the other hand you always got to talk to someone. In Finland it's not always easy."
The commissioning of the biorefinery was a unique project, although it was not entirely unfamiliar to the operational engineer.
“In practice, we looked step by step at what still needed to be fixed and then fixed it. Sometimes it was hard when the days got long. However, it was great to be able to work in such a multinational environment.”
At the very beginning, he was surprised when locals asked how to address the project manager, but when he said he was just Janne, the hierarchies quickly disappeared.
Homecoming
After the child turned three, the wife returned to Finland to work first, and Janne followed.
"The return went well, because we literally returned to our own home. Even at work, even though I'm in a different position now, the work environment, working methods and, to some extent, the people are already familiar. For example, I've known my current supervisor for ten years."
The HR department contacted us well in advance, almost a year before our return, and asked about our return plans.
“Although the job in Finland was basically waiting, it is rarely appropriate to return to the exact same role you left. Together with the HR person, we looked at what positions were available. My current position as a biofuels technology project manager was completely new, and I applied for it like any new job.”
He missed Germany's milder climate, autobahns where you can drive fast, and cheaper grocery stores.
"It was quite a culture shock to go to the grocery store here, when I was used to prices in Germany being 30–40 percent cheaper."
