Futurice, an international IT and consultancy company, has made mental wellbeing a strategic part of its people strategy. Auntie acts as Futurice’s long-term mental wellbeing partner, supporting the company’s employees preventively — not only in challenging times, but also by strengthening resilience, adaptability, and self-leadership skills in a rapidly changing work environment. For over five years, Auntie’s low-threshold and easy-to-use service has been a core element of Futurice’s work ability management, helping to reduce stress and promote sustainable performance. The service’s global availability and measurable impact have consistently stood out in the experiences of both HR Operations Lead Katja Kainulainen and Futurice employees.
Auntie: Together towards a more humane, sustainable work life
Operating in four countries and employing hundreds of knowledge workers, Futurice strongly believes that employee wellbeing is the organisation's most valuable asset. For Futurice, wellbeing also includes mental wellness. Katja Kainulainen emphasizes that mental health should be cared for just like workplace ergonomics or physical fitness.
Auntie was initially implemented at Futurice to proactively address mental health-related absences and to deepen understanding of employee wellbeing. Auntie proved to be a suitable partner, particularly because it was already in use in similar organisations and had demonstrated results.
"When a service reaches a person at the right time, it truly makes a difference. Early support can bring significant human and financial benefits."
Katja Kainulainen,HR Operations Lead, Futurice
Global reach and measurable impact matter to Futurice
For Futurice, it's crucial that wellbeing services are accessible in all its locations. Auntie’s broad language selection and international availability make it easy to implement across teams and departments without needing country-specific solutions. “It’s a plus that we can communicate about the service globally and that it’s accessible to everyone,” says Katja.
Auntie is also HR-friendly: it doesn’t burden the team, and its impact can be monitored through the Auntie Insights platform. The platform provides anonymized data on usage, effectiveness, and employee feedback, enabling data-driven wellbeing development.
"We receive anonymous effectiveness data from Auntie, which gives us valuable insights for supporting employee wellbeing."
Accessible, timely support
Katja Kainulainen highlights that Auntie’s value lies especially in its ease and quick access. “Employees don’t need a doctor’s appointment, and there are no formal records left from using the service. This lowers the threshold to seek help in time.” The service is available quickly, even in life crises, and is suited for both professional and personal challenges.
Feedback from employees has been positive. Many have found that Auntie’s support arrived just in time—before things escalated into a crisis. “There have been cases where, without Auntie, sick leave would have been the only option, but with Auntie’s help, employees have been able to continue working,” Katja shares. This demonstrates the service’s tangible value in everyday life.
A complement, not a competitor
At Futurice, Auntie is not seen as overlapping with occupational health services but as a valuable complement. The service reaches individuals who may not want to use occupational health channels and offers neutral, low-threshold conversational support. “Employees see Auntie and occupational health as complementary, not competing,” Katja explains.
Supporting continuous change and life’s many phases
Modern work life requires ongoing self-leadership and adaptability. At Futurice, the value of Auntie’s services, such as the Bounce Back resilience packages, is recognised in developing these skills. “Work life will be in constant change. Services like Auntie provide employees with tools and opportunities to build future-proof skills,” Katja says.
Auntie’s services are built around clearly themed discussion packages, consisting of five 45-minute sessions with a professional. Topics include stress management, recovery, self-leadership, resilience, and communication skills. There are also packages for managers to support their leadership communication, handling difficult situations, and managing their own wellbeing.
In today's working world, the line between work and personal life often blurs. After a workday, employees frequently face different responsibilities and schedules. For employees navigating the busy middle years of life, total load can increase. Futurice recognises that supporting wellbeing can’t be limited to work hours alone. Auntie offers employees the opportunity to pause and address everyday challenges in a holistic manner.
Timely support that prevents absences and strengthens work ability
A cornerstone of the long-term partnership between Futurice and Auntie has been the well-functioning collaboration. “We have a skilled contact person at Auntie, and the cooperation works smoothly,” says Katja Kainulainen, adding that this makes it easy for HR to utilise the service.
More important than smooth cooperation, however, is that Auntie has reached employees when support was truly needed. Supporting wellbeing resonates across the organisation: it helps maintain work ability, strengthens employee engagement, and reduces costs from sick leave.
Frequently asked questions about Auntie and Futurice mental wellbeing partnership
What is Auntie and how does it integrate with Futurice's wellbeing program?
Auntie provides preventive mental wellbeing services that help employees strengthen their mind skills — including stress management, adaptability, resilience, communication, and self-leadership. The service offers easy access to confidential one-to-one online sessions with experienced Auntie professionals, combined with practical exercises and tools that support everyday wellbeing at work.
At Futurice, Auntie acts as a strategic mental wellbeing partner, providing employees and leaders with early support. Through Auntie’s structured mental wellbeing packages and Futurice’s culture of openness and care, the partnership helps prevent burnout, reduce absences, and strengthen key mind skills such as resilience, emotional awareness, and focus. Together, they foster a sustainable work culture that supports both individual wellbeing and long-term organisational success.
Which countries are supported?
Auntie’s services are available globally, making mental wellbeing support accessible to employees and leaders around the world. Our online sessions are provided in more than 25 languages, ensuring that everyone can receive help in a language and cultural context that feels natural and comfortable.
Whether your teams are based in Finland, Europe, or across other regions, Auntie makes it easy to provide consistent, high-quality mental wellbeing support wherever your people are.
How does Auntie Insights work for HR?
Auntie Insights gives HR real-time access to organisation-wide anonymous data on how employees use the Auntie service helping to make better decisions, build stronger wellbeing strategies, and understand trends. Built directly into the Auntie service, Auntie Insights equips HR and leadership with a continuously evolving dashboard of anonymised usage data and meaningful insights. This helps track progress, optimise support, and demonstrate impact.
What are the typical Auntie discussion packages?
Auntie’s discussion packages are short, structured mental wellbeing programs that help employees and leaders strengthen their mental wellbeing, mind skills, and resilience. Each package includes a series of one-to-one online video sessions with a qualified Auntie professional, along with practical tools and exercises that create lasting impact in everyday work life.
Employees and leaders can choose from a wide range of themes depending on their needs. See all Auntie discussion packages here.
Auntie also offers dedicated services for leaders, supporting both coping and growth in human leadership skills such as emotional intelligence, communication, and leading with empathy. These leadership discussions help managers build mental strength and confidence to lead others sustainably.
All Auntie packages are easy and quick to access, confidential, and available in several languages. They are designed for early support – helping people take care of their wellbeing before challenges grow into bigger problems.
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