Johanna Harjapää was never supposed to become a salesperson, but things turned out differently. Advancing to the position of service manager at ABC Nurmes was a happy coincidence for Harjapää. She had previously graduated as a security supervisor and animal attendant.

“I’ve never worked in the specific tasks I studied for. I worked for five years as a cleaner at the Raahe steel mill until I decided to switch to another field of work. I moved to Leppävirta and commuted from there to ABC Varkaus, where I worked for a few months. I then moved to Nurmes, where I started working at the local ABC service station. It was easy to join in, as the basics were already familiar to me. I was warmly welcomed by both employees and regular customers”, Harjapää says.

Harjapää has had a good start in her new job as a service manager, and she has enjoyed the work. She works mainly at the cash desk, and she also unloads shipments. In addition, she keeps the site clean and in good order, and occasionally helps in the kitchen. A manager’s work also involves some work at a computer.

“I like the fact that the work is so varied. The most interesting part is definitely unloading shipments. I never get tired of it. It’s nice that the work is physical as well. I also generally like to organise places and shelves. I’m also motivated by the responsibility and learning new things. And it’s important to get personal feedback from customers. It always warms my heart”, Harjapää says.

In addition to ABC Nurmes, Harjapää has worked at other PKO outlets. She has added to her working hours at S-market Porokylä and the S-Rauta hardware store, for example.

“The best thing at PKO has been reliability. I’ve been able to work all the time. We also have a close-knit work community in general, with many kinds of personalities. We get along well with each other.”

Balancing work and life has succeeded well according to Harjapää. The unit has been flexible regarding hobbies, for example. PKO has been a meaningful employer for Harjapää.

“PKO is an employer that suits me very well – I get to fulfil myself both at work and during leisure time. I have a dog that I take to dog shows across different regions. The dog shows take place at weekends, of course, and this has been taken into consideration in the work shifts. The hobby balances my everyday life nicely”, Harjapää concludes, smiling.