| 1. |
- Aronsson, Gunnar, et al.
(författare)
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Healthy workplaces for women and men of all ages
- 2017
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this knowledge compilation is to contribute with knowledge about the work environment in relation to the ever-older workforce. How do employee needs and possibilities change from a course of life perspective? What should the employer and other work environment actors think about in order for the workforce to be able to and want to work to a high age?The Swedish Work Environment Authority wishes to give an overarching knowledge profile of different aspects of the work environment and the ageing workforce, and we therefore asked seven researchers to summarise the research-based knowledge within each of their areas, from a course of life and gender perspective. An eighth researcher acted as an editor for the anthology, and has also written the preface.In summary, the report shows that we are becoming even healthier, living ever longer and working to an ever higher age. Older people in the workforce are positive for the economy because productivity increases, and the business sector can make use of competent and experienced staff for a longer time. But for the older labour force to be healthy and want to work at higher ages, one needs to take into consideration how ageing influences health and the capacity to work. With age, all people are affected to different degrees by reduced vision, hearing and physical capacity, as well as longer reaction times. Even their cognitive capacity changes. Certain cognitive abilities are strengthened with rising age, while others deteriorate. With an ageing workforce, more employees have chronic illnesses, which, however, seldom affect the actual working ability. Changes in working life also affect health and wellbeing, for example deregulated work and the technical development. Age and previous experiences impact upon our ability to adapt to these changes. One factor that promotes adaptation is partly resilience (that is to say, resistance and the ability to adapt to the new), partly compensation strategies when the mental and physical resources change. There are no great differences between gender when it comes to the consequences of ageing on health and wellbeing in the work. On the other hand, the public health trend shows increasing differences in health between the lower educated and the higher educated - a difference increasing more quickly among women than among men. The gender-segregated labour market also means that more women than men work in physical and mentally burdensome work. Attitudes at the workplace also affect wellbeing and the will to continue working at higher ages. Men tend to be more sensitive to age discrimination while women run the risk of double discrimination, that is to say based upon both gender and age. Work environment and the attitude to an older workforce are central to the considerations that an employee makes in the choice between continuing to work and retiring. Other prerequisites that influence the decision are one’s own health, private finances and self-fulfilling activities.The employer can do a great deal to lengthen and improve their employees’ working life. Systematic work environment management benefits everyone, and it can contribute to everyone keeping their working ability and to older people wanting to and being able to work for longer. Occupational health services of good quality also play an important role. Technical aids and adaptation of the working pace and working tasks are other measures that improve the work environment for the older workforce. The employer can also contribute to stimulating work arrangements and organisational support for the employees in order to strengthen their resilience and promote the development of compensation strategies.
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| 2. |
- Axelsson, Karin, et al.
(författare)
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Hög tid att ta ansvar för samverkan
- 2011
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Ingår i: En vitbok i färg. - Västerås : Mälardalens högskola.
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Bokkapitel (populärvet., debatt m.m.)
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| 3. |
- Badarin, Kathryn, et al.
(författare)
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Safety and health among undeclared workers : A mixed methods study investigating social partner experiences and strategies
- 2024
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Ingår i: Safety Science. - : Elsevier B.V.. - 0925-7535 .- 1879-1042. ; 175
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Little is known about the experiences of the social partners in helping undeclared workers resist Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) issues. This study draws upon Walter Korpi’s ‘power resource theory’ to gain a deeper understanding of how power resources within the construction, transport, and cleaning sectors influence the ability of social partners to respond to OSH issues related to undeclared work. This mixed-method study uses survey data from employer representatives in the construction (n = 686) and transport (n = 650) sectors in Sweden in 2019 to estimate the nature and magnitude of undeclared work-related problems. To also study the view of union representatives, a duplicate survey was sent to union representatives in the transport, construction, and cleaning sectors (n = 57) in 2020, followed by 13 semi-structured interviews with Regional Safety Representatives (RSRs) in 2021–2023. Our findings show that employer representatives in construction and transport reported that the violation of OSH regulations was uncommon and remained unchanged, most union representatives said the opposite. We found a gradient of activism among the unions towards OSH issues related to undeclared work dependent on their power resources. Furthermore, structural and organizational factors limited the RSRs’ ability to address undeclared work. The RSRs identified strategies to tackle OSH issues related to undeclared work in their sectors, these included but were not limited to, dismantling the language barrier between unions and undeclared foreign-born workers, for OSH coordinators and main contractors to be held responsible for OSH violations and greater cooperation between the relevant authorities dealing with undeclared work.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Gunn, Virginia, et al.
(författare)
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Initiatives addressing precarious employment and its effects on workers' health and well-being : a protocol for a systematic review
- 2021
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Ingår i: Systematic Reviews. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 2046-4053. ; 10:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Precarious employment is a significant determinant of population health and health inequities and has complex public health consequences both for a given nation and internationally. Precarious employment is conceptualized as a multi-dimensional construct including but not limited to employment insecurity, income inadequacy, and lack of rights and protection in the employment relation, which could affect both informal and formal workers. The purpose of this review is to identify, appraise, and synthesize existing research on the effectiveness of initiatives aiming to or having the potential to eliminate, reduce, or mitigate workers' exposure to precarious employment conditions and its effects on the health and well-being of workers and their families. Methods: The electronic databases searched (from January 2000 onwards) are Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, and PubMed, along with three institutional databases as sources of grey literature. We will include any study (e.g. quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods design) evaluating the effects of initiatives that aim to or have the potential to address workers' exposure to precarious employment or its effects on the health and well-being of workers and their families, whether or not such initiatives were designed specifically to address precarious employment. The primary outcomes will be changes in (i) the prevalence of precarious employment and workers' exposure to precarious employment and (ii) the health and well-being of precariously employed workers and their families. No secondary outcomes will be included. Given the large body of evidence screened, the initial screening of each study will be done by one reviewer, after implementing several strategies to ensure decision-making consistency across reviewers. The screening of full-text articles, data extraction, and critical appraisal will be done independently by two reviewers. Potential conflicts will be resolved through discussion. Established checklists will be used to assess a study's methodological quality or bias. A narrative synthesis will be employed to describe and summarize the included studies' characteristics and findings and to explore relationships both within and between the included studies. Discussion: We expect that this review's findings will provide stakeholders interested in tackling precarious employment and its harmful health effects with evidence on effectiveness of solutions that have been implemented to inform considerations for adaptation of these to their unique contexts. In addition, the review will increase our understanding of existing research gaps and enable us to make recommendations to address them. Our work aligns with the sustainable development agenda to protect workers, promote decent work and economic growth, eliminate poverty, and reduce inequalities.
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| 7. |
- Gunn, Virginia, et al.
(författare)
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Initiatives Addressing Precarious Employment and Its Effects on Workers' Health and Well-Being : A Systematic Review
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 19:4
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The prevalence of precarious employment has increased in recent decades and aspects such as employment insecurity and income inadequacy have intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify, appraise, and synthesise existing evidence pertaining to implemented initiatives addressing precarious employment that have evaluated and reported health and well-being outcomes. We used the PRISMA framework to guide this review and identified 11 relevant initiatives through searches in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and three sources of grey literature. We found very few evaluated interventions addressing precarious employment and its impact on the health and well-being of workers globally. Ten out of 11 initiatives were not purposefully designed to address precarious employment in general, nor specific dimensions of it. Seven out of 11 initiatives evaluated outcomes related to the occupational health and safety of precariously employed workers and six out of 11 evaluated worker health and well-being outcomes. Most initiatives showed the potential to improve the health of workers, although the evaluation component was often described with less detail than the initiative itself. Given the heterogeneity of the 11 initiatives regarding study design, sample size, implementation, evaluation, economic and political contexts, and target population, we found insufficient evidence to compare outcomes across types of initiatives, generalize findings, or make specific recommendations for the adoption of initiatives.
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| 8. |
- Gunn, V., et al.
(författare)
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Labour market strategies addressing precarious employment and its impacts : A systematic review
- 2022
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Ingår i: European Journal of Public Health. - : Oxford University Press. - 1101-1262 .- 1464-360X. ; 32:Supplement_3, s. iii43-iii44
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- BackgroundPrecarious employment (PE), characterized by reduced worker rights, and employment and income insecurity, has complex public health implications including negative impacts on workers’ mental and physical health, occupational health and safety, wellbeing, and inequities in access to health and social protections. There is, however, a knowledge gap regarding effectiveness of interventions. We describe findings from a review of evaluated interventions with potential to address PE.MethodsOur systematic review followed the 2020 PRISMA framework and covered PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and sources of grey literature. We included qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods studies evaluating initiatives to reduce workers’ PE published from 2000 to 2021 and focused on adult workers.ResultsThe 23 eligible studies from across the world evaluated diverse strategies addressing PE including tax and trade reforms, industrial disputes legislation, business registration, and use of incentives to stimulate permanent contracts. Also included were union strategies to reach precarious workers, the provision of social benefits, and youth apprenticeships. Generally, while most initiatives had the potential to tackle certain PE aspects, they usually acted only on one or two PE dimensions. Additionally, the evaluation components were missing key details, thus, limiting the generalizability of findings, as did the heterogeneity of study designs, initiative purposes, economic and political context, and diverse populations targeted.ConclusionsThe increase in PE prevalence and its complex health implications requires sustainable upstream public health solutions. Multidisciplinary collaborations among public health and occupational health practitioners along with researchers, evaluation specialists, economists, and politicians could facilitate the implementation and evaluation of policies and standards regulating and monitoring PE and its health impacts.Key messages• Precarious employment has complex public health implications.• Sustainable solutions to address precarious employment must be upstream and multidisciplinary.
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| 9. |
- Håkansta, Carin
(författare)
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Ambulating, digital and isolated : The case of Swedish labour inspectors
- 2022
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Ingår i: New technology, work and employment. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0268-1072 .- 1468-005X. ; 37:1, s. 24-40
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The focus of this paper is the impact of digitalisation on a public sector organisation: the Swedish Work Environment Agency. Building on internal documents and interviews with labour inspectors and managers, it shows that ICT-enabled temporal and spatial flexibility increased the social isolation among the inspectors and that standardising technology negatively affected their work practice discretion. The interviewed inspectors considered these problems a managerial responsibility to solve. Management, in contrast, considered isolation a passing phenomenon and judged standardisation and replicability through ICT more important than inspectors' discretion. This study illustrates how new technology in an organisation, although considered necessary, raises questions about how to maintain communities of practice and how to avoid negative effects on the discretion of street-level agents. It contributes to theory by introducing the concepts of Communities of Practice and street-level bureaucracy into the discussion of isolation by digitalisation.
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| 10. |
- Håkansta, Carin
(författare)
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Between Science and Politics : Swedish work environment research in a historical perspective
- 2013
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Rapport (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this study is to look into how Swedish work environment research was formed. This is an interesting question because of the strength of the area in an international comparison and worries about the future of the field. The study focuses on two policy arenas: labour policy and science policy. Inspired by historical institutionalism and principal-agent theory, an analytical tool was developed and used to unravel the processes underlying the formation of the field. The material used for the analysis includes interviews with scientists and other stakeholders as well as government documents, monographs, articles and biographies. One conclusion is that there seems to have been a “golden age” in the history of work environment research from the 1970s until the 1990s, during which levels of research funding increased as well as the number of researchers active in the field. Reasons behind this increase can be found in the labour policy as well as the science policy arena. In the labour policy arena, the “Swedish model” facilitated collaboration between the social partners related to Swedish work environment research in various ways. The social partners have acted as research funders and lobbyists for the institutionalisation of work related research. During the 1970s and 1980s, corporativist influence in the public sector administration furthermore led the social partners to a position of direct power in matters related to funding and execution of publicly funded work environment research. In the science policy arena, an orientation towards problem-driven, applied research in the 1970s and 1980s led to more funding to the work environment research and to influence in funding decisions and the persecution of research by the social partners. In sum, both the labour and science policy arenas of the 1970s and 1980s benefitted the growth of work environment research. Another conclusion is that shifts in emphasis in Swedish science policy between scientific relevance and societal relevance have affected the development of work environment research. Before the 1970s, the emphasis was on scientific relevance until it changed for emphasis on usefulness and societal relevance in the 1970s- 1990s. After 2001, scientific relevance made a “comeback” in combination with the focus of growth of the innovation paradigm. The social partners have lobbied for problem-oriented research, while actors in the scientific community and politics have lobbied against what they perceived as undue interference from government or other stakeholders in decisions related to science. One reason for current concerns about the future of the field is the focus of Swedish science policy on scientific excellence and innovation which means that problem-oriented, applied work environment research has difficulties to compete. However, there are signs of change. Since the early 2000s the social partners finance work environment research via AFA Insurance and Swedish science policy seems to be moving back towards more focus on the societal relevance of research.
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