Hur gör ett företag som gör mer än det tidigare gjort för sin personal vid en nedläggning? Varför gör det överhuvudtaget mer än det tidigare gjort, eller ens behöver? I denna bok analyseras telekomföretaget Ericssons nedläggningar i Norrköping och Linköping under åren mellan 1999 och 2002. Författaren visar hur nedläggningarna utvecklades i samspel med sociala institutioner och i interaktion med fackliga organisationer såväl som bemanningsföretag, Trygghetsrådet och kommunala och statliga myndigheter. Här förfäktas idén att företagets agerande hängde samman med att etablerade organisationer genom sin tröghet till förändring hade skapat utrymme för nya organisatoriska lösningar i samband med rationaliseringar: bemanningsföretagen kunde nu ta över personalansvaret.

Författaren gör också en genomgång av tidigare forskning om nedläggningar och personalinskränkningar, varvid modeller redovisas som förknippats med företag som ansetts ha tagit socialt ansvar när de lagt ner eller minskat på sin personal.

According to several studies, it is difficult for highly educated immigrants to find a job that match their education. A large number of them are forced to work in low-skilled jobs to cope with their daily lives. In this study, I will examine highly educated immigrants experience of their situation in the Swedish labor market. The study aims to examine the obstacles and opportunities that highly educated immigrants face in the labor market. The study is based on internal opinions where personal experiences and reflections of different participants were analyzed. The focus of the study is how six educated immigrants describe their situation in the Swedish labor market. This paperaims to increase knowledge about highly educated immigrants' conditions, expectations, obstacles and opportunities in the Swedish labor market. The results of the interviews with the participants were analyzed using key concepts from the two sociologists Erving Goffman and Pierre Bourdieu. The results show that the lack of a valuable social network, loss of symbolic and cultural capital that the participants had in their home country, plus the various demands from the employer, which is a major focus on the Swedish language, makes it difficult for academic immigrants to find a qualified job. respond to their education.

The purpose of this study is to analyze if the parties of the labor market, the trade unions, employers and employees, consider the collective agreement as encouraging for their cooperation. The purpose is also to examine how the actors experience the employee's awareness regarding rights, obligations and shaping of the collective agreement. Previous research regarding; the collective agreement, the Swedish model, communication and cooperation were fundamental to the empirical material in the study. These concepts, as well as the neoclassical perspective, were used to process the collected data. 

The empirical data in the study was collected with the help of a qualitative method, in the form of semi-structured interviews. The interviews were carried out with the help of nine respondents with different roles in the labor market: two trade unions, two employers' and five employees’. The results show that the collective agreement, most of the time, promotes cooperation between the actors on the labor market. It also shows that the employees’ awareness regarding the collective agreement is relatively low.

I artikeln undersöks behovsanställdas relation till tillsvidareanställda, vilka problem som kan uppstå i relationerna mellan grupperna och hur behovsanställda bemöter dessa. Med utgång i Lysgaards teori om de underordnades arbetarkollektiv pekar resultaten på att bristande närhet, likhet och gemensam problembild bidrar till att behovsanställda hamnar utanför gemenskapen och behandlas kränkande. Tre handlingsstrategier som används för att möta problemen har identifierats. I artikeln framhålls att strategierna riskerar att reproducera situationen.

 This study takes its premise in an earlier survey amongst persons working in a knowledge based company during the fall of 2013. That survey showed that one of the workgroups (the activity developers) perceived that the work interfered with their free time. That is the reason a study was done with the purpose of acquiring knowledge by interviewing activity developers about the phenomena, in which the individuals experience difficulties with disconnecting themselves from work in their free time. 

This study aimed to acquire knowledge about the underlying factors relating to this phenomena. The questions that form the basis of this study are; what are the causes that negatively impact the participant’s free time? Could it be related to organizational problems? How could an organization limit this impact? 

The result indicated that all participants have what we refer to as unregulated work, based in four dimensions; time, execution, workplace, and collaboration. According to the study it is clear that the participants feel that there is a lack of support in their work; experience a low degree of social support in the workplace, and it that clear goals are lacking. Management of expectations, is also seen as a contributing factor. The study concludes that the organization should invest more in education, teambuilding and work towards defining goals and tasks in order to reduce the impact on the participants and their free time. 

Todays society is characterized by a constant change and development, which requires the school to develop at the same rate as the rest of society. The school should be equivalent to everyone. How can this be insured if we do not know which factors that affect the implementation of educational models? By ensuring the factors that affect implementation, better results can be achieved. This makes it more likely that the new educational model is used and becomes part of the everyday work. To make an implementation possible, a change work is carried out in the organization.

We have conducted a qualitative study whose purpose is to study which factors teachers experience may affect the implementation of a new educational model in school. The survey has been conducted at three schools in a town in Sweden. The form of the interview has been semi-structured, two of which have been held in groups and one individual. Through the interviews we have acquired empirical evidence for our study.

The result show that there are many different factors that affects, often in combination with each other, how well an implementation results in. The factors that are significant and have been made visible in our survey are the following: Relevance, attitude, advantageous, easy-to-use, customizable, coaching, support, time, participation, follow-up systems, clear results, culture and communication.           

Title: An active chain process of self-leadership: Dynamically practising self-leading strategies for sustainability.

Keywords: Active and dynamic, Chain process of self-leadership, Self-leadership strategies

Background: Sustainability is important and of current interest, requiring all organisations to be well-functioning, committed to sustainability and create strategic decisions for their long-term sustainability. Organisations thence benefit from training the employees into self-leaders, as it results in beneficial outcomes that lead to greatness within organisations, and hence society at large.

Research question: Why do individuals succeed in maintaining and practising an active chain process of self-leadership?

Purpose: This study aims to understand why individuals sustain maintaining an active chain process of self-leadership by dynamically practising self-leadership strategies, where they continue to be self-aware, manage and lead themselves, practice self-leadership strategies, attain self-efficacy and achieve beneficial outputs that in extension contribute to a more efficient and long-term sustainable society. To better understand what activates the chain process of self-leadership and creates the dynamic, the authors have developed a summarising model (see model 5.1 in chapter 5).

Method: The study is of qualitative character with an abductive research approach, where the empirical data have been collected through semi-structured interviews and a collective case study design with ten informants who practise self-leadership, and then analysed by the Gioia method.

Findings: The chain process of self-leadership is holistic and what maintains it active are feelings of well-being, competence, and efficacy, as well as succeeding, contributing to a greater good and seeing things in a greater context. Of significance is to be reminded and followed up regularly.

Paper type: Master thesis

The purpose of this study is to examine what university students find most attractive when choosing a future employer and whether there are differences in how men and women prioritize when selecting a future employer. The study was conducted using a qualitative method, and the collected data was analyzed through thematic analysis, organizing the material into seven themes. These themes are based on what our respondents identified as the key factors influencing their choice of employer. The material was analyzed using theoretical perspectives on motivation, self-determination, and gender aspects.

The results show that both men and women highly value intrinsic factors when choosing a future employer, such as job tasks, opportunities for development, and work motivation. The analysis indicates that there are no significant differences between men and women in what they value most in a future employer. This study contributes to a better understanding of the factors that influence university students when choosing their future employers. The findings of this study can be useful for companies and organizations in their recruitment strategies to attract and retain newly graduated talent.

In conclusion, the results of our study show that both male and female university students largely value the same attributes and qualities in choosing an employer, particularly intrinsic factors such as job tasks and opportunities for development. This result provides companies with important insights into what students entering the job market are looking for, enabling them to develop effective strategies to attract new, competent workforce.

This qualitative study aims to investigate how the employees in the munipacility of Halmstad practice the vision - Halmstad 2020 and its value foundations in their working process. We have applied theories about communication, value-based and expressive leadership, leadership in public organizations and Human Resource Management. In total, we performed two interviews with informants, and ten interviews within two different administrations in the munipacility. We have also taken note of various documents that has been the basis of our study. The results indicated that several of the respondents experienced the vision as abstract and vague. It also appeared that communication about the vision was insufficient in the two administrations. Further, the results also indicated that leadership is an important matter in the working process towards a vision. Our conclusion is that the work towards a vision is covered by good communication, a value-based/expressive leadership and that a practice of human resources management are integrated in to the organizations overall vision.

Abstract

Objectives The aim of the study was to examine effects of mindfulness on stress, wellbeing, compassion and burnout, conducting a brief mobile phone-based mindfulness intervention on teachers. Methods Fifty-five teachers from private and public schools, including pre-school, elementary school, middleschool, secondary- and upper secondary school and adult education school was recruited. 25 teachers completed pre- and post-test (mindfulness, N=20, relaxation, N=5). High dropouts in control led to exclusion of this group in pre- to posttest analysis. The mindfulness treatment comprised of ten minutes of mindfulness meditation for ten sessions at a time and place convenient to the teacher. Results Findings showed that the mindfulness group significantly improved mindfulness trait, and wellbeing, a trend of increased compassion was also found. Overall stress, and teacher-specific stress decreased significantly in the mindfulness group. Burnout showed no significant differences. Correlation tests including all teachers at pre-test showed that high mindfulness trait was associated with higher compassion, wellbeing, and lower levels of stress and burnout. At post-test, high mindfulness trait was associated with higher compassion, wellbeing, and lower levels of burnout and stress, however, not teacher-specific stress. Increases in mindfulness trait from pre- to posttest was related to improvements in all five health outcomes. Conclusions This mobile phone-based mindfulness intervention showed significant improvements on several health outcomes on teachers. Findings indicate that mindfulness trait may explain the change in health outcomes. The current study argues for the need of considering teacher-specific context in digital interventions to improve adherence and preventing dropouts.

The objective of this study has been to examine how a recruiting process may work in a highly skilled industry and how the involved Human Resources (HR) personnel describe it. Of particular focus was how the competence profile was used throughout the recruiting process. To meet this objective, two research questions were developed: How may a recruiting process work? How may the competence profile be used during a recruiting process and what obstacles and opportunities may consequently present themselves.

The study was conducted utilizing the qualitative method. The results are based on seven semi-structured interviews conducted at an HR department at a highly skilled organization. We have used established theory about the recruiting process, competence profile, about decision-making and the various perspectives on recruiting.

The results show that the recruiting process generally is a formalized process and contains pre-defined steps and various selection methods. In the end, the decision is made based on a comprehensive and all-inclusive review of the applicant. The study also shows that the competence profile is considered valuable, although not always of a top priority. Moreover, the study shows that the competence profile enables the identification of the recruiting need, facilitates matching of applicants, and is used to support decisions throughout the process. Noted obstacles were time constraints, an already biased view due to the previous employee which held the position, and that a favorite candidate existed early on in the process.

Sammanfattning

Titel: Alltid tillgänglig?” En kvalitativ studie om hur tjänstemän i fastighetsbolag upplever tillgänglighet i arbetslivet.”

Författare: Camilla Andreasson och Emma SöderholmHandledare: P-O Börnfelt

Högskolan i Halmstad VT 17

Syfte

Studiens syfte är att undersöka tillgänglighet och förväntningar på tillgänglighet för arbete på och utanför arbetsplatsen bland tjänstemän i fastighetsbolag.

Frågeställningar

• Hur tillgängliga är tjänstemän för arbete och varför är de tillgängliga?

• På vilket sätt har arbetsplatskultur betydelse för hur tjänstemän upplever förväntningar

  på tillgänglighet?

  Material och metoder

  Studien har genomförts genom kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Studiens respondenter är tjänstemän i fastighetsbolag. Teorikapitlet består av teorier om gränslöst arbete, tillgänglighet, arbetsplatskultur, samt en arbetsmiljöföreskrift från arbetsmiljöverket. Materialet har analyserats med en hermeneutisk ansats.

  ”Meningen hos en del kan endast förstås om den sätts i samband med helheten.” Alvesson och Sköldberg (2008:193)

  Hermeneutiken innebär därmed att empiri behöver tolkas utifrån ett större sammanhang för att vi ska kunna förstå den.

  Huvudresultat

  Det framgår i studien att respondenterna verkar ha höga förväntningar på sig själva att vara tillgängliga för arbete både på och utanför arbetsplatsen. Det verkar också finnas en kultur på arbetsplatsen där hög tillgänglighet är norm.

  Nyckelord

  Gränslöst arbete, gränsdragning, tillgänglighet, förväntningar, arbetsplatskultur, riktlinjer.

The purpose of this study is to create a greater understanding of recruitment with artificial intelligence and how this affects the recruitment process. We want to see the effects of AI application and its impact on inclusion and diversity among candidates. Our questions are: How can AI-based recruitment add more efficient processes and results compared to traditional processes from a recruiter's perspective? and How can AI-based recruiting lead to fairer and more unbiased hiring decisions that promote inclusion and diversity from the perspective of recruiters?  

The theories studied are based on LCS and signal theory. The study is based on a qualitative method where seven recruiters were interviewed. The empirical material was collected from six organizations in Sweden and one organization in Norway. The results of the study's first question show a general efficiency improvement around time saving, reduced workload, flexibility and fewer misrecruitments. Furthermore, the results of the second question indicate an improvement regarding inclusion and diversity in recruitment processes. The decisions made by artificial intelligence are based on competence and not on the prejudices that human decisions can entail. 

Svensk äldreomsorg tycks stå inför problem då den svenska befolkningen blir äldre och fler behöver äldrevård, samt ser man en minskning av antalet chefer och att det har blivit en oattraktiv arbetsplats. Tidigare forskning visar att tillit till chefen har positiva effekter i organisationen och personalens välbefinnande. Författarna vill undersöka huruvida det förekommer likheter och skillnader i hur personal och chefer tänker kring begreppet "

tillit till chefen". Författarna har inte funnit några studier gällande angående tillit till chef utförda i svensk äldrevård. Studien är av kvalitativ metod i kombination med en hermeneutisk tolkning. Resultaten visar att både personal och chefer anser att lyhördhet samt chefens tillgänglighet är viktiga faktorer för tillit till chefer. Samtliga chefer anser att tillit byggs upp tillsammans av alla parter på arbetsplatsen. Vissa ur personalen anser att det är av stor vikt att chefen arbetat som vårdare inom äldrevården för att kunna förstå den problematik som finns i arbetet. Personalen tycker tillit till chefen är en tidskrävande process. Författarna har dragit slutsatsen att detta forskningsområde innebär viss tvetydighet då tillit som begrepp är en social konstruktion och har olika innebörd för olika personer.

BAKGRUND: De senaste 20 årens utveckling med mer än en fördubbling av antalet elever i särskolan, höjda krav på arbetsmarknaden och en ökning av antalet personer som kategoriseras som funktionshindrade är troligen några av faktorerna bakom den kraftigt ökade efterfrågan på bl.a. daglig verksamhet (LSS). Tendensen verkar vara att många går direkt från gymnasiesärskolan till daglig verksamhet och därmed riskerar att isoleras i en roll som ”omsorgstagare”. Inlåsningseffekten i daglig verksamhet är betydande. Endast ett fåtal individer som beviljats daglig verksamhet bedöms gå vidare i någon form av anställning på arbetsmarknaden.

Bristen på kunskap om livet efter gymnasiesärskolan, är betydande och den tidigare forskningen på området är mycket begränsad. Detta gäller särskilt systematisk kunskap om arbetsmarknaden och intellektuella funktionshinder. Som exempel kan nämnas att det idag inte finns några statistiska uppgifter kring hur stor andel av de som tar studenten från gymnasiesärskolan som sedan går vidare till daglig verksamhet respektive lönearbete. Vi känner inte heller närmare till vad som händer med de unga med gymnasiesärskolebakgrund som väljer bort den dagliga verksamheten till förmån för att försöka etablera sig den reguljära arbetsmarknaden. Dessutom saknas kunskap kring de framgångsfaktorer som leder till att personer med gymnasiesärskolebakgrund kan ta sig in, och bli kvar, på densamma.

SYFTE: Att öka kunskaperna om övergången mellan skola och arbetsliv för personer med gymnasiesärskolebakgrund med särskilt fokus på faktorer som stärker deras position på arbetsmarknaden och möjliggör en anställning. 

METOD: Delstudie ett är kvantitativ och baseras på registerstudier i två olika register (LSS och LISA). Genom en statistisk kartläggning belyses situationen för samtliga elever som gick ut gymnasiesärskolan mellan åren 2001 och 2011. Avhandlingen byggs upp av totalt två till tre delstudier där den inledande studiens resultat blir avgörande för följande delstudiers antal, omfattning och inriktning. Dessutom planeras longitudinella uppföljningar av populationen vart femte år. Uppskattningsvis kommer den första delstudien att omfatta drygt 17 000 personer.

RESULTAT: Datainsamlingen i den första delstudien i forskningsprojektet ”Särskolan – och sen?” påbörjades i september 2011. Vi tidpunkten för konferensen HAB 2012 kommer de första resultaten i delstudie ett att kunna presenteras: hur stor andel av de elever som har gått ut gymnasiesärskolan i Sverige mellan 2001-2011 som finns i daglig verksamhet, hur många som har arbete, ev. skillnader mellan olika regioner och kommuner, ev. skillnader mellan könen etc.

SLUTSATS: I samband med HAB 2012 kommer slutsatser från den första delstudien att presenteras.

Syftet med studien är att få en inblick i hur IT-konsulter anställda på ett konsultföretag upplever deras anställningstrygghet. Vidare är syftet att undersöka hur IT-konsulter upplever förändringar i deras arbetsinnehåll och vilka arbetsrelaterade delar som identifierats som ett behov. Resultatet har samlats in via åtta semi-strukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer. En abduktiv förståelseansats samt ett hermeneutiskt förhållningssätt har använts. För att analysera resultatet har teorierna job insecurity, prekariatet, inköpsmodellen och främlingen använts. Det huvudsakliga resultatet visar på att IT-konsulter känner sig relativt trygga i sin anställning och att det framför allt grundar sig i deras särskilda kompetens. Vidare visar resultatet att IT-konsulter ser positivt till förändringar i deras arbetsinnehåll vid nya kunduppdrag samtidigt som vissa delar i arbetsinnehållet utgör behov hos konsulter.

The Swedish labour market is changing and becoming more individualized and flexible. The law on employment protection will be further challenged and there are discussions about changing this law. This essay deals with which strategies Handelsanställdas förbund Avd 3 has to accommodate individualization and flexibility.The purpose of this essay is based on current theories of individualization and flexibility, meaning, changing processes in work life and examine how a trade union (Handels) experience changes, and whether the union's behavior is affected by processes of change.The theories and previous research underlying this essay deals with theories of individualization, flexibility and labour law.We have made four semi-structured interviews with trade union officials in Halmstad.The result is divided into four themes: trade union activities, individualization, flexibility, and labour law. Handels is working on issues such as work environment, salary and work hours. Strategies Handels are using to accommodate individualization, is to communicate with young people in an early stage.If young people are more individualized in today's society than yesterday's society, Handels may in the long term have a problem. With the problem, it means that if young people will not be members on the basis of an individual choice, this may lead to Handels losing members and thus their negotiation strength in the labor market.

In this study the aim was to investigate employees' self-perceived factors for motivation to work. Furthermore, the aim was also to investigate whether these factors differ between men and women. The study was conducted at an organization operating in the warehouse industry. A survey with seven questions, as well as questions about the background variables gender and age, was sent out to approximately 140 employees, of which 107 participated. The questions were about internal and external factors for motivation to work.

Our results show that the motivational factors our survey covered were considered important for the majority of respondents. The two factors that stood out the most were salary and secure employment, which the majority of respondents considered to be the most important. Despite the fact that there were no statistically significant differences regarding the difference between men's and women's answers, one can still draw the interesting conclusion that according to the survey, a tendency could be seen that women considered the internal motivation factors more important than men.

I vår studie har vi följt projektet Nollklassade, som har i syfte att utveckla och implementerasamordningsmetoder mellan Kommunen, Försäkringskassan, Arbetsförmedlingen ochVården. Målet med projektet är att öka samordningen mellan myndigheterna för att dessa påbästa sätt ska kunna stödja de individer som saknar sjukpenninggrundande inkomst,Nollklassade. Syftet med vår studie var att se utvecklingen av samordningsmetoder, vilkahinder och möjligheter som uppstår samt vilka förutsättningar som finns för att projektet skaleda till en hållbar utveckling. Studien genomfördes med induktiv ansats och kvalitativ metod.Data samlades in via semi-strukturerade intervjuer med anställda från varje organisation föreframtagandet av teorier och tidigare forskning. Det insamlade materialet kategoriseradessedan upp i ämnen där vi utgick från våra frågeställningar; Uppdrag och mål,Samordningsmetoder, Hinder och möjligheter samt Förutsättningar för hållbarhet. Resultatetvisar att implementeringen av samordningsmetoder har kännetecknats av kontinuerligautvärderingar och samverkan mellan myndigheternas chefer, samt handläggarna påKommunen och Försäkringskassan. I vår studie fann vi att organisationsmedlemmarnasattityd mot varandra kan bli ett hinder. Men det största hindret kan den Nollklassade vara,som kan själv förhindra att myndigheterna samverkar med varandra.

The last few years have witnessed an increased development of applications and services aimed at organisational communication and interaction. Instant messaging, enterprise social networks and web-based systems for time tracking are often assumed to facilitate organisational communicative practices. While providing a vast array of possibilities, applications and services of this kind also provoke changes at the level of social interaction and communication in the physical workplace environment. Taking its point of departure in an auto-ethnographic account of processes involved in the author’s becoming part of a digital workplace environment, this paper critically considers core characteristics of organisational communicative technologies as well as their social and material implications. In overall terms, this paper suggests that technologies of this kind allows for a layering of the workplace environment that facilitates the establishment of serendipitous relationships and interactions as well as providing a blurring of the boundaries of corporate positions and hierarchies while simultaneously giving rise to a complex set of surveillance techniques and power relations.

The aim of this study is to create an understanding of how a bureaucratic organization is structured in order to be rule-driven as well as adjustable to participants and how this affects the individuals that participate in the activities provided by the organization. To achieve the purpose, we have sought to answer the following questions:

• How is the cooperation with the consultant perceived among the participants?

• What does Arbetslivsresurs’ working method with participants in the transition look like?

• How does the consultant adjust the meeting to each participant?

To be able to achieve the aim, a qualitative method has been used. An interview has been conducted with a consultant who works with transitions at Arbetslivsresurs. In addition, eight interviews have been conducted with participants who have been involved in transitions connected to Arbetslivsresurs. The results show that the consultant uses an individualized method in the meetings with participants. Furthermore, the results show to a large extent, that the cooperation has generated positive experiences for the participants as well as an experience of a personalized treatment.

The purpose of our survey is to investigate how internal employer branding is used and how it can be useful to attract and satisfy existing staff. In order to respond to our purpose, we have used three questions: What factors contributing to the employer being perceived as attractive by existing staff? In what way does the organization work internally with employer branding to be an attractive employer?, and how is the work with the employer branding internally communicated within the organization?

In order to answer our questions and achieve the purpose, we have used a method combination. Quantitative surveys with the staff, too investigate which factors that are considered most important for the employer to be attractive and a qualitative interview with an employer representative, to find out how the employer works with the internal employer branding and how the communication looks like.

The results show that the social part of the work, with community and support of colleagues proves to be most important for the employer to be considered attractive. Interesting and meaningful work is also considered to be very important by the staff. To investigate the needs of the staff and their expectations can be a good idea. To work internally to be an attractive employer can provide an advantage for employers in an increasingly competitive labor market. Communication in an organization is also extremely important and central to how employees perceive their employers. 

This study concerns teacher´s professional identity from three perspectives. Teacher students, professional teachers and HR at two school administrations in Western Sweden. The study deals with how the professional identity of the student and teachers look today, what it is built up of and how HR relates to the teacher’s professional identity. What is the benefit of studying professional identity for the organization and the individuals.  The study is of a qualitative nature and data has been collected through 6 semi-structured interviews. The result shows that the teacher students have a strong professional identity linked to the teacher role, which is created a lot in relation to VFU during the education and  in the expectations of the future professional role. The teacher´s professional identity tends to grow stronger over time and the results for both students and teachers show that the identity is linked to certain parts of the teaching role, parts that the individual himself has the strongest interest for. The result around HR shows that both administrations work with the teacher´s professional identity. Management 1 wishes to eliminate a strong professional identity among the teachers to create a greater tendency for change and focus on the collective efforts and division of labor. Management 2 works to increase the teacher’s specialization and the core assignment that the teachers have. Common to the administrations is their desire for teachers to feel a greater identity also to the organization. From HR it appears that the administrations face a great challenge in the need to reorganize the teacher´s work as a result of the teachers to find a loyalty to the employer. The employer way of retaining and attracting staff is based on understanding the needs of the staff. Understanding the professional identity of their employees can therefor help the organization to form a HR strategy where the teachers perform most effectively in their role.

The purpose of the study has been to investigate and gain an understanding of how officials at a medium-sized company value and motivate their skills development. We also wanted to investigate, based on the managers' reflections, on the company's needs and what opportunities development of skills can mean for the individual and the organization.

The method that has been chosen is a qualitative method and the empirical material was obtained through semi-structured interviews. Eight respondents, two managers and six officials participated in the study. The study's results were analyzed using previous research and theoretical frameworks that were considered relevant to the study.

The results showed that the respondents were positive about competence development. What also emerged, was that the respondents valued most in the area, was the exchange of skills that took place between the company's employees when developing skills. Based on the results, it has emerged that the exchange of skills in the organization, has been what has given the employees the most value in competence development. Further investment in the area has been able to lead to an increased exchange of skills within the business.

Organizational climate and related factors are associated with outcome and are as such of vital interest for healthcare organizations. Organizational Readiness for Change (ORC) is the questionnaire used in the present study to assess the influence of organizational factors on implementation success. The respondents were employed in one of 203 Swedish municipalities within social work and psychiatric substance/abuse treatment services. They took part in a nationwide implementation project organized by the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR), commissioned by the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare. Aim The aims were: (a) to identify classes (clusters) of employees with different ORC profiles on the basis of data collected in 2011 and (b) to investigate ORC profiles which predicted the use of assessment instruments, therapy methods and collaborative activities in 2011 and 2013. Design and recruitment The evaluation study applied a naturalistic design with registration of outcome at consecutive assessments. The participants were contacted via official e-mail addresses in their respective healthcare units and were encouraged by their officials to participate on a voluntary basis. Statistics Descriptive statistics were obtained using SPSS version 23. A latent profile analysis (LPA) using Mplus 7.3 was performed with a robust maximum likelihood estimator (MLR) to identify subgroups (clusters) based on the 18 ORC indexes. Results A total of 2402 employees responded to the survey, of whom 1794 (74.7%) completed the ORC scores. Descriptive analysis indicated that the respondents were a homogenous group of employees, where women (72.0%) formed the majority. Cronbach's alpha for the 18 ORC indexes ranged from α = 0.67 to α = 0.78. A principal component analysis yielded a four-factor solution explaining 62% of the variance in total ORC scores. The factors were: motivational readiness (α = 0.64), institutional resources (α = 0.52), staff attributes (α = 0.76), and organizational climate (α = 0.74). An LPA analysis of the four factors with their three distinct profiles provided the best data fit: Profile 3 (n = 614), Profile 2 (n = 934), and Profile 1 (n = 246). Respondents with the most favorable ORC scores (Profile 3) used significantly more instruments and more treatment methods and had a better collaborating network in 2011 as well as in 2013 compared to members in Profile 1, the least successful profile. Conclusion In a large sample of social work and healthcare professionals, ORC scores reflecting higher institutional resources, staff attributes and organizational climate and lower motivational readiness for change were associated with a successful implementation of good practice guidelines for the care and treatment of substance users in Sweden. Low motivational readiness as a construct may indicate satisfaction with the present situation. As ORC proved to be an indicator of successful dissemination of evidence-based guidelines into routine and specialist healthcare, it can be used to tailor interventions to individual employees or services and to improve the dissemination of and compliance with guidelines for the treatment of substance users. © 2017

This study scrutinizes Swedish news organizations’ strategies to navigate the psychosocial implications of online harassment toward journalists, drawing from interviews with 14 media managers across local and national media outlets. Employing institutional theory, the findings highlight managerial prioritization of physical safety, while concurrently undervaluing the mental strain induced by subtle online harassment, viewed as an occupational hazard intrinsic to the profession. Consequently, their comprehension of work environment responsibilities is shaped through their cognitive assimilation, influenced by their sociocultural environment and industry affiliation, which precludes them from recognizing online harassment as an organizational challenge. This, in turn, hinders a systematic and reflexive approach toward managing the multifaceted manifestations of online harassment. The significance of the study transcends merely identifying barriers, offering insights into the underlying institutional structures and practices that perpetuate them. These insights are pivotal for devising strategies that mitigate the detrimental impacts of online harassment in journalism. © (2023), (Roskilde University). All Rights Reserved.

Denna undersökning syftar till att förstå anställdas och mellanchefers uppfattningar om införandet av ett nytt system för kompetensutveckling i Habiliteringen i Handikapp-förvaltningen Västra Götalandsregionen. Vi har ställt oss följande två frågor: Vilka uppfattningar finns och vad för slags reaktioner har uppkommit bland anställda och mellanchefer vid förändringsarbetet? Vilka följder kan dessa reaktioner ha fått för förändringsarbetet? För att kunna besvara dessa frågor har vi gjort fyra individuella intervjuer med mellanchefer och fyra gruppintervjuer med anställda, där sammanlagt 14 anställda deltog. Resultatet av undersökningen visar att anställda och mellanchefer har svagt intresse för det nya kompetensutvecklingssystemet när det gäller både dess användning och dess vidareutveckling. Det svaga intresset tror vi bland annat beror på att anställda och mellanchefer, på grund av bristande information om systemet, har endast ringa kunskap om dess innebörd och heller inte förstår dess syfte. Det svaga intresset kan även bero på att anställda och mellanchefer över lag ser få positiva aspekter med systemet för egen del.

The digitalization of working life has contributed with several positive aspects for the organisation, the individual as well as third party actors. On the other hand the work life are experiencing an increasing sense of illness and not much effort have been focused towards understanding the digitalizations effect on workers wellbeing. The aim of this study is to increase the understanding regarding if and in that case how increasing accessibility of information and communication through information and communication technology (ICT) can provoke or counteract the experience of stress amongst employees. The aim is concretised with two research questions which aim to research if nursing assistants within the homecare experience the increased accessibility by smartphones during as well as outside standard work hours provoke or counteract the feeling of stress.  The study departs from a qualitative research approach where eight nursing assistants within the municipal home care are interviews in order to answer the research questions.

Overall the result shows that smartphones might facilitate the work of nursing assistants within the homecare due to easier communication and an increasing accessibility of information which in turn might lead to counteracting the feeling of stress.  The increasing accessibility by smartphones do not have to provoke a feeling of stress during work nor outside standard work hours if the individual experiences control and therefore are able to handle the situation that is suitable for he or she. Additionally, the accessibility of such information outside standard work hours that have been counteracted by smartphones might decrease the feeling of stress.

The research intension is to study how the workplace situation and interaction is perceived by employees working in a workplace that also uses temporary hired employees through employment agencies. I will investigate how ordinary employees and temporary hired employees in a workplace experiences four different aspects; security, employability, commitment and solidarity. The study is based on ten qualitative interviews.

By using the collected empirical, earlier research and theories, I will do an analysis which describes and explains the reasons for the similarities and differences in the two groups of employees, and their perspective of the four aspects studied.  How the four different perspectives is influenced by one another, will be analyzed by using a matrix. Through the wide perspective of the terms security, employability, organizational commitment and solidarity I found interesting views of the experiences of the permanent employees are affected by the company’s use of temporary hired employees.    

As a result of globalization, multinational teams are being more frequently used in today´s businesses. This specific type of team can be described as heterogeneous when it comes to nationality and linguistics. The aim of this study was to explore the concept of multinational teams. This was made using culture as a main concept, and nationality, linguistics, and organizational culture in order to describe it. We intended to say something about how this type of team´s efficiency; when it comes to satisfaction and performance; was affected by national and linguistic heterogeneity within the team. While analyzing differences between the teams’ efficiency when it comes to satisfaction and performance, we also intended to say something about how organizational culture can affect this.

This study was made by using a qualitative approach, with focus on a deductive way of doing it. Four different case studies were conducted in order to support this study. A total of seven different respondents where used in this study and their narratives are together with the theoretical framework the basis for this study´s analysis and conclusions.

This study reveals that perceived efficiency when it comes to satisfaction and performance can be affected by national and linguistic heterogeneity among team members in multinational teams. It also suggests that organizational culture can be used in order to overshadow these differences among team members, and that this in turn affects the perceived efficiency. A straightforward answer regarding nationality, linguistic, and organizational culture´s influence on multinational team´s efficiency, was never given from the case studies. Instead, this seemed to vary from case to case. Two extremes were yet to be found. When nationality and linguistic heterogeneity were easy to observe, low efficiency was perceived in the multinational team. In contrast, when organizational culture was easy to observe, high efficiency was perceived within the multinational team. This suggests that organizational culture can override national and linguistic heterogeneity when it comes to creating high performance and satisfaction among members of multinational teams.

The purpose of this study is to explore how workplace identity is perceived by warehouse workers in a Swedish wholesale company and how it affects their experience of work and wellbeing in the workplace. Furthermore, the purpose of this study is to explore how organizing work and work tasks affects workplace identity. This study's general issue is How is workplace identity affected by how work and tasks are organized? To gain a deeper understanding of the concept of workplace identity we have applied Social Identity Theory and Need to belong theory. To collect empirical material a qualitative research was applied in the study by doing seven semi-structured interviews. The respondents in our study consists of people working as warehouse workers, who had at least one year of experience in the company and developed an opinion about the workplace.

The study results show that workplace identity is associated with a sense of belonging with other individuals and a sense of belonging to work tasks. Furthermore, the results show that workplace identity is of importance to warehouse employees wellbeing and work attitudes. Finally, the result shows that workplace identity is specific to the context and of greater importance in work that is performed in groups. 

In all workplaces there are some type of a leader, a leader who in some way must guide and drive the work-group towards success. Today, there is a lot of research into what drives the employee forward and creates motivation. Research that is harder to find on the other hand is how the actual managers work about creating motivation and what their own view is of their leadership.

The purpose of this study is to fill that knowledge gap by finding out how managers view their own leadership, what view they have of their employees and how they feel they work with motivating their work group. In order to find out, a qualitative study of eight interviews with managers of different levels in the industrial sector was carried out, based on McGregor's theory X and Y, in Lewin's three leadership styles; authoritarian, democratic and let-go and in self-determination theory. In the study, the focus has been on the managers' perspective, which gives a subjective picture based on the respondents in the study's perspective.

The results of the study showed that the managers view their employees based on Theory Y, which means that they see people as voluntary workers and that people have the ability to make their own decisions. How the leadership styles could be applied to the managers was not as clear as there were elements of both the authoritarian and the let-go leadership style, but it turned out that the democratic leadership style was dominant among the managers. Finally, it could be stated that managers use both internal and external motivational factors to motivate their work group. Based on their motivation exercise, however, the managers show that it is the inner motivational factors that the greatest focus is on in order to achieve a high level of motivation.

The purpose with this study is to identify wich stressors construction managers experience and also how they cope with them. The purpose was answered with the questions: What stressors do construction managers experience in the construction industry? What copingstrategies do they use to cope with the stressors? The study is qualitative and eight semi structural interviews was implemented. The study shows that construction managers experience lack of information, time pressure and unpredictable changes as the primary stressors. The managers used physical training, social support among family and colleagues, changing the situation and changing the feelings as primary coping strategies.

The spiritual leadership literature suggests that such leadership has a positive influence on organizations' productivity and profitability as well as on employees' enjoyment and well-being. In a qualitative study conducted at a Swedish abbey for nuns, using interviews, observations, correspondence, and documents, this research indicates that spiritual leadership may pose negative risks to organizations and their leaders. Risks in spiritual leadership that are indicated include a culture of narrow-mindedness and leadership rotation failure that can lead to rigidity and to the leader's work overload because of the demand for limitless empathy and for personal sacrifice. The findings should be viewed as an inspiration for further research.

Syftet med vår uppsats var att undersöka vad som motiverar chefer att stanna inom sin nuvarande organisation samt vilken påverkan faktorer som introduktion, utveckling, utvärdering och belöning har för dessa chefers vilja att stanna och se långsiktigt på deras arbetsgivare. För att försöka reda ut detta har vi i denna studie utgått från två frågor: Utifrån faktorerna introduktion, utveckling, utvärdering och belöning - vad är viktigt för chefer för att de ska vilja stanna hos sin nuvarande arbetsgivare? Hur har faktorerna introduktion, utveckling, utvärdering och belöning påverkat chefer i deras val i att lämna deras senaste arbetsplats?

I denna uppsats har vi använt oss av triangulering, vilket syftar till att vi använt dels kvantitativ metod genom en enkät för att kunna besvara den första av våra två frågor. Vi har dels också använt oss av kvalitativ metod semistrukturerade intervjuer och observation för  att kunna besvara den andra av våra två frågor. Så vilka var våra respondenter? Vi utfört denna undersökning på ett IT-konsultbolag i västra Sverige. IT-branschen står inför hård konkurrens och vi har siktat in oss på vad vi tror är nyckelpersoner i organisationen, nämligen ledarna. Denna uppsats bottnar i teorier kring Talent Management och olika personalbevarande faktorer, exempelvis utgör Herzbergs modell om hygien- och motivationsfaktorer en stor del av denna uppsats i behandlandet av vår empiriska data. Resultatet av denna studie visar att de faktorer som i högst grad motiverar cheferna är möjligheten till individuell utveckling, karriärmöjligheter samt sociala faktorer och möjlighet till feedbackkultur.

The purpose of this work is to identify how the organization works to improve

accessibility for its employees who have a disability, as well as any obstacles the

organization may encounter in the improvement of accessibility within their

organization. This work is a qualitative study where seven different individuals within

the organization were interviewed. Some of those interviewed are in managerial

positions who manage work accessibility issues, and some of the employees had

disabilities. The results showed that accessibility is very good within the organization.

However, there are areas within the building where improvments are needed, for

example, not all areas are accessible for those with a disability. The heads of the

organization are working to update themselves regarding accessibility through

information meetings, magazines and email, but above all by their own responsibility.

However, we noted that communication between managers and employees are

sometimes not sufficient enough to improve accessibility in the workplace. Employee

participation could also improve, for example, faster results could be achieved if

employees ‘spoke out’ more reguarlarly in regards to accessibility issues. 

In the modern society family pets are more and more considered as members of the family with valid feelings. This has resulted in higher demands on the veterinary occupation. The vet is expected to look upon their animal patients from the owners’ point of view. The purpose of this thesis is to increase the knowledge of the work situation for Swedish veterinarians and the problems they encounter in the triad relation, veterinarian – animal – owner. The authors have used a qualitative method and hermeneutic approach to achieve this knowledge. The reason for choosing the subject of emotional labour within the veterinary trade was that there weren’t too many Nordic articles about it. The result shows that Swedish veterinarians don’t get any guidance or education in the emotional labour that is required in the social interaction with pet owners. Seven semi structured deep interviews have been conducted with veterinarians from animal hospitals and private practitioners. The authors have come to the conclusion that the working conditions for Swedish veterinarians are complicated as each consultation involves emotional labour as well as a medical labour. Apart from that they have to compromise with Swedish animal law and their own ethical conviction.

En kvantitativ studie av säkerhetsklimatet i byggbranschen

Författare: Caroline Dysenius & Linnéa Persson Högskolan i Halmstad, VT 2016

Syftet med detta examensarbete var att få en djupare kunskap om de anställdas upplevelse av säkerhetsklimatet och attityder till ett säkert beteende. Vidare undersöks hur olycksfall- och tillbudsrapportering över tid kan vara relaterat till en förändrad prioritering för att stärka säkerhetsbeteendet.

De frågeställningar som besvarades var: Hur ser det allmänna säkerhetsklimatet ut? Finns det någon samstämmighet mellan ledares upplevelse av säkerhetsklimatet och medarbetares? Finns det några skillnader mellan arbetsgruppersupplevelse av säkerhetsklimatet? Kan faktorerna yrkestitel, ålder eller anställningstid påverka attityderna till säkerhetsklimatet? Har olycksfall- och tillbudsrapportering förändrats över tid sedan ökad prioritering på säkerhetsarbete?

Undersökningen baserades på en enkätundersökning med 49 anställda där vi utgick från en förkortad version av ett etablerat enkätverktyg, Nordic Safety Climate Questionnaire (NOSACQ-50).

Resultatet visade att säkerhetsklimatet var gott och att det fanns möjlighet till vidare utveckling. Vidare kom vi fram till att det råder en god samstämmighet inom de dimensioner som mäter ledningen- respektive medarbetarnas upplevelse av säkerhetsklimat. Däremot är samstämmigheten något sämre mellan de dimensioner som mäter ledningen och medarbetarnas upplevelse av säkerhetsklimatet. Det tyder på att det skulle kunna behövas en förbättring av kommunikationen mellan ledning och medarbetare för att öka interaktionen för ett bättre säkerhetsklimat.

Säkerheten uppfattas även som god av både tjänstemän och hantverkare, dock fann vi skillnader där tjänstemännen upplever säkerhetsklimatet bättre i samtliga dimensioner jämfört med hantverkarna. Olycksfall- och tillbudsrapporteringen har ökat sedan ledningens satsning på säkerheten.  

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how the Swedish public sector, exemplified by a Swedish municipality, evaluates its managers. With the support of scientific research it proposes possible solutions to improve the evaluation of managers across the public sector. The municipality is located in western Sweden. Senior management has contributed to this thesis by providing access to senior managers across different divisions within the municipality. The study has been performed by conducting personal interviews with eight senior managers. The interviews were structured and all of the managers were asked a series of nine standardised questions. Using their initial responses they were then asked a series of individual questions based upon their answers to the nine standardised questions. The results of the study shows that whilst the municipality has created routines for the evaluation of its managers it does not always evaluate the formal part of management. Almost all of the interviewed managers have experienced flaws with the current methodology. They made several suggestions to improve the process. Using existing research, the study was also able to highlight potential flaws with the evaluation process and suggested several ways to improve upon current practices.  

The purpose of this study is to develop knowledge on how first line managers in elder care in western Sweden perceive their work situation with respect to the social aspects of a sustainable working life. The study is based on a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews. The results are based on eight interviews, which were analyzed through thematic analysis supported by theoretical frameworks consisting of the SwAge-model, the demand-control and support-model, and a theory of social support. According to the informants experiences, first line managers in elder care have good opportunities for a sustainable working life as access to social support appears to be satisfactory. The greatest threat to a socially sustainable work situation is attributed to a lack of control at work and an imbalance between work and private life. The study also showed that the work situation is most demanding when newly employed at a eldery care home, regardless of experience level. After comparing the study's conclusion with previous research, increased instrumental support can also be attributed value for improving first line managers work environment. Finally, the study has generated new knowledge in the field, which is that newly employed individuals, regardless of experience level, are the most exposed to an unsustainable working life. This knowledge can contribute to inspiration for future research and improvement measures. 

Healthcare is the workplace that is considered to be particularly vulnerable to work-related stress and has in recent years received attention in research. Nurses report that they experience stress because they do not have sufficient skills to handle their work assignments. At the same time, the workplace must ensure that employees possess the knowledge that is demanded both in the present and in the future. A workplace that focuses on skills development can help achieve both short- and long-term business goals. The purpose of the study was to investigate perceived stress in relation to the requirement in competence of healthcare professionals at a hospital. To answer the purpose of the study, a quantitative survey was carried out on healthcare professionals from various departments of the hospital, in which a total of 56 respondents participated in the study. Furthermore, the results were analyzed using SPSS and also correlation analysis presented by tables created with SPSS. The results of the study show that there was a significant relationship between the need for competence development and stress. The relationship between competence development and stress is based solely on the connection between the need for formal learning and stress, as there was no significant relationship between the need for informal learning and stress. The conclusion of the study is that increased competence development can result in healthcare workers to better manage work demands and may help to reduce the perception of stress.

The study consists of an examination of how employees and managers perceived communication during a change process within the public sector, specifically at Arbetsförmedlingen. The purpose of the study is to describe and analyze how communication in an organizational change process can be perceived by employees and managers in the public sector. By comparing the perceptions of managers and employees, the intention is to increase knowledge about the opportunities and challenges that may arise during a change process, and how these are perceived depending on the participant. 

During the study, we used a qualitative research method, consisting of interviews, with two managers and seven employees at Arbetsförmedlingen. The collected empirical data has been analyzed using previous research and theories on communication and change management.

The results indicate that communication during the change process was perceived differently by the involved actors. Decisions and information conveyed by managers were perceived as unclear from the employees' perspective. However, managers themselves believed that their way of communicating was clear and transparent. The lack of communication led, in some cases, to rumors and speculation among the employees. While managers acknowledged the existence of rumors, they did not attribute them to the same causes as the employees. The final results revealed that both employees and managers felt that many of the challenges related to change communication stemmed from the bureaucratic organizational structure.

In this study we are investigating the working conditions of the employees in an employment agency within the public sector and how they feel about their work. We have specially focused on social support and social climate and the balance between working life and private life. The flexibility, which is a necessity for the employee in a staffing work, can affect the individual in more ways than in the work itself. The purpose with this study is to get an increased understanding of the working conditions for the employees in an employment agency and how they meet with these. To get an answer of our purpose we have used a qualitative survey consisting of interviews with employees in an employment agency within the public sector. The data in this study has been divided in four categories which are: appointment flexibility, social support, and psychosocial factors. The result showed that the informants like the flexible way of working with different working places, but the psychological factors have affect on their private lives. In the study theories around demand/control/ support, motivation and flexibility have been used. Important factors which have been indicated in the study were the meaning of unity, ability to take decisions and economic security.

Abstract

Background: Alumni Network is a network of former employees of a company or graduates from a college or university. Alumni are rare in Sweden but in the U.S. these networks are very much active. In the final stages of the employment, alumni is part of the Employer Branding process, to keep in touch with their former colleagues. Purpose: The aim of this study is to get a deeper knowledge of advantages and disadvantages that companies experience with an alumni network and what effect it may have when a company sets up an alumni network.

Method: For the purposes of this paper, I conducted a qualitative study in which I interviewed a consulting company in the field of alumni to obtain an expert opinion, and four companies that currently operate alumni for their former employees.

Conclusion: All the companies I've interviewed agree that the benefits of an alumni network are numerous. Boomerang Recruiting, ambassadorship, business network and the possibility to develop a customer contact in the future are the primary benefits that are experienced. My conclusion is that more companies should start working with alumni because I think generation Y requires a strategic Employer Brand process where alumni are an important part. Alumni Network is a strategy that can contribute to the supply of skills. Alumni Network is also a process that can help the company to save money.

In 2015, 162,877 people sought asylum in Sweden. Most of the asylum seekers came from wartorn Syria, there were 51,338 asylum seekers (Immigration Service, 2016). The main purpose of the paper was to examine the social workers experience of the psychosocial work environment, and perceived competence at work, at a municipal unit for unaccompanied minors as a result of the increased workload as a result of the refugee crisis. The purpose was answered by the following questions: How do social workers their psychosocial work? How perceived competence in the daily work of the social workers? The method of the study was qualitative. Five semi-structured interviews were conducted with social workers at a municipal unit for unaccompanied minors. The results showed that social workers feel that their psychosocial work is stressful due to the heavy workload arising in consequence of the refugee crisis. The results also showed that social workers perceived competence at work was varied, all experienced that they expand their skills at work through meeting with the unaccompanied minors.

Summary:

In recent decades the implementation of new public management (NPM) within the public sector has led to an increase in administration for organizations, affecting all employees but primarily the managers.

This study aims to investigate how middle managers, influenced by new public management within the public sector, perceive administrative demands and stress. The potential stress experienced by middle managers can be traced to the new requirements and changes brought about by NPM. These demands and changes include the documentation and reporting required by NPM to meet goal management and scrutiny requirements. Financial management and quality measurements are additional aspects NPM has introduced in the public sector for middle managers, contributing to an increase in administrative tasks and potentially raising the stress levels among middle managers.

By connecting previous research and theories, the study examines how middle managers perceive the administrative demands, how it affects their work situation and their experienceregarding control and support för their administrative work. We employed qualitative research through a combination of personal interviews and self reports using open-ended questions to capture the respondents’ experiences. The study included nine middle managers from several public organizations influenced by NPM.

Administrative demands have increased for middle managers, revealing a shift from traditional leadership to more administrative tasks. Control over administrative work is a crucial factor, and maintaining control requires prioritization which is particularly challenging with external factors such as authorities. Collegial support is emphasized as a key factor for middle managers control and job satisfaction.