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Psykosocial arbetsmiljö i välfärdssektorn: Krav i arbetet, resurser i arbetet och personliga resurser samt betydelsen av organiserade arbetsmiljöinsatser
Stockholm University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology.
2017 (Swedish)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)Alternative title
Psychosocial work environment in the welfare sector : Job demands, job resources, and personal resources and the importance of organized occupational health interventions (English)
Abstract [sv]

Individers upplevelse av den psykosociala arbetsmiljön har visat sig hänga samman med trivsel, hälsa och välbefinnande. I ett långsiktigt perspektiv kan en god psykosocial arbetsmiljö främja kvalitet och produktivitet i organisationer, medan en sämre arbetsmiljö kan resultera i det motsatta. Arbetsgivare, som i Sverige har ett yttersta arbetsmiljöansvar, strävar efter att arbeta förebyggande och systematiskt med fokus på psykosociala arbetsmiljöinsatser. Samtidigt utgör individerna en del av den psykosociala arbetsmiljön och i samband med att de utför sitt arbete bidrar de även till formandet av arbetsmiljön. Med detta som utgångspunkt syftar avhandlingen till att studera psykosociala och personliga faktorer i form av krav och resurser, hälsa och välbefinnande samt ett organisatoriskt förebyggande program för anställda i välfärdssektorn. Detta har gjorts genom att undersöka hur olika krav och resurser i arbetet samt personliga resurser relaterar till olika hälsorelaterade utfall. Vidare har två varianter av ett nyutvecklat interventionsprogram med fokus på psykosociala faktorer och personliga resurser undersökts och utvärderats. En variant av programmet var riktad till både chefer och medarbetare, medan den andra varianten riktades enbart till chefer. Interventionsprogrammen undersöktes utifrån genomförbarhet och utifrån effektutvärdering. Resultaten visar att resurser i arbetet verkar ha mer hälsofrämjande potential än personliga resurser. Vidare visar resultaten att det program som inkluderade medarbetare och chefer accepterades av deltagarna och gick att genomföra praktiskt. Resultaten visar också att effekterna av båda programmen var oklara. Sammantaget visar avhandlingen på vikten av att såväl reducera krav i arbetet som att främja olika resurser, men även på de utmaningar som finns i att utforma, genomföra och utvärdera förebyggande organisatoriska interventioner.

Abstract [en]

Individuals’ experiences of the psychosocial work environment have been linked to their satisfaction, health, and well-being. In the long run, a favorable psychosocial work environment seems related to organizational quality and productivity, while a poorer psychosocial work environment may relate to the opposite. Employers, who in Sweden have the ultimate responsibility for the work environment, aim for systematic preventive efforts focusing particularly on factors of the psychosocial work environment. Additionally, individuals also form part of the psychosocial work environment, and may, through their own daily work practices contribute to creating the work environment. Based on this, the aim of this thesis is to study how psychosocial factors, in terms of demands and resources, and personal resources at work relate to health and well-being but also to investigate the effects of an organizational preventive intervention program. Specifically, job demands, job resources, and personal resources and their relations with health-related outcomes among employees of the Swedish welfare sector were investigated. Also, two versions of a newly developed intervention program focusing on psychosocial factors and personal resources were examined. This included a feasibility study of one program version offered to both employees and managers and an effect evaluation of another version offered to managers only. The results show that job resources seem to have a stronger health-promoting potential than personal resources. Moreover, the results show that while the program offered to both employees and managers was accepted by participants and found possible to implement practically, its effect were small. Similarly, effects of the program including managers only were also small. Overall, the thesis shows the importance of reducing job demands along with promoting different resources, but emphasizes the challenges in developing, implementing, and evaluating preventive organizational interventions.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: Psykologiska institutionen, Stockholm , 2017.
Keywords [en]
welfare sector, preventive organizational interventions, psychosocial work environment, job demands, job resources, personal resources, work-related attitudes, health-related factors
Keywords [sv]
välfärdssektorn, preventiva organisatoriska interventioner, psykosocial arbetsmiljö, krav i arbetet, resurser i arbetet, personliga resurser, arbetsrelaterade attityder, hälsorelaterade faktorer
National Category
Psychology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-145454ISBN: 978-91-7649-895-8 (print)ISBN: 978-91-7649-896-5 (electronic)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-145454DiVA, id: diva2:1130662
Public defence
2017-10-06, David Magnussonsalen (U31), Frescati Hagväg 8, Stockholm, 10:00 (Swedish)
Opponent
Supervisors
Note

At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript.

Available from: 2017-09-13 Created: 2017-08-10 Last updated: 2020-09-18Bibliographically approved
List of papers
1. Do personal resources matter beyond job demands and job resources? Main and interaction effects on health-related outcomes among women working within the welfare sector
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Do personal resources matter beyond job demands and job resources? Main and interaction effects on health-related outcomes among women working within the welfare sector
(English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Job demands and job resources have well-known health effects, while less is known about personal resources. Using self-reports from 372 women in the welfare sector, this study investigated the importance of job demands, job resources, and personal resources for health-related outcomes, and mitigating effects of resources. Findings showed linkages between job demands and worse health and the opposite for job resources and personal resources. Lower control aggravated effects of quantitative job demands on health. Lower feedback mitigated the effect of qualitative demands. Personal resources had no moderating effect. To conclude, job resources seem more pertinent to health than personal resources.

Keywords
occupational health psychology, work climate, signaling, limit-setting
National Category
Psychology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-145451 (URN)
Note

The study makes use of data from the project The manager, the mission and the work environment: Interventions for improving workplaces and organizations which is supported by a grant from AFA Insurance (Ref. No. 090325) to Prof. Magnus Sverke. Thanks to all who volunteered participation and to those who helped out implementing and carrying out the intervention. This research was carried out within the Stockholm Stress Center, a center of excellence supported by funding from the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (FORTE).

Available from: 2017-08-10 Created: 2017-08-10 Last updated: 2022-02-28Bibliographically approved
2. A pilot-study of a worksite based participatory intervention program: Its acceptability and short-term effects on work climate and attitudes in human service employees
Open this publication in new window or tab >>A pilot-study of a worksite based participatory intervention program: Its acceptability and short-term effects on work climate and attitudes in human service employees
Show others...
2017 (English)In: Work: A journal of Prevention, Assessment and rehabilitation, ISSN 1051-9815, E-ISSN 1875-9270, Vol. 56, no 4, p. 625-636Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

BACKGROUND: Psychosocial factors, including job demands and poor resources, have been linked to stress, health problems, and negative job attitudes. However, worksite based interventions and programs targeting psychosocial factors may change employees’ perceptions of their work climate and work attitudes.

OBJECTIVE: This pilot study describes a newly developed worksite based participatory organizational intervention program that was tested in the social service sector. It is evaluated using participants’ perceptions of the intervention to investigate its acceptability as a feature of feasibility and its short-term effects on work climate factors (job demands and resources) and work-related attitudes.

METHODS: Forty employees of a Swedish social service unit provided self-reports before, during, and after the intervention.

RESULTS: As for effects, quantitative role overload and social support decreased while turnover intention increased. Responses to an open-ended question showed that participants considered the intervention program valuable for addressing issues relating to the psychosocial work climate.

CONCLUSIONS: Although the findings are preliminary, it was possible to carry out this worksite based participatory organizational program in this particular setting. Also, the preliminary findings underscore the challenges associated with designing and implementing this type of intervention program, thus adding to the methodological discussion on implementation and evaluation.

Keywords
job demands, job resources, psychosocial factors, prevention
National Category
Psychology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-143091 (URN)10.3233/WOR-172522 (DOI)000400594700014 ()
Note

The study makes use of data from the project The manager, the mission and the work environment: Interventions for improving workplaces and organizations which is supported by a grant from AFA Insurance (Ref. No. 090325) to Prof. Magnus Sverke. Thanks to all who volunteered participation and to those who helped out implementing and carrying out the intervention. This research was carried out within the Stockholm Stress Center, a center of excellence supported by funding from the Swedish Research Council for Health,Working Life and Welfare (FORTE).

Available from: 2017-05-11 Created: 2017-05-11 Last updated: 2022-02-28Bibliographically approved
3. Can a managerial intervention focusing on job demands, job resources, and personal resources improve the work situation of employees?
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Can a managerial intervention focusing on job demands, job resources, and personal resources improve the work situation of employees?
Show others...
(English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Knowledge regarding the effects on employees of occupational intervention programs targeting psychosocial factors at work, including job demands, job resources, and personal resources, is limited and existing studies show mixed findings. This study aimed to investigate potential effects on employees’ job demands (i.e., workload, unnecessary tasks, and unreasonable tasks), job resources (i.e., feedback, control, and goal clarity), and personal resources (i.e., signaling and limit-setting strategies) of an intervention targeting managers’ ways of improving the psychosocial work environment among their staff (SWEActManager). Questionnaire data from employees (n=40) of a Swedish municipality, whose managers (n=4) participated in the program, and referents (n=58 employees), were collected before and after the program. The program included four three-hour workshops delivered during a six-week period. Results from 2(group) x 2(time) ANOVAs showed that all three demands increased over time while job control decreased. There were no significant group effects. One interaction effect only was significant: Unnecessary tasks increased more among referents than in the intervention group. The few significant short-term effects probably relate to challenges in designing and implementing organizational interventions targeting managers, and evaluating their effects among subordinates. This study adds to the limited research regarding the effects of organizational psychosocial interventions including managers for their subordinates’ demands and resources in a changing working life.

Keywords
organizational intervention, psychosocial factors, job demands, job resources, personal resources
National Category
Psychology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-145453 (URN)
Note

The study makes use of data from the project The manager, the mission and the work environment: Interventions for improving workplaces and organizations which is supported by a grant from AFA Insurance (Ref. No. 090325) to Prof. Magnus Sverke. Thanks to all who volunteered participation and to those who helped out implementing and carrying out the intervention. This research was carried out within the Stockholm Stress Center, a center of excellence supported by funding from the Swedish Research Council for Health,Working Life and Welfare (FORTE).

Available from: 2017-08-10 Created: 2017-08-10 Last updated: 2022-02-28Bibliographically approved

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