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Publications (3 of 3) Show all publications
Trygg, K. (2014). Arbetets geografi: Kunskapsarbetets organisation och utförande i tidrummet. (Doctoral dissertation). Stockholm: Kulturgeografiska institutionen, Stockholms universitet
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Arbetets geografi: Kunskapsarbetets organisation och utförande i tidrummet
2014 (Swedish)Doctoral thesis, monograph (Other academic)
Alternative title[en]
The geography of work : Knowledge work in time-space
Abstract [en]

This is a thesis about knowledge-intensive work and the organizational con-texts of such work. The specific objective is to analyze the geography of work. The geography of work may diverge from the geography of employ-ment when paid work is undertaken at the premises of client organizations, during commuting, on business trips, in external meetings, at home or in other places. The focus is on work practice and the perspective of everyday life. The study examines where knowledge workers are located and where knowledge work occurs. It is about what knowledge workers actually do. The everyday perspective is about the relationship between paid work and unpaid work. To understand the organization of knowledge-intensive work in a time–space context, different possibilities and constraints must be taken into con-sideration. This thesis has a time–geographical approach. The case study examines knowledge-intensive organizations located in central Stockholm. The organizations are in PR/communications, management consultancy, and research and development sectors. Both private and public sector organiza-tions are considered. The empirical study combines interviews, time diaries and questionnaires. The NVivo software program is employed to analyze the interview data. The main conclusion from the thesis is that in order to under-stand knowledge-intensive work, different factors such as relations, attitudes and norms need to be considered. These factors affect the organization of work, which in turn is affected by the choices, possibilities, constraints, ex-pectations and negotiations of different actors (i.e. employees, employers, family, clients and colleagues). The working time of the knowledge workers investigated in this study is mainly spent at the office of their employers. Social interaction with col-leagues and clients is an important part of their work. Work routines involve many meetings, both face-to-face and virtual. Face-to-face interactions play a crucial role in shaping the geography of work; teamwork is important. The knowledge workers in this study are “working long hours,” and the norm is to work more than what have been expected.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: Kulturgeografiska institutionen, Stockholms universitet, 2014. p. 236
Series
Meddelanden från Kulturgeografiska institutionen vid Stockholms universitet, ISSN 0585-3508 ; 144
Keywords
geography of work, knowledge-intensive organizations, knowledge work, everyday life, practice, mobility, social interaction, arbetets geografi, kunskapsintensiva organisationer, kunskapsarbete, vardagsliv, praktik, mobilitet, social interaktion
National Category
Social and Economic Geography
Research subject
Human Geography
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-100797 (URN)978-91-7447-844-0 (ISBN)
Public defence
2014-03-28, De Geersalen, Geovetenskapens hus, Svante Arrhenius väg 14, Stockholm, 13:00 (Swedish)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2014-02-28 Created: 2014-02-14 Last updated: 2022-02-24Bibliographically approved
Trygg, K. (2014). Kunskapsarbetarnas geografi. Geografiska Notiser, 2(72), 81-95
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Kunskapsarbetarnas geografi
2014 (Swedish)In: Geografiska Notiser, ISSN 0016-724X, Vol. 2, no 72, p. 81-95Article in journal (Other academic) Published
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Lund: Geografilärarnas riksförening, 2014
Keywords
kunskapsarbete, ekonomisk geografi
National Category
Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified
Research subject
Human Geography
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-107373 (URN)
Available from: 2014-09-12 Created: 2014-09-12 Last updated: 2026-03-06Bibliographically approved
Hermelin, B. & Trygg, K. (2012). New geographies of work: a case study from Sweden. Urbani Izziv, 23(suppl. 1), S126-S134
Open this publication in new window or tab >>New geographies of work: a case study from Sweden
2012 (English)In: Urbani Izziv, ISSN 0353-6483, E-ISSN 1855-8399, Vol. 23, no suppl. 1, p. S126-S134Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This paper describes and analyses the geography of work, i.e., the spatial patterns in where paid work is done. The geography of work may diverge from the geography of employment when paid work is done at the premises of client organizations, during commuting, on business trips, on external meetings, at home or at other places. The particular patterns in the geography of work depend on a number of factors, possibilities and constraints. The paper takes its point of departure from the debate about how structural economic changes resulting from evolving service industries and the development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) entail new forms for the organization of paid work. Flexibility, reflexivity, flows and places are key concepts. The paper presents a case study from Stockholm that takes a workplace perspective and looks at knowledge-intensive work in a public sector organization. The empirical study analyses data from interviews, time diaries and a questionnaire. We analyse how the geography of work is the result of negotiations between different parties and in different arenas, and how this spatial pattern is the result of the character of work tasks and accessibility of ICT support. The discussion illustrates a complex picture of the coexistence of spatial fix and spatial flexibility, and how this may cause tensions but also convenient solutions for organizing and conducting paid work.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Ljubljana: Urbanistični inštitut Republike Slovenije, 2012
National Category
Economic Geography
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-85925 (URN)10.5379/urbani-izziv-en-2012-23-supplement-1-012 (DOI)
Available from: 2013-01-10 Created: 2013-01-10 Last updated: 2022-03-23Bibliographically approved
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0003-0121-2729

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