Work-related negative effects on well-being have increased in frequency and variability, specifically within the public sector and among managers. In the Job Demands-Resources model it is suggested that increased demands reduce well-being and decrease performance, but the research literature demonstrates little research in the context of managers and leadership. The purpose of this study was to investigate variability in work situations among Swedish public sector managers and how this was related to differences in stress, impaired health, work engagement and leadership performance. 267 managers in a mid-sized Swedish municipality responded to a web-based survey and formed six clusters. Three clusters comprising 42% of managers had less favorable working conditions and significantly worse well-being, less frequent transformational and transactional leadership behaviors as well as slightly lower work engagement. A conclusion from the study is that worse managerial working situations may lead to decreased possibilities to perform leadership in an active way.

The demands on managers seem to have increased as a consequence of management reforms. This study evaluates interventions aimed at improving working conditions and performance of managers in the Swedish public sector by changing organizational conditions. Six intervention organizations were compared to 34 reference organizations. Organizational conditions relevant for managerial work were surveyed and the results presented to the management teams who decided on the action plans and implemented changes. Fidelity to the intentions and contextual circumstances were documented. A psychometrically tested questionnaire was used for pre- and post-measurements of effects among a sample of 303 managers. The results showed that the interventions were associated with changes in managers' quality of work and performance. The evaluation design made it possible to show that organizational conditions can be changed in order to improve the operations managers' situation if there is fidelity to the intentions and support from the strategic level management.

The current study examined the association between leadership self-efficacy and the developmental leadership model. The purpose is to better understand how leadership training transfers to facets of developmental leadership. This was tested in a cross-sectional design with military commanders in the Swedish armed forces. The results show that the sub-domain of leader self-control efficacy (the cognitive and emotional ability to remain composure) did predict developmental leadership in only one dimension of being an exemplary model, but that leader assertiveness efficacy (the ability to make rational decisions) predicted the two dimensions of exemplary model and inspiration & motivation in developmental leadership. One possibility is that leader self-control efficacy can be what enables the individual to function within an extreme context, but leader assertiveness efficacy can be what most determine the leadership performance within that context. The possibility for mediatory analyses in further research is discussed.

I kapitlet behandlas Annika Härenstams forskning med avseende på drivkrafter, metoder och perspektiv. Karaktäristiskt är att arbetslivet ses som en arena där betydelsen av klass, genus och etnicitet är under ständig omförhandling. Organisationer utgör arbetets närmaste kontext och den psykosociala arbetsmiljön är sammanlänkad med hur organisationer utformas och styrs. Organisationer är ett slags filter mellan skeenden på makro- och mikronivå. En uppgift för forskningen är att systematiskt fånga, mäta och korrelera fenomen på olika nivåer. Den arbetande människan finns i ett yrke, på en arbetsplats, som är en del av en avdelning på ett företag, som finns i en bransch. På konkreta arbetsplatser är det omöjligt att isolera enskilda variabler från varandra. Många faktorer samverkar och åstadkommer de fenomen som kan observeras i enkäter och register. För att fånga komplexiteten krävs holistiska ansatser. Kluster- och flernivåanalyser är metoder för detta genom att de inte fragmentiserar arbetssituationer, utan håller samman aspekter i den konkreta verklighet som utgör individers arbetsliv.  I Annika Härenstams genusperspektiv är den grundläggande hypotesen att de betydelsefulla skillnaderna snarare finns mellan kvinno- och mansdominerade yrken, sektorer och branscher, än mellan kvinnor och män, vilket synsätt har klara implikationer för hur arbetsmiljöarbete kan och bör bedrivas.

Hur kommer det sig att arbetet medför status, goda arbetsvillkor och hälsa för vissa, medan det innebär vanmakt, underordning och sjukdom för andra? Denna uråldriga och till synes naiva fråga pockar allt ihärdigare på ett svar i en tid där den sociala ojämlikheten ökar. Den som är det minsta intresserad av arbetsliv och hälsa och som läser de kapitel som nu följer kommer att bli inspirerad, kanske provocerad och troligen väldigt imponerad av svensk arbetslivsforskning. Flera av Sveriges mest framträdande arbetslivsforskare medverkar i boken.

The present study examined a parachute training course intended to improve the leadership abilities of future military officers. Two research questions were examined. First, whether there were any differences between completers and non-completers in anxiety, stress, and collective identity at the beginning of the course (time 1), and second, whether there were any differences between completers and non-completers in leadership self-efficacy immediately after the course and at a five-month follow-up (time 2 and time 3). Participants were cadets from the Swedish Military Academy undergoing the course as part of their officer training curriculum. The results showed no significant differences between completers and non-completers in anxiety, stress, and collective identity at the beginning of the course (time 1). Non-completers showed a significant reduction in leader self-control efficacy compared to those who completed the training immediately after the course and at a five-month follow-up (time 2 and 3). Overall, these results indicate that non-completion of this type of demanding training could have negative effects on the individual's leader self-control efficacy.

Objectives: Previous research suggesting that open-plan office environments are associated with higher rates of sickness absence rely on self-reports which can be affected by recall bias. This paper investigates the associations of sickness absence, obtained from employer records as well as self-reports, with office type (cell offices and different sizes of open-plan offices). It additionally studies whether office type is associated with sickness presence.

Methods: Employees from two private and one public sector organization were recruited to the study. Office type was ascertained by direct observation or from employee responses to an online survey. Control variables were gender, age, public/private sector and education level. Number of days and episodes of sickness absence were calculated from employer absence records and regressed on office type using negative binomial regression (n = 988). Self-reports of sickness absence and presence were regressed on office type using ordered logistic regression (n = 1237).

Results: Office type was generally not associated with employer records of number of episodes or days of sickness absence, except that the total number of days of leave was higher in flex offices compared to cell offices (IRR = 2.46, p = 0.007). In general, office type was not associated with self-reported days of sickness absence, apart from participants working in medium-sized open-plan offices who had 0.42 higher log-odds of absence than those working in cell offices (p = 0.004). Office type was not associated with self-reported sickness presence.

Conclusions: Office type was not associated with sickness presence nor, in general, with sickness absence, whether obtained from self-reports or company records. It is not possible to conclude from this study that open-plan offices are associated with greater sickness absence or sickness presence compared to cell offices.

We investigated whether self-ratings of health are affected by a symptom rating. A diary including a one-item self-rating of health ("pre-self-rated health"; 1 = excellent, 7 = very poor), a subsequent 26-item rating of symptoms, and thereafter a second (identical) health rating ("post-self-rated health") was completed by 820 persons 21 times. Self-rated health worsened significantly ( p < .0001) after the symptom rating, from 2.72 pre-self-rated health (95% confidence interval: 2.70-2.74) to 2.77 post-self-rated health (95% confidence interval: 2.75-2.79) and more so in persons who reported more symptoms ( b = .058, p < .05). The results support the notion that subjective health perception is influenced by attending to symptoms, especially so in persons with a high symptom burden.

The current study examined whether a static-line parachute program could help prepare future military officers to lead in extreme situations by increasing leadership self-efficacy. Parachute training is commonly used for preparing to lead in combat since it presents a perceived threat to life which requires active mastery. Achieving such mastery facilitates the development of leader self-control efficacy and leader assertiveness efficacy. This assumption was tested in a real training situation within the Swedish Military Academy where two groups of cadets were included in the study. The group of cadets undertaking parachute training conducted repeated measures of assessment of their self-efficacy before and after the course as well as at a five-month follow-up. The results show that parachute training increased leader self-control efficacy when compared to a group of cadets who undertook different training. In addition, the training given contributed to increased leader assertiveness efficacy for both groups.

When a workplace/organization does not fulfill one’s needs and wishes anymore, many individuals change to other workplaces/organizations. However, for some individuals this is not feasible as they perceive a lack of alternatives; they feel stuck in a non-preferred workplace (being locked in), or they may be in the risk zone of becoming locked in. Few studies have investigated the reasons for becoming locked in, and it is the aim of this study to investigate whether matching factors between work and individual and/or demographic factors can predict locked-in positions. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed—cross-sectionally and longitudinally (N = 3633–6449)—and showed that mismatch in terms of over-qualification and lack of physical and mental work abilities increased the odds ratios for being in locked-in positions. In contrast, working in relatively higher socioeconomic categories of both manual and non-manual work, commonly demanding higher education (vocational or academic), protected against being locked in. This study contributes to the career research field by studying determinants of disadvantageous career positions, which have been neglected in past research.