The COVID-19 pandemic transformed work environments globally, with remote work becoming a more prevalent occupational feature. This study examines the association of different remote work options and extents, as well as technostress, on mental health outcomes (anxiety, depressive symptoms, sleep problems, and stress) during the pandemic in Sweden, taking sex differences into account. Using data from 3660 participants in 2020 and 2022 from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH) and guided by an extended job demands-resources (JD-R) model, the study used Bayesian multivariate multilevel modelling to analyze predictors of mental health. Key findings reveal that the option for remote work, even when unused, related to better mental health outcomes. Extent of remote work showed no consistent associations. Technostress predicted mental health problems, with an even stronger association for remote workers—compared to on-site workers—in terms of anxiety. Women reported worse mental health outcomes compared to men; however, these disparities appeared to be driven by other factors than by remote work conditions or childcare. Sweden's unique pandemic policies, including open schools, could have mitigated some stressors associated with caregiving responsibilities. These findings highlight the need for flexible work policies, strategies to manage digital demands, and further investigation into explanatory factors behind sex differences in mental health.

This study addresses the scarcity of research on health developments in the heterogeneous group of self-employed workers. It aims at understanding typical health progressions in this group and associations with demographic factors, work characteristics, and self-employment decisions. We investigate health profiles based on mental health problems, self-rated health, and work satisfaction, as well as transitions between them in relation to work effort, reward, overcommitment, demographic characteristics, and entrance and exit into self-employment. Using latent transition analysis, we analyzed data from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH), including data from 593 participants. We identified four distinct, stable health profiles, revealing associations with work effort, reward, overcommitment, and self-employment decisions. No meaningful relations existed for demographic characteristics. Overall, the findings offer a comprehensive perspective on the health dynamics of self-employed individuals, their associations with work characteristics and decisions to enter and exit self-employment.

Challenges related to mental health and staff retention are common in the retail industry and were likely accentuated during COVID-19. This study used questionnaire data from Swedish retail employees (N = 388) to investigate whether job demands and resources differed based on occupational status and a crisis like the pandemic. Mean levels and associations with job satisfaction, turnover intention, and burnout were compared between blue-collar and white-collar employees, before and during the pandemic. Blue-collar employees reported greater physical demands, lower levels of resources, and higher levels of burnout. Job insecurity and emotional demands increased during the pandemic, especially for blue-collar employees. Overall, job demands and resources predicted outcomes in line with previous literature, but job insecurity was particularly salient for blue-collar employees, and autonomy for white-collar employees. Crises like the pandemic affect job demands and resources, potentially exposing lower occupational status employees to a higher risk for negative consequences such as burnout.

Objectives In Sweden, the number of working-aged women in employment is now almost equal to that of men. While this has many benefits, it presents challenges in organizing work and non-work responsibilities around children, which may impact employees` mental health.

Methods Based on the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH) cohort study, we prospectively examined gender differences for the effects of work–family conflict and caring for children on mental health among Swedish workers. Mental health status was assessed using a brief (Hopkins) symptom checklist depression scale. We used information from three waves of data over five years (2014–2018) for 5846 women and 4219 men aged 20–64 at baseline. Linear fixed-effects analyses were performed examining within-person changes in work interfering with family (WFC) and family interfering with work (FWC) and associated changes in depressive symptoms by childcare intensity (0, 1–10, >10 hours/week) and sex.

Results Changes in mean scores for WFC and FWC were associated with changes in depressive symptoms for men [no childcaring: WFC 1.31 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.13–1.49), FWC 0.70 (95% CI 0.43–0.96); childcaring >10 hours/week: WFC 1.39 (95% CI 0.53–2.25), FWC 1.24 (95% CI 0.27–2.21)] and women [no childcaring: WFC 1.57 (95% CI 1.41–1.73), FWC 1.04 (95% CI 0.79–1.30); childcaring >10 hours/week: WFC 2.04 (95% CI 1.36–2.73), FWC 1.57 (95% CI 0.82–2.32)].

Conclusion Higher levels of WFC and FWC are associated with increased depressive symptoms in both men and women. The impact is greater for those with greater childcaring responsibilities intensity.

Despite extensive research on organisational justice, it remains unknown how organisational justice aspects interrelate and co-occur in individuals. Using a person-centred approach, and latent profile analysis specifically, we examine profiles of procedural, distributive (as measured by effort-reward imbalance), interpersonal, informational, and overall justice. Profiles are validated with covariates as well as work and health outcomes cross-sectionally and prospectively over time. Data from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH) from 2018 (n = 9,756) and 2020 (n = 7,542) were used. Based on data from 2018, we found four different profiles: an ‘Average justice’ profile, a ‘High justice’ profile, a ‘Low justice’ profile and a ‘Low process-focused justice’ profile. The ‘Low justice’ profile, especially, was comprised of a high proportion of women, lower educated, public-sector employees and shift workers. The ‘Low justice’ profile showed high levels of intentions to leave, suboptimal general health and low job satisfaction in 2018 and 2020. Results highlight the importance of organisational justice to maintain a healthy and motivated workforce and indicate that low levels of procedural justice might partly be mitigated by high levels of interactional justice. The study responds to the appeal by justice researchers to consider the experiential nature of justice perceptions and underscores the merit of moving beyond variable-oriented methods.

Purpose: The aim was to analyse the relationships between work environment characteristics and periods of sick leave (> 14 days) in individuals diagnosed with common mental disorders (CMDs) across 1993–2014. Additionally, the study describes changes in the work environment and sick leave trends over these two periods. Methods: From the Swedish Work Environment Surveys (SWES) 1993–2013, participants with a diagnosis of a CMD up to five years before the interview were drawn (n = 3795). Risk ratios (RRs) of the annual average number of sick leave days one year after the interview in SWES (1993–2014) were calculated for various work environment characteristics, along with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Having flexible working hours (RR 0.65: 0.46–0.91) and having an active job (RR 0.60: 0.41–0.88), that is, high job demands and high job control, were associated with a significantly decreased risk for a spell of sick leave > 14 days after adjusting for interview year, age, sex, and educational level. There was a tendency that also some aspects of job control, i.e. influence over working hours (RR 0.79: 0.62–1.01) and influence over work pace (0.80: 0.62–1.03), were associated with a lower risk of having > 14 days of sick leave. There was a more substantial effect on these work environment factors in 2009–2013 than 1993–2007. Conclusion: Enabling flexible working hours and influencing work pace and working hours can decrease the risk of sick leave among employees diagnosed with a CMD.

Long-lasting, excessive stress exposure can have serious health consequences and consequently, to identify potentially harmful consequences, it is important to develop self-report measures of long-lasting stress in everyday life. The complexity of long-lasting excessive stress also raises questions about the efficacy of widely used single-item measures to capture such harmful stress. This study examines the psychometric quality and validity of a brief eight-item scale, measuring long-lasting stress symptoms. Using data from a nationally representative sample, comprising 15,046 working individuals from the 2014 Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH), the findings suggest retaining six of the original eight items, loading on two latent factors: ‘long-lasting perceived stress’ and ‘long-lasting emotional stress’. The high correlation between the two factors suggests the potential for a unified measure to address specific research objectives. The subscales demonstrate concurrent validity with well-established stress-related measures. A single-item measure of perceived stress (‘I have days when I feel stressed all the time’) also correlated with the stress-related measures, although the correlation coefficients were slightly weaker.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic was a disruptive event that forced employees worldwide to quickly shift to telework. This qualitative study explored employees’ experiences of telework during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden, where a more liberal approach to restrictions and telework was taken, focusing on changes in perceptions of work, work–nonwork interplay, relationships, wellbeing, health, and work–life balance.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed verbatim using Amberscript, were conducted with 16 participants from the SLOSH-Corona survey, who teleworked during the COVID-19 pandemic and continued to telework to varying extent after the removal of restrictions.

Results: Reflexive thematic analysis, based on Braun and Clarkes six step, identified five main themes: (1) having what it takes: the hoffice; (2) all work and no play: efficacy and loneliness; (3) faces of flexibility: freedom and balancing boundaries; (4) leadership challenges: bridging the gap between employee- and organizational needs; (5) survive or thrive? Telework and quality of life. Overall, telework was associated with high work efficacy. Additionally, increased work flexibility combined with effective management of work-nonwork boundary and strong supervisor support improved work-life balance, wellbeing, and quality of leisure time. However, work intensification was also high, as well as work-related isolation, ergonomic health problems, and sickness presence.

Discussion: For future telework to be sustainable, organizations would benefit from providing employees with home-based work supplies, and in particular, implementing leadership based on trust, enhanced work-related social connection, and organizational norms supporting clear work-nonwork boundaries.

Part-time work is about twice as common in trade as in the general workforce in Sweden. More women than men work part time, and women and men tend to work in different trade sectors. This study first compares psychosocial work environment factors (job demands and job resources), work–non-work interference, and health-related factors between part-time and full-time employed women and men in trade in Sweden and, second, describes their sociodemographic characteristics. Data is from a subsample of trade employees in SLOSH 2022 (N = 730; 49% women; mean age 54 years; 92% permanently employed) with 20% in part-time employment. Part-time employees and women reported lower job resources (job control and skill discretion). Women reported higher emotional demands, work–life interference, and symptoms of depression. It is suggested that increased development opportunities and more varied job tasks could contribute to beneficial outcomes, especially for part-time employees and women, and more functional flexibility for organizations.

Preferred retirement age (PRA) is one key dimension when studying retirement decision-making. However, little is known concerning how PRA develops over the late career years. This study used a person-centered approach to longitudinally investigate trajectories of PRA and how they differ in self-rated health, perceived work ability, and effort–reward imbalance (ERI) at baseline levels and over 6 years. The study used data from four waves (2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016) of the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health. The sample consisted of 1,510 individuals aged 50–55 in 2010, who answered to the questionnaire for those in paid work (including self-employment) at the baseline and at least one of the following waves. Results from the latent class growth curve modeling show both within- and between-person variability in PRA over the 6-year span. We found four distinct trajectories, which differed both at the baseline levels and in the patterns of change in PRA: “C1: normative, relatively stable PRA” (42% of all participants); “C2: considerably early, increasing PRA” (6% of the participants); “C3: late, relatively stable PRA” (4% of the participants); and “C4: early, increasing PRA” (49% of the participants). Participants revealed a clear preference for retirement before the age of 65. Trajectories comprising earlier PRA showed poorer self-rated health, poorer work ability, and higher levels of ERI at the baseline and over time. The findings reinforce the importance of healthy work environments that promote work ability and facilitate a balance between efforts and rewards for encouraging longer working lives.