Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Frontline client service workers are central to the service elements of any small and medium enterprise. People who have much customer or client contact are seen to be subject to stronger emotional display rules. These display rules may result in compromising the psychological and/or physical health of workers, because they often lead to a disturbing dissonance between felt emotions and the emotions one must exhibit. It is, therefore, of vital importance for service workers to exhibit Emotional Intelligence, which will enable them to manage both their own emotions and their interactions with other people. Their inability to do so may result in stress as well as physical and emotional exhaustion, also known as Burnout. The objective of this research was to determine the relationship between Emotion Work, Emotional Intelligence, Well-being and Social Support of client service workers within small and medium enterprises, A cross-sectional survey design was used. An availability sample was taken from small and medium enterprises employing client service workers in the Mpumalanga Province (N = 145). The Greek Emotional Intelligence Scale (GEIS), Frankfurt Emotion Work Scales (FEWS), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) and Social Support Scale, as well as a biographical questionnaire were used as measuring instruments. Cronbach alpha coefficients, factor analysis, inter-item correlation coefficients, Pearson product moment correlation coefficients, stepwise multiple regression analysis, and Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to analyse the data. Principal component analysis resulted in a one-factor solution for Engagement labelled Work Engagement, and a two factor solution for Burnout namely: Disengagement and Emotional Exhaustion. Regarding Social Support, a three factor model was extracted namely; Social Support - Co-worker, Social Support -Supervisor and Social Support - Family. A three factor model was extracted for Emotion Work namely: Emotional Dissonance, Display of Client Care and Extent of Client Interaction. A four-factor solution was extracted for Emotional Intelligence namely: Emotional Expression/Recognition, Use of Emotions to Facilitate Thinking, Control of Emotion as well as Caring and Empathy. An analysis of the data indicated that all of the correlations between the different constructs mentioned below are statistically and practically significant, Disengagement was positively related to Emotional Exhaustion and negatively related to Emotional Expression/Recognition, Emotion Use to Facilitate Thinking and Work Engagement. Emotional Exhaustion was positively related to Emotional Dissonance and negatively related to Emotional Expression/Recognition. Emotional Dissonance was positively related to Display of Client Care, while Display of Client Care was positively related to Extent of Client Interaction, as well as Caring and Empathy. Emotional Expression/Recognition was positively related to both Emotion Use to Facilitate Thinking and Work Engagement. Emotion Control was positively related to Emotion Use to Facilitate Thinking, while it in turn was positively related to Work Engagement. Finally, Social Support from Co-workers was positively related to Social Support from Supervisors and Family, and Social Support from Supervisors was positively related to Social Support from Family. A multiple regression analysis indicated that Emotion Work, Social Support and Emotional Intelligence predicted 29% of the variance in Work Engagement, 30% of the variance explained in Disengagement and 37% of the variance in Emotional Exhaustion. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) which was used to determine differences between the departmental, age, race, qualification, language and gender groups with regard to Emotion Work, Emotional Intelligence, Well-being and Burnout, indicated no statistical significant differences (p < 0,05). The results indicated a correlation between Emotional Intelligence, Emotion Work and Well-being factors. Emotional Intelligence factors predicted Work Engagement and Emotion Work predicted Emotional Exhaustion. Recommendations were made for the profession of client service work in small and medium enterprises, as well as for future research purposes. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Things develop quickly in today's internet-linked global economy and competition is intense. Speed, cost, and quality are no longer the trade-offs they once were. Today's consumers demand immediate access to high-quality products and services at a reasonable price. Thus, Managers are challenged to speed up the product creation and delivery cycle, while cutting costs and improving quality. Regardless of the size and purpose of the organisation and the technology involved, people are the common denominator when facing this immense challenge. Success or failure depends on the ability to attract, develop, retain, and motivate the employees. The human-resource employee is the drive behind all these voice-to-voice and face-to-face interactions, attempting to represent the emotions, attitudes, and behaviours required by the organisation. The objective of this research study was to determine the relationship between Emotion Work and Well-being among human-resource employees in the chrome industry. The research method consisted of a literature review and an empirical study. A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect the data. A non-probability convenience sample was taken from human-resource employees in the chrome industry. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, the Frankfurt Emotion Work Scales, Greek Emotional Intelligence Scale, Emotional Labour Scale, and Social Support Scale were used as measuring instruments. The data was analysed by making use of descriptive statistics, Cronbach alpha coefficients, factor-analysis, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analyses of variance (multivariate analysis of variance and ANOVA), calculated using SPSS. Compared to the the guidelines of a > 0,07 (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994), all of the scales of the measuring instruments have normal distributions except for Engagement where the kurtosis was positively skewed. Compared to the guidelines of a > 0,07 (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994), the Cronbach alpha coefficient of all the constructs is considered to be acceptable. A factor analysis confirmed four factors of Emotion Work, consisting of Emotional Dissonance, the Display of Positive/Pleasant Emotions, the Display of Empathy, and the Display of Negative/Unpleasant Emotions. Emotional Intelligence also consists of four factors namely the Use of Emotion, Caring Empathy, the Control of Emotions, and Expression Recognition. Well- being consists of two factors namely Exhaustion and Engagement. Finally, Social Support consists of three factors Co-worker Support, Supervisor Support, and Family Support. An analysis of the data indicated that all of the correlations between the different constructs mentioned below are statistically and practically significant. The Display of Positive/Pleasant Emotions and the Display of Empathy is positively related to Emotional Dissonance. The Display of Empathy is positively related to Emotional Dissonance as well as to the Display of Positive/Pleasant Emotions. The Display of Negative/Unpleasant Emotions is negatively related to the Display of Positive/Pleasant Emotions and the Display of Empathy. Exhaustion is negatively related to Engagement, the Use of Emotions, and the Control of Emotions. Engagement is positively related to Co-worker Support, the Use of Emotion as well as to the Control of Emotions. Family Support is positively related to both Supervisor Support and Co-worker Support. Supervisor Support is positively related to Co-worker Support. The Use of Emotion is positively related to Caring Empathy and the Control of Emotions. Caring Empathy is positively related to the Control of Emotions, the Display of Positive/Pleasant Emotions, and the Display of Empathy, while it in turn is negatively correlated to the Display of Negative/Unpleasant Emotions. The Control of Emotions is negatively related to the Display of Negative/Unpleasant Emotions. Emotional Dissonance is positively related to both the Display of Positive/Pleasant Emotions and the Display of Empathy. Finally, the Display of Positive/Pleasant Emotions is positively related to the Display of Empathy. In a multiple regression analysis with Emotional Dissonance as dependant variable and with demographic variables, as independent variable a statistically significant model was produced. More specifically, 11% of the variance predicted in Emotional Dissonance was explained by gender, age and ethnicity. In a multiple regression analysis indicated that Emotional Intelligence (specifically the Use of Emotion), Emotion Work (specifically Emotional Dissonance), and Social Support (specifically Co-worker Support) predicted 31% of the total variance in Engagement. Emotional Intelligence (specifically the Use of Emotion and the Control of Emotions), Emotion Work (specifically Emotional Dissonance and the Display of Negative/Unpleasant Emotions), and Social Support (specifically Co-worker Support) predicted 43% of the total variance in Exhaustion A multivariate analysis of variance, which was used to determine differences between ethnic, age, and gender groups with regard to Emotion Work, indicated that participants in the African ethnic group experienced higher levels of Emotional Dissonance than participants in the White ethnic group. Female participants display higher levels of Emotional Dissonance, the Display of Positive/Pleasant Emotions, and the Display of Empathy, while male participants experienced higher levels of the Display of Negative/Unpleasant Emotions. The age group of 42 to 51 experienced lower levels of Emotion Work owing to the experience of Emotional Dissonance, than participants in the age groups of 21 to 31, 32 to 41, and 52 to 66. / Thesis (M.A. (Human Resource Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Den här studien handlar om den växande gruppen utövare (s.k. sessionsgivare) inom komplementärmedicin och nyandlighet. Studiens syfte är att undersöka huruvida de uppfattar sig som varande i en yrkesroll, hur de förhåller sig till denna samt deras förhållningssätt gentemot klienter, i och utanför sin praktik. Ansatsen är explorativ och syftar främst till att förstå intervjupersonernas erfarenheter och upplevelser. För att möta syftet ställs tre frågor: (1) Hur förhåller sig intervjupersonerna till sin professionella respektive privata roll och vilka rollkonflikter kan uppstå? (2) Hur beskrivs emotionella aspekter av arbetet och hur hanteras emotioner som uppstår i mötet med klienter? och (3) Vilka utmaningar och strategier beskrivs gällande gränser och gränssättning gentemot klienter? Metoden är kvalitativ och intervjuer har genomförts med fem personer som möter kriterierna för studiens syfte. I analysen används socialpsykologiska teorier om social interaktion, roller och emotioner.  Resultatet visar på variation i synen på roller, från att arbetet är ett slags kall till att det ses främst som en yrkesroll. Det framgår att intervjupersonerna eftersträvar öppenhet och autenticitet i mötet med klienter och önskar minimera diskrepansen mellan det de visar upp i sin roll som sessionsgivare och hur de är privat. Resultatet visar vidare att rollkonflikter och rollförvirring kan uppstå när intervjupersonerna möter klienter utanför sin praktik och att de i vissa fall upplever utmaningar i att upprätthålla personliga gränser. En slutsats från analysen är att intervjupersonerna ägnar sig åt emotionell hantering och härbärgering i sitt arbete och påverkas av känslo- och uttrycksregler samt att de har utarbetat individuella strategier för att hantera detta. / This study is about the growing group of practitioners (so-called session givers) in complementary medicine and contemporary spirituality. The aim of the study is to explore whether such session givers perceive themselves as being in a working role, how they relate to this role, and their attitude towards clients, inside and outside their practice. The approach of the study is explorative and aims primarily at understanding the interviewees' experiences. To achieve this aim three questions are asked: (1) How do the interviewees relate to their professional and private roles respectively, and what role conflicts can occur between the two? (2) How are emotional aspects of the work described and how are emotions that arise during meetings with clients handled? and (3) What challenges and strategies do the interviewees describe regarding boundaries and setting limits towards clients? The method is qualitative and interviews have been conducted with five session givers. In the analysis social psychological theories of social interaction, roles and emotions are used.  The result shows variations in the view of roles, from work being a kind of calling to seeing it as a professional role. It also shows that the interviewees seek openness and authenticity in the meeting with clients and wish to minimize the discrepancy between what they display in their role as session givers and how they act in private. The result further shows that role conflicts and role confusion can occur when interviewees meet clients outside of their practice and that they, in some cases, experience challenges in maintaining personal boundaries. A conclusion from the analysis is that the interviewees are performing emotion work and are influenced by feeling rules and rules of expression and that they have developed individual strategies to deal with this.

Literature on lifelong learning indicates that major life transitions lead to significant learning. However, compared to learning in paid jobs, learning in and through household work has received little attention, given the unpaid nature and the private sphere where the learning occurs. The current study examined the changes and the learning involved in three aspects of household work: food work, childcare/parenting, and emotion work among recent Chinese immigrants in Canada. This study draws on data from a Canadian Survey on Work and Lifelong Learning (WALL), 20 individual interviews, a focus group, and a discussion group with new Chinese professional immigrants in the Greater Toronto Area. The results indicate that food work and childcare increased dramatically after immigration due to a sudden decline of economic resources and the lack of social support network for childcare. Emotion work intensified due to the challenges in paid jobs and the absence of extended families in the new homeland. To adapt to the changes in their social and economic situations, and to integrate into the Canadian society, Chinese immigrants learned new beliefs and practices about food and childrearing, developed new knowledge and skills in cooking and grocery shopping, in childcare and disciplining, in solving conflicts with children and spouses, and in transnational kin maintenance. In addition, the Chinese immigrants also developed new views about family, paid and unpaid work, meaning of life, and new gender and ethnic identities. However, these dramatic changes did not shatter the gendered division of household work. Both the qualitative and the quantitative data suggest that women not only do more but also different types of household tasks. As a result, it is not surprising that both the content and the ways of learning associated with household work varied by gender, class, and ethnicity. By exploring learning involved in the four dimensions of household work: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual, this dissertation demonstrates that learning is both lifelong and lifewide. By making household work visible, this research helps make visible the value of the unpaid work and the learning involved in it.

Literature on lifelong learning indicates that major life transitions lead to significant learning. However, compared to learning in paid jobs, learning in and through household work has received little attention, given the unpaid nature and the private sphere where the learning occurs. The current study examined the changes and the learning involved in three aspects of household work: food work, childcare/parenting, and emotion work among recent Chinese immigrants in Canada. This study draws on data from a Canadian Survey on Work and Lifelong Learning (WALL), 20 individual interviews, a focus group, and a discussion group with new Chinese professional immigrants in the Greater Toronto Area. The results indicate that food work and childcare increased dramatically after immigration due to a sudden decline of economic resources and the lack of social support network for childcare. Emotion work intensified due to the challenges in paid jobs and the absence of extended families in the new homeland. To adapt to the changes in their social and economic situations, and to integrate into the Canadian society, Chinese immigrants learned new beliefs and practices about food and childrearing, developed new knowledge and skills in cooking and grocery shopping, in childcare and disciplining, in solving conflicts with children and spouses, and in transnational kin maintenance. In addition, the Chinese immigrants also developed new views about family, paid and unpaid work, meaning of life, and new gender and ethnic identities. However, these dramatic changes did not shatter the gendered division of household work. Both the qualitative and the quantitative data suggest that women not only do more but also different types of household tasks. As a result, it is not surprising that both the content and the ways of learning associated with household work varied by gender, class, and ethnicity. By exploring learning involved in the four dimensions of household work: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual, this dissertation demonstrates that learning is both lifelong and lifewide. By making household work visible, this research helps make visible the value of the unpaid work and the learning involved in it.

Unpredictable situations are a common phenomena in detention centres. This is because employees work in daily contact with inmates. Correctional officers must therefore manage their own emotions as well as the emotions of their inmates. The aim of the study is to highlight the correctional officers’ experiences of insecurity in detention, when working with the inmates. Furthermore, the study examines the security measures taken by the leadership of detention centres as an authority to achieve greater security among its employees. Research shows that correctional officers are one of the most insecure professionals in the workplace. There are also various emotional rules that correctional officers must follow in their work with inmates, to maintain their legitimacy. The theoretical frame of reference of the study is based on Giddens structuration theory, his concept of ontological security and trust, and Hochschild's theory of emotional work. The present study uses qualitative interviews with individuals working on the detention centres, in close contact with the inmates. The results of the study show that strong collegial relationships as well as a strong individual self-confidence of the individual contribute to an increased sense of security at work. The feeling of security also depends on how long an individual has worked in the detention centres. There are informal emotional rules that employees need to follow in their professional role, and through emotion management this can influence prisoners' perceptions of insecurity. In terms of security measures, the detention centres have introduced alarms, meetings, and education to ensure a good working environment. The interviews indicated that the correct officers regarded the education for new staff is unsuccessful in various aspects by employees, and that the safety alarm was seen as the key element when it came to security measures. The sociological perspective, including several theories from Giddens and Hochschild, is relevant to the study as it aims to study subjective experiences and emotions in unpredictable situations that arise when working with inmates. / Oförutsägbara situationer är ett vanligt förekommande fenomen inom kriminalvården. Detta då de anställda arbetar i daglig kontakt med de intagna. Kriminalvårdare måste därför hantera både sina egna och de intagnas känslor. Syftet med studien är att belysa kriminalvårdares upplevelse av otrygghet på häktet, i arbetet med de intagna. Vidare undersöks vilka säkerhetsåtgärder som vidtas från kriminalvården som myndighet, för att uppnå en ökad trygghet hos de anställda. Forskning visar att kriminalvårdare är en av de yrkesgrupper som utsätts för mest otrygghet i arbetet. Det finns även olika känsloregler kriminalvårdare måste förhålla sig till i sitt arbete med de intagna, för att behålla sin legitimitet. Studiens teoretiska referensram utgår från Giddens teori om struktureringsteori, ontologisk trygghet samt tillit. Vidare utgår studien från Hochschilds teori om känsloarbete. I den föreliggande studien används kvalitativa intervjuer med individer som arbetar inom kriminalvården, i nära kontakt med de intagna. Studiens resultat visar att starka kollegiala relationer och självförtroende hos den enskilde individen bidrar till ökad trygghet i arbetet. Känslan av trygghet beror även på hur länge en individ arbetat på kriminalvården. På kriminalvården finns det informella känsloregler som de anställda behöver följa inom sin yrkesroll och genom känslohantering kan detta påverka kriminalvårdares uppfattning av otrygghet. Vidare till säkerhetsåtgärder har kriminalvården infört säkerhetslarm, möten samt utbildning för att säkerställa en god arbetsmiljö. Det framkommer genom intervjuerna att utbildningen för nyanställda uppfattas av de anställda som bristfällig i olika aspekter, och att säkerhetslarmet betraktas som en central del gällande säkerhetsåtgärderna på kriminalvården. Det sociologiska perspektivet, innefattande teorier från Giddens och Hochschild, är relevant för studien då den avser att studera subjektiva upplevelser och känslor i oförutsägbara situationer som uppstår i arbetet med de intagna.

Avhandlingen består av två studier som utgår från projektet ”Det goda arbetet”. Det överordnade syftet med projektet Det Goda Arbetet var att använda tandvård som ett exempel på ett arbete där relationerna med patienterna utgör arbetets kärna. Denna typ av arbete (även kallat människovårdande arbete) har speciella psykosociala arbetsmiljövillkor och känslomässiga krav som måste tas hänsyn till vid organisering av arbetet. Syftet med den första studien var att beskriva bakgrunden och utvecklingen av frågeformuläret ’Svenska och Danska tandläkares uppfattning av ’Det Goda Arbetet’ och att skapa ett mått för generell arbetstillfredsställelse, applicerat på fyra organisatoriska miljöer. Syftet med den andra studien var att introducera konceptet emotionellt arbete i tandvård genom att ge en teoretisk överblick av de emotionella aspekterna av arbetet, villkoren under vilka arbetet utförs och de potentiella effekterna på tandläkarnas välbefinnande. I kappan har kompletterande resultat från projektet Det Goda Arbetet inkluderats i syfte att ge en empirisk illustration av hur tandläkare upplever de emotionella faktorer som relaterar till patient-interaktionen och deras arbetsglädje. Data från 1226 danska och svenska verksamma tandläkare samlades in i November 2008 med en svarsprocent på 68 %. Ett additivt index skapades för att mäta generell arbetstillfredsställelse, och resultaten visade statistiska skillnader i tandläkarnas uppfattning mellan de olika organisatoriska miljöerna (Svenska offentliga/privata och Danska offentliga/privata). De danska offentliga tandläkarna hade den högsta graden av generell arbetstillfredsställelse medan de svenska offentliga hade den lägsta graden. En möjlig förklaring till detta kan vara att danska offentliga tandläkare skiljer sig från de andra tre grupperna i karakteristika vad gäller både tandläkare och patienter. Den låga graden av generell arbetstillfredsställelse hos de offentliga svenska tandläkarna kan möjligtvis vara en effekt av New Public Management-tänkande i sättet att organisera tandvård. Tilläggsresultaten visade att de svenska offentliga tandläkarna hade mycket mindre energi till sina privatliv i jämförelse med de andra tre grupperna och bara hälften av dem förväntade sig att fortsätta arbeta som nu fram till pensionen. Att arbeta med eller på människor handlar mycket om att skapa goda interaktioner och relationer mellan vårdgivaren och patienten. Goda patientrelationer kan vara ett primärt- och/eller sekundärt mål för att göra andra saker, som t.ex. den kliniska behandlingen, lättare. För många vårdgivare är relationerna med patienterna en arena där de kan leva ut sin potential som människor och kan upplevas som en bestående inre glädje av arbetet, kallat eudaimonia. I patientrelationen utför tandläkaren emotionellt arbete som ett sätt att intervenera med patienten för att vägleda denne i en bestämd riktning. Tandläkare har uttalade emotionella arbetsuppgifter i sina interaktioner med patienterna, emellertid har dessa emotionella aspekter av arbetet hitintills varit ett försummat forskningsområde inom odontologin. De emotionella arbetsuppgifterna är betingade eftersom att tandläkarens incitament inte är endimensionella och därför kräver de en hel del emotionell flexibilitet, uppmärksamhet och reflektion av tandläkaren. Påverkan från marknadskrafter och managerialism på de professionella värdena inom tandvård kan av tandläkaren uppfattas som motstridande och utmana villkoren för emotionellt arbete och tandläkarnas välbefinnande. Denna forskning syftar till att starka och uppmuntra olika nivåer av tandvård till att ytterligare undersöka, förstå och stötta dynamiken i de emotionella aspekterna av arbetet för att skapa en hållbar arbetsmiljö där värden och logik kan uppfattas som kompatibla med tandvårdens professionella värden. / The thesis consists of two papers which are based on a research project called ‘Good Work’. The overall aim of the Good Work project was to use dentistry as an example of work which has close relations with patients at its core. This kind of work (also called human service work) has special psycho-social work environment considerations and emotional requirements, which need to be considered when organizing work. The aims of the first study were to describe the background and development of the questionnaire ‘Swedish and Danish Dentists’ Perceptions of Good Work’ and to create a measure of overall job satisfaction, applying the measure in four organizational settings. The aim of the second study was to introduce the concept of emotion work in dentistry by giving a theoretical overview of the emotional aspects of work, the conditions under which it is performed and the potential effects on the dentist’s wellbeing. Additional results from the Good Work project have been included in the thesis with the purpose of giving an empirical illustration of how dentists experience the emotional factors related to patient interaction and their job satisfaction. Data from 1226 Danish and Swedish practising dentists was collected in November 2008, with a 68% response rate. An additive index was created to measure overall job satisfaction showing statistical difference in the dentists’ experience according to affiliation (Swedish public/private, Danish public/private). The Danish public dentists had the highest degree of overall job satisfaction and the Swedish public dentists had the lowest. A reason for this difference might be that Danish public dentistry differs from the other three groups in the characteristics of both dentists and patients. However, the lower job satisfaction for the Swedish public dentists could be an effect of New Public Management thinking in organizing dentistry. The additional results showed that Swedish public dentists had substantially less energy left for their private lives compared with the other three groups and only half of them expected to continue working as they do now until retirement. Working directly with or on people is very much about creating good interactions and relations between the health professional and the patient. Good patient relations can be a primary aim and/or a secondary aim, to make other things, e.g. the clinical treatment, easier. To many health professionals their relations with the patients is an arena in which to activate their human potentials and can be experienced as a lasting intrinsic joy from work, called eudaimonia. In the relation with the patient the dentist performs emotion work as an intervention toolkit to direct the patient in a specific direction. Dentists have extensive emotional work tasks in their patient interactions, however this emotional part of dentists’ work is, so far, a neglected research area of odontology. The emotion work tasks are conditioned because the dentists’ incentives are not one-dimensional and require a great deal of emotional flexibility, attentiveness and reflection by the dentist. The influence of the market and managerialism on the professional values of dentistry may challenge the conditions for these tasks in the patient interaction and the wellbeing of the dentist if they are experienced as contradictory. This research aims to encourage and empower different levels of dentistry to further investigate, understand and support the dynamics of the emotional aspects of work with the aim to constitute a sustainable work environment where values and logics can be experienced as compatible with professional values.

Brandmän arbetar i situationer av stark osäkerhet och risk. Ett fungerande lagarbete är en förutsättning för att de ska kunna hantera de faror som förekommer vid olyckor, samordna sin verksamhet, rädda byggnader och fordon, ta hand om drabbade människor och även undvika att själva bli skadade. Blivande brandmän måste alltså lära sig arbetssätt som inbegriper både samordning, interaktion och individuella insatser i en mycket speciell och krävande arbetsmiljö. Denna studie bygger på deltagande observationer och intervjuer inom den tvååriga yrkesutbildningen Skydd Mot Olyckor. I fokus står hur studenterna i komplexa insatsövningar lär sig en praktisk förståelse av lagarbetet i sitt kommande yrke. Studien analyserar hur övningarna organiseras som en samtidig rekonstruktion och simulering av operativa arbetsuppgifter. Skolans övningsverksamhet ses alltså som en del av ett bredare lärandefält och med nära relationer till räddningstjänstens operativa verksamhet. I studien ges en detaljerad bild av hur övningarna genomförs samt av hur studenterna lär sig skapa kontroll. Det gäller såväl över arbetets materiella villkor och tekniska utrustning som över sociala interaktioner i arbetslaget och emotionella reaktioner på osäkerhet och risk. Studien bygger på ett sociokulturellt lärandeperspektiv med emfas på praktik och lärande av praktisk förståelse. I studien kombineras perspektiv från sociologi och från Science-and-Technology-Studies (STS) för att fånga praktikens sociomateriella dimensioner av teknik, social koordinering och emotioner. / Firefighters work in situations of strong uncertainty and risk. A functional teamwork is a precondition in order for them to handle dangers occurring at accidents, coordinate their activity, saving buildings and vehicles, take care of victims and avoid being hurt themselves. Potential firefighters must learn working methods that involve bringing together efforts, interaction and individual achievements in a very special and demanding work environment. The study investigates how students, through their participation in complex reallife simulations of operational work, learn a practical understanding of firefighting practice. The study draws on participant observations and interviews within the two-year firefighter’s vocational training program, Skydd mot olyckor. The study analyzes how exercises are organized simultaneously as reconstruction and simulation of operational tasks. The training program is seen as part of a larger learning field with close ties to firefighting practice. The study gives a detailed account of how exercises are conducted and of how students learn to achieve control in and through work. That includes material conditions and equipment as well as social interaction within the team and emotional reactions on uncertainty and risk. The study uses a socio-cultural learning perspective with an emphasis on practice and practical understanding. Perspectives from sociology and Science-and-Technology-Studies (STS) are combined to capture the socio-material dimensions of the specific practice studied, including technology, social coordination and emotions.