Abstract Date: 2017-06-05 Level: Master thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors:                             Nilsson, Isabella                  Ulriksson, Jennifer                                            920507                                930119 Title: Connection versus Recovery? Communication technology in the modern working life.  Tutor: Magnus Hoppe Keywords: Smartphones, Information and communication technology, Boundary control, Psychological detachment, Work-Life Conflict, Stress, Job-Demand-Control. Research question: How do managers handle the positive and negative effects of communication technology? Purpose: The aim of this study is to critically analyse how managers in Sweden regulate the use of communication technology and how they perceive the effects of communication technology on the modern workplace. This contributes to an understanding regarding whether communication technology should be handled based on individuals being either digitally connected or able to mentally recover from work. Method: This study is of a qualitative approach, where semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight managers who is/ or has been, in charge of personnel. The study has a deductive approach and thus has its base in theory. Theories have consequently been used in the construction of the interview questions as well as in the creation of Modell 1.0. Conclusion: Policies restricting the use of communication technology is not desirable according to managers, this is due to it being a prerequisite for the working life of 2017. ‘Connection’ and ‘recovery’ are not dichotomies for all employees. Policies can be of use for employees who need help managing the boundaries between work and family. However, to reach a solution regarding the negative effects of communication technology, efforts should be put into the organizational culture rather than policies, which is depicted in Model 2.0. In that way, negative effects of communication technology can be fought off without risking the positive effects. Communication technology should not be handled based on the assumption that individuals are either digitally connected or able to mentally recover from work.

I det komplexa och moderna arbetslivet förändras både människor och organisationer. Detta leder till att hälsofrämjande på arbetsplatser får en allt större betydelse i samband med att alla förändringar ställer nya krav på organisationer och dess anställda. Syftet med studien var att undersöka på vilka sätt chefer aktivt arbetar för att främja och bibehålla den arbetsrelaterade hälsan hos medarbetare. Det genomfördes kvalitativa telefonintervjuer med åtta första linjens chefer, vilka var aktiva inom skolverksamheten, fritidsgårdsverksamheten, rättspsykiatriska vården och kommunen. Intervjuerna bearbetades genom tematisk analys, något som visade att chefer främjar och bibehåller sina medarbetares hälsa genom att ge medarbetarna möjlighet till kontroll och delaktighet i arbetet samt genom ett närvarande och stöttande ledarskap. Studien ansågs vara praktiskt användbar av nuvarande och framtida chefer som vill arbeta hälsofrämjande samt av intresse för de undersökta arbetsplatserna där studien kan fungera som ett synliggörande underlag kring det hälsofrämjande arbetet.

The purpose of this study is to investigate social workers experience of their workload and staff turnover at their workplace, and how these affect their work with clients, at the social service unit for children and families. The research questions are answered by using a method of qualitative semi-structured interviews. Six social workers takes part of the study, and the result from the interviews are analyzed through inductive thematic content analysis. The analysis is carried out with the help of previous research in the field as well as theories regarding stress, work-related stress and the Job Demand Control model, by Karasek and Theorell (1990). Results and conclusions demonstrates that the social workers experience a high workload and staff turnover that affects their opportunities to work long-term with their clients.

Denna uppsats visar med utgångspunkt i JD-R (Job Demand-Resources) modellen som tolkningsmodell att pedagoger kan uppleva krav (job demands) som både krav och resurs, detta utifrån en individuell bedömning av situationen. Den visar även att dessa upplevelser är dynamiska och kan ändra sig över tid.Genom en tematiserad intervjuguide, som utgått från COPSOQ enkäten, har vi genomfört kvalitativa intervjuer med pedagoger. Intervjuguiden har berört tre av de ingående dimensionerna i COPSOQ: Psykosocial arbetsmiljö, arbetstillfredsställelse, hälsa/ trivsel och arbete/fritid. Detta material har sedan kategoriserats utifrån gemensamma upplevda nämnare hos respondenterna. Vi har funnit att uttalade tydliga krav omtolkas av pedagogerna till något för dem mindre kravfyllt. Personliga (sociala) resurser är viktigast för våra respondenter för att mitigera upplevda krav i arbetet. Organisatoriska resurser berörs nästan inte alls som en bidragande faktor för att mitigera krav.

This research explores the relationship between job insecurity, organisational commitment and work engagement amongst staff in a tertiary institution. The research was conducted through computer-aided telephone interviews and self-completion techniques. Of the total population (N=4460), a proportion of survey participants (n=260) were selected using a two-stage stratified probability sampling technique, proportional to size, across the different departments. Three instruments were administered among the survey participants, namely the Job Insecurity Scale (JIS), the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). On the basis of the outcome of the study, a theoretical relationship was determined between job insecurity (JIS), organisational commitment (OCQ) and work engagement (UWES). An empirical study provided evidence on the relationship that exists between the three concepts. The results revealed that a statistically significant relationship exists between JIS and OQC as well as UWES, although the relationship is positive and weak (r=.286** for OCQ; r=.270** for UWES). These results are incongruent with previous studies and might suggest that previous studies failed to examine whether the nature and strength of the relationships between job security and its outcomes are different in situations with different levels of insecurity or threat. However, further analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship between some of the subscales. For instance, a positive statistically significant relationship was observed between perceived powerlessness and affective commitment (r=.304**), vigour (r=.346**), dedication (r=.350**) and absorption (r=.279**). The results imply that as participants feel insecure about the various job features and the job as a whole, they simultaneously express their commitment and energy as well as dedication to their work responsibilities and the organisation. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial & Organisational Psychology)

De senaste decennierna har chefers arbetsförhållanden i den kvinnodominerade offentliga sektorn genomgått betydande förändringar, att cheferna exempelvis blivit tilldelade fler ansvarsområden i form av kostnads- och effektiviseringsansvar. Senare har det visat sig att chefer i kvinnodominerade yrken har en bristande arbetsmiljö, detta på grund av höga arbetskrav och en hög grad av påfrestningar i arbetet. I samråd med en kvinnodominerad kommunal verksamhet har jag fått uppdraget att i denna studie genomföra en uppföljande undersökning om enhetschefernas upplevelser av sin organisatoriska och sociala arbetsmiljö utifrån krav, kontroll och stöd i arbetet. Denna studie undersöker även hur upplevelserna av arbetsmiljön förstås utifrån ett genusperspektiv. Studien har ett abduktivt angreppssätt och empiriinsamlingen har skett genom sju kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer. För att analysera det empiriska materialet har tematisk analys tillämpats. Resultatet har analyserats med hjälp av Karasek och Theorells (1990) krav-kontroll-stödmodell, Connell och Pearses (201) synsätt på genus som socialt konstruerat samt Ackers (1990) synsätt på att genus produceras i organisationer genom genusskapande processer. Resultatet visar att enhetscheferna arbetar i en verksamhet som är gränslös, detta genom att arbetsuppgifterna som tillhör arbetet aldrig tar slut. Inom ramen för enhetschefernas arbete förekommer variationer i upplevelsen av arbetsmiljön, vilket tyder på att förmågan eller möjligheten att sätta gränser i arbetet blir viktigt. Föreställningar om skillnader mellan manliga och kvinnliga egenskaper har betydelse för hur enhetscheferna upplever sin arbetsmiljö. Detta genom att resultatet visade att enhetscheferna upplever att kvinnor är sämre på gränsdragningar och att kvinnor inte respekteras av arbetsgivaren när de sätter gränser i arbetet i lika hög utsträckning som män. / During the recent decades, managers’ working conditions in the Swedish women dominated public sector have undergone important changes. For example, managers’ responsibilities have been expanded to contain more responsibilities of costs and efficiency. Later, it has been found that managers in professions dominated by women have a lack of sustainable working environment, caused by high job demands and a high degree of work strains. In consultation with a dominated municipal function in northern Sweden, I have been commissioned to investigate how first line managers experience their organizational and social work environment (psychosocial work environment) in this study, based on job demands, job control and social support. This study also investigates the work environment out of a gender perspective. The study has an abductive approach and the empiricism have been collected with qualitative semi structured interviews, where the number of interviews was seven. Thematic analysis has been devoted and the results have been analyzed by using Karasek and Theorell’s (1999) job demand-control-support model, Connell and Pearse’s (2015) idea of gender as socially constructed, and Ackers (1990) idea that gender is created in organizations through gender creating processes. The result shows that the first line managers are working in a municipal function that are boundless, which means that the work tasks never run out. Within the frames of the managers’ work there are variations in the experiences of the work environment. The result shows that the ability and possibility of setting boundaries in their work are important. The imagination of differences between male and female behavior are important for how the first line managers experience their work environment. The results also show that the first line managers experience that women are not as god as men to set boundaries in their work, and that women are not respected by the employer equally as men when it comes to set boundaries.

Digitaliseringen är den mest samhällsomvälvande processen sedan industrialiseringen och allt eftersom den ökar drivs förändringar fram i alla sammanhang, inte minst inom arbetslivet. Detta ställer krav på både lärande och välmående inom arbetslivet. Ledare har en central roll i förändringsprocesser och att stärka ledarskapet i dessa är betydelsefullt. Syftet med studien var att, genom en undersökning av ledares uppfattningar av krav, resurser och lärande i en organisatorisk digital förändringsprocess, bidra med en ökad förståelse kring vad som skapar framgång och leder till att en sådan process blir hälsofrämjande. För att besvara studiens syfte har åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer med ledare inom omsorgskontoret i kommunen genomförts, vilka senare analyserats genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultatet visar att krav, resurser och lärande förekommer i samband med digitaliseringen i kommunen. Resultatet i studien visar att ledares positiva inställning till digitalisering bidrar till välmående och att egna drivkrafter är en betydelsefull individuell resurs. Det mest framträdande kravet som uppfattats i samband med digitaliseringen är kravet att som ledare vara en god förebild. Resultatet visar även att utbildnings- och reflektionstillfällen i samband med digitalisering bidrar till ledares lärande. Det som skapar framgång har visat sig vara en positiv inställning, egna drivkrafter och en stödjande lärmiljö där möjlighet till formellt lärande ges samt att det informella lärandet främjas. För att en organisatorisk digital förändringsprocess ska bli hälsofrämjande ses motivation och stöd som viktiga faktorer eftersom de skapar möjlighet till att välmående och lärande på arbetsplatsen utvecklas. / As digitalization increases in speed and we become more digital, changes are brought upon every part of society, not least our workplaces. While these changes often create efficiency in organizations, they also come with high demands on individual learning and well-being. Leaders play a central role in change processes, thus improvingleadership is of utmost importance. The purpose of this study was to examine leaders’perception of job demands, resources and learning in an organizational digital change process and contribute to the body of research with understanding of what creates success and health promotion in such change processes. To examine and answer the research questions, eight semi-structured interviews were held with leaders from the care office of the municipality. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using conventional qualitative content analysis. The results from this study show that theleaders’ positive attitude towards digitalization induce wellbeing and that individualmotivation drivers are important resources to support healthiness. The study also finds that the most prominent demand that leaders experience in the digitalization process is to be a good role model. Further, the results show that occasions for education and reflection regarding digitalization are main drivers to promote leaders’ learning.Success is created from having a positive attitude, individual motivation drivers, a supportive learning environment for formal learning, and opportunities for informal learning. For an organizational digital change process to be health promotional, motivation and support are important factors as they create opportunities for improvement of well-being and learning at the workplace.

This study investigated how Work-Family Conflict was related to Role Salience and Job level (investigated in terms of the amount of job demand and job control associated with different job levels) among women from a Collectivistic culture. A sample of 65 teachers was used. Although the results of the study showed no correlations between Work-Family Conflict and both role salience and job level, this was attributed to the high data skewness, thereby reducing the chances of detecting correlations. The high positive data skewness was possibly caused by the floor effect, which was the situation that the sample consisted of only female teachers from a Collectivistic culture. The high negative data skewness was possibly caused by the ceiling effect, which is the situation that the women in this sample have a Collectivistic cultural orientation, and are therefore highly likely to consider their home role as more salient. Moreover, correlations between Work Family Conflict and Job demand have been found to be higher in Individualistic cultures compared to Collectivistic cultures. There also seems to be no differences in job control among teachers occupying different job levels, and hence, no correlations were detected. Further analyses depicted that the teachers within this sample considered their home role as more salient. Moreover, despite their commitment to both their home role and occupational role, the data indicated that the sample experienced low levels of Work Family conflict.

The main research problem in this thesis is how unemployed individuals experience and handle the situation of unemployment and how their actions are related to their action possibilities. These are determined by factors like level of education, vocational training, age, citizenship, handicap and level of unemployment on the local labour market. A common assumption is that search behaviour of unemployed individuals strongly affects their possibility to find a job. A central question in this thesis is if individuals’ behaviour has been overemphasised at the expense of real employment opportunities. The empirical part of this thesis is based on longitudinal data collected during a period of high unemployment. The sample is a national random sample existing of 3 500 Swedes interviewed by telephone in the beginning of 1996 and in the end of 1997. The results show that the expectations of the unemployed to find a job as well as their actual search behaviour are shaped by the situation they are in. The unemployed have job expectations that co-vary with their action possibilities, but as many as 31.3 per cent overestimate their chances and 10.5 per cent underestimate them. This result is based on questions about expectations to obtain a job related to the actual employment situation nearly two years later. Unemployed individuals’ job expectations co-vary with their experiences of the unemployment situation. Those who believe that their job chances are bad have a low mental sense of well-being, while the opposite is found among those who believe that their job chances are good. The sense of having control over the situation is important for an individual’s mental sense of well-being. Both strategies of activity and adaptation occur among the unemployed. Strategies that are meant to change the situation in an objective are most common, only a minority of the unemployed seem to have adapted to the situation of unemployment.

This study investigated how Work-Family Conflict was related to Role Salience and Job level (investigated in terms of the amount of job demand and job control associated with different job levels) among women from a Collectivistic culture. A sample of 65 teachers was used. Although the results of the study showed no correlations between Work-Family Conflict and both role salience and job level, this was attributed to the high data skewness, thereby reducing the chances of detecting correlations. The high positive data skewness was possibly caused by the floor effect, which was the situation that the sample consisted of only female teachers from a Collectivistic culture. The high negative data skewness was possibly caused by the ceiling effect, which is the situation that the women in this sample have a Collectivistic cultural orientation, and are therefore highly likely to consider their home role as more salient. Moreover, correlations between Work Family Conflict and Job demand have been found to be higher in Individualistic cultures compared to Collectivistic cultures. There also seems to be no differences in job control among teachers occupying different job levels, and hence, no correlations were detected. Further analyses depicted that the teachers within this sample considered their home role as more salient. Moreover, despite their commitment to both their home role and occupational role, the data indicated that the sample experienced low levels of Work Family conflict.