<p>Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka faktorer kring hög korttidssjukfrånvaro (sjukfrånvaro dag 1-14) på Ekgårdens äldreboende i Vingåkers kommun. Metoderna som använts är granskning av frånvarostatistik, intervjuer med tre chefer och enkätundersökning bland de anställda (n=26). Den undersökta gruppen består nästan uteslutande av kvinnor med relativt låg inkomst och utbildning, faktorer som enligt tidigare forskning sammanfaller med hög sjukfrånvaro. Studien visar även att de anställda i den undersökta gruppen fått erfara täta omorganisationer och chefsbyten samt att de upplever vissa brister i den fysiska arbetsmiljön i form av tunga lyft, fysiskt ansträngande arbete och dålig luft samt i den psykosociala arbetsmiljön i form av höga krav och låg egenkontroll. Dessa faktorer kan vara bidragande orsaker till den höga korttidssjukfrånvaron.</p> / <p>The aim of this study is to investigate factors concerning high levels of short term sick leave (absence day 1-14) at the old people’s home of Ekgården in Vingåker. Methods used include statistics revision, interviews with three managers and questionnaire among employees (n=26). The group of employees consists almost exclusively of women with relatively low salaries and low level of educational attainment, which, according to previous research, coincide with high levels of sickness absence. The study shows that the group of employees during the last couple of years has had to endure quite a few reorganizations and changes in management. They also experience some shortages in their physical work environment like heavy lifting, physical demanding work and poor air ventilation and in their psychosocial work environment with high demands and low self control. These factors might be contributing to high levels of short term sick leave.</p>

<p>Vocational rehabilitation is an ongoing issue that directly or indirectly affects everyone at a workplace. In recent years, laws and rules have changed. The 1st July 2008 changes were made in the General Insurance Act (SFS 1962:381). These changes have meant that there is now a so-called rehabilitation chain.  The rehabilitation chain contains time frames for when sick people will have their ability to work tested against their normal work or to other jobs. If a person is considered having enough capacity to be able to work he or she will lose their entitlement to sick pay.</p><p>The aim of our study is to investigate managers’ perceptions of the new rehabilitation chain, with a focus on vocational rehabilitation of long-term sick to get them back to work.</p><p>The method used was qualitative and data collection was done through nine semi-structured interviews. The results showed that the managers we interviewed believe that their primary responsibility in the rehabilitation work is to be the link between sick leave and workplace. The managers generally think that the introduction of the rehabilitation chain is a good thing. It has become clearer with what to do when an employee becomes ill and the timeframes provides a degree of security as the managers know when different things will happen. Our results also show that managers believe that cooperation with external actors such as social insurance has become easier since the rehabilitation chain was introduced. Some believe that the timeframes may be too tight and they are worried that the individual is forgotten in the process. The conclusion of our study was that there has been a need for a more active and transparent process of rehabilitation and this need has been met by the rehabilitation chain. Although the managers think that the rehabilitation work has become clearer, there is some disagreement in the way of working with sick leave. Some managers say for example that they are still doing so-called rehabilitation investigations, although it shifted responsibility from themselves to the Social Insurance Agency.</p>

<p>Syftet med denna studie var att ta reda på nyblivna föräldrars tankar kring främst föräldraledighet, amning, föräldrautbildning, barn- och mödravården, med tyngdpunkt på vårdens roll och pappans delaktighet. Intervjuer genomfördes med 11 föräldrar och svaren analyserades och kategoriserades i teman. Resultatet visade att de allra flesta var nöjda med vården de hade fått från både MVC och BVC, men enskilda föräldrar var missnöjda med enstaka sköterskor de träffat. Informanterna var också nöjda med bemötandet, då båda föräldrarna kände sig delaktiga i samtalet med barnmorskan. Alla föräldrar ville vara hemma med sitt barn under någon period, vilket berodde på personliga skäl och en vilja att vara med sitt barn. Hos hälften av paren tog mamman ut största delen av föräldraledigheten. Orsaken till detta var i huvudsak amningen, men även ekonomiska orsaker spelade in. Att amning är en stark aspekt för vem som är föräldraledig först gäller fortfarande, och informanterna upplevde att det var något som även vården förespråkade starkt. Angående föräldrautbildningen tyckte alla föräldraparen att studiebesöket på förlossningen var det som gav mest, samt att få träffa andra blivande föräldrar. En brist som nämndes var att informationen som gavs var sådant som de flesta redan kände till.</p> / <p>The aim of this study was to find out what new parents think about parental leave, parental education, the child welfare center and the prenatal clinic. The main focus was on what role the care system played and to what extent the father was involved. Eleven parents were interviewed and the findings were analysed and put into different themes. The result showed that most of the parents were satisfied with the care given at the child welfare center and the prenatal clinic. The participants also thought they were well treated by the nurses and midwives during the encounters. Both parents felt equaly involved while talking to the midwife. All of the parents wanted to have parental leave to some extent and the main reason was that they wanted to spend time with their child. In half of the cases mothers used the greater part of the parental leave. Both breast-feeding and economical aspects were mentioned to be reasons for this. The participants felt that the child welfare center and the prenatal clinic strongly recommended breast-feeding which contributes to the fact that breast-feeding still is a key aspect in the decision on which parent who is going to stay at home with the child during the fist period. All of the parents thought that the visit to the delivery department was the best part during the parental education, they also appreciated meeting other people in the same situation. The general information given during the regular meetings were things that many of the participants already knew and could for that reason have been more detailed.</p>

The present thesis focuses on causes and consequences of paid working hours and housework hours among women and men in Sweden and Europe. It consists of four studies. Study I investigates changes in the division of housework in Swedish couples when they become parents. The study shows that women adjust their housework hours to the number and age of children in the household, whereas men do not. Longer parental leave periods among fathers have the potential to counteract this change towards a more traditional division of housework. Study II explores the associations between psychological distress and paid working hours, housework hours and total role time in Sweden. The results suggest that women’s psychological distress decreases with increasing paid working hours and housework hours, but that a long total role time is associated with high levels of distress. The gender difference in time spent on housework accounts for 40 per cent of the gender difference in psychological distress. Study III asks whether hours spent on paid work and housework account for the European gender difference in well-being, and whether the associations between well-being and hours of paid work and housework is influenced by gender attitudes and social comparison. The results indicate that gender differences in time spent on paid work and housework account for a third of the gender difference in well-being. Gender attitudes and social comparison do not to any great extent influence the associations between well-being and paid work and housework, respectively. Study IV examines possible differences between European family policy models in the associations between well-being and hours of paid work and housework. Some model differences are found, and they are accounted for by experiences of work-family conflict among men, but not among women. For both women and men, work-family conflict appears to suppress positive aspects of paid working hours.

<p>Further findings of the current study are: there are significant differences in stress based on employees&rsquo / gender and tenure, a significant difference in burnout with regards to gender and employment type, and significant differences between emotional labour based on gender and tenure. However, no significant difference was found between burnout and tenure, nor was there a significant difference between emotional labour and employment type. Recommendations are made to alleviate the effects of stress on call centre employees which in turn, will minimise the effects of burnout and emotional labour. Recommendations included the development of wellness programmes, stress management programmes, coping programmes and effective communications as a mean to shape employee perceptions regarding their interpretation of organisational demands, threats or opportunities and to enhance call centre employees&rsquo / performance within their work.</p>

Syftet med denna studie var att ta reda på nyblivna föräldrars tankar kring främst föräldraledighet, amning, föräldrautbildning, barn- och mödravården, med tyngdpunkt på vårdens roll och pappans delaktighet. Intervjuer genomfördes med 11 föräldrar och svaren analyserades och kategoriserades i teman. Resultatet visade att de allra flesta var nöjda med vården de hade fått från både MVC och BVC, men enskilda föräldrar var missnöjda med enstaka sköterskor de träffat. Informanterna var också nöjda med bemötandet, då båda föräldrarna kände sig delaktiga i samtalet med barnmorskan. Alla föräldrar ville vara hemma med sitt barn under någon period, vilket berodde på personliga skäl och en vilja att vara med sitt barn. Hos hälften av paren tog mamman ut största delen av föräldraledigheten. Orsaken till detta var i huvudsak amningen, men även ekonomiska orsaker spelade in. Att amning är en stark aspekt för vem som är föräldraledig först gäller fortfarande, och informanterna upplevde att det var något som även vården förespråkade starkt. Angående föräldrautbildningen tyckte alla föräldraparen att studiebesöket på förlossningen var det som gav mest, samt att få träffa andra blivande föräldrar. En brist som nämndes var att informationen som gavs var sådant som de flesta redan kände till. / The aim of this study was to find out what new parents think about parental leave, parental education, the child welfare center and the prenatal clinic. The main focus was on what role the care system played and to what extent the father was involved. Eleven parents were interviewed and the findings were analysed and put into different themes. The result showed that most of the parents were satisfied with the care given at the child welfare center and the prenatal clinic. The participants also thought they were well treated by the nurses and midwives during the encounters. Both parents felt equaly involved while talking to the midwife. All of the parents wanted to have parental leave to some extent and the main reason was that they wanted to spend time with their child. In half of the cases mothers used the greater part of the parental leave. Both breast-feeding and economical aspects were mentioned to be reasons for this. The participants felt that the child welfare center and the prenatal clinic strongly recommended breast-feeding which contributes to the fact that breast-feeding still is a key aspect in the decision on which parent who is going to stay at home with the child during the fist period. All of the parents thought that the visit to the delivery department was the best part during the parental education, they also appreciated meeting other people in the same situation. The general information given during the regular meetings were things that many of the participants already knew and could for that reason have been more detailed.

Vocational rehabilitation is an ongoing issue that directly or indirectly affects everyone at a workplace. In recent years, laws and rules have changed. The 1st July 2008 changes were made in the General Insurance Act (SFS 1962:381). These changes have meant that there is now a so-called rehabilitation chain.  The rehabilitation chain contains time frames for when sick people will have their ability to work tested against their normal work or to other jobs. If a person is considered having enough capacity to be able to work he or she will lose their entitlement to sick pay. The aim of our study is to investigate managers’ perceptions of the new rehabilitation chain, with a focus on vocational rehabilitation of long-term sick to get them back to work. The method used was qualitative and data collection was done through nine semi-structured interviews. The results showed that the managers we interviewed believe that their primary responsibility in the rehabilitation work is to be the link between sick leave and workplace. The managers generally think that the introduction of the rehabilitation chain is a good thing. It has become clearer with what to do when an employee becomes ill and the timeframes provides a degree of security as the managers know when different things will happen. Our results also show that managers believe that cooperation with external actors such as social insurance has become easier since the rehabilitation chain was introduced. Some believe that the timeframes may be too tight and they are worried that the individual is forgotten in the process. The conclusion of our study was that there has been a need for a more active and transparent process of rehabilitation and this need has been met by the rehabilitation chain. Although the managers think that the rehabilitation work has become clearer, there is some disagreement in the way of working with sick leave. Some managers say for example that they are still doing so-called rehabilitation investigations, although it shifted responsibility from themselves to the Social Insurance Agency.

Syftet var att undersöka i vilken omfattning långtidssjukskrivna haft kontakt med arbetsplatsen/arbetskamraterna/arbetsledaren och om de haft någon stödperson på arbetsplatsen under sjukskrivningen samt ifall de sjukskrivna anser att det påverkat möjligheterna till återgång i arbete. Studien baserade sig på en enkätundersökning med 36 långtidssjukskrivna som haft en sjukskrivningstid på minst 90 dagar i följd och vid sjukskrivningstillfället haft en anställning. Studien visade att kontakten varit gles, trots det ansåg ett lika stort antal att kontakten varit tillräcklig som otillräcklig. Endast ett fåtal hade haft någon stödperson på arbetet. Hypotesen ”att fortsatt kontakt med arbetsplatsen under långtidssjukskrivning har en positiv påverkan på möjligheterna till återgång i arbete” fick endast delvis stöd. Endast när det gällde grad av kontakt med arbetsledare/chef och utfall, visade sig vara signifikant på 5 % nivån. När det gällde graden av kontakten med arbetskamrater, facklig företrädare och ”Annan” kunde ingen signifikans påvisas. Studiens konklusion var att arbetsledare/chef var den viktigaste kontakten och att arbetskamraterna och fackliga företrädarna var en outnyttjad potential, som skulle kunna stärka det sociala stödet.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka faktorer kring hög korttidssjukfrånvaro (sjukfrånvaro dag 1-14) på Ekgårdens äldreboende i Vingåkers kommun. Metoderna som använts är granskning av frånvarostatistik, intervjuer med tre chefer och enkätundersökning bland de anställda (n=26). Den undersökta gruppen består nästan uteslutande av kvinnor med relativt låg inkomst och utbildning, faktorer som enligt tidigare forskning sammanfaller med hög sjukfrånvaro. Studien visar även att de anställda i den undersökta gruppen fått erfara täta omorganisationer och chefsbyten samt att de upplever vissa brister i den fysiska arbetsmiljön i form av tunga lyft, fysiskt ansträngande arbete och dålig luft samt i den psykosociala arbetsmiljön i form av höga krav och låg egenkontroll. Dessa faktorer kan vara bidragande orsaker till den höga korttidssjukfrånvaron. / The aim of this study is to investigate factors concerning high levels of short term sick leave (absence day 1-14) at the old people’s home of Ekgården in Vingåker. Methods used include statistics revision, interviews with three managers and questionnaire among employees (n=26). The group of employees consists almost exclusively of women with relatively low salaries and low level of educational attainment, which, according to previous research, coincide with high levels of sickness absence. The study shows that the group of employees during the last couple of years has had to endure quite a few reorganizations and changes in management. They also experience some shortages in their physical work environment like heavy lifting, physical demanding work and poor air ventilation and in their psychosocial work environment with high demands and low self control. These factors might be contributing to high levels of short term sick leave.

Stress and monotonous work contribute substantially to the development of chronic musculoskeletal disorders. Yet, the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the process, particularly the involvement of autonomic regulation, remain unclear. It has been suggested that altered motor control resulting from distorted sensory information from fatigued muscles may be an important component in the development of musculoskeletal disorders. Animal studies have shown that sympathetic nervous system activation exerts actions in skeletal muscles, such as vasoconstriction and modulation of afferent information from muscle spindles. However, few attempts have been made to address this issue in humans. Therefore, the first aim of the thesis was to investigate the impact of repetitive computer work with and without additional stressors on muscle oxygenation and position sense in the upper extremity. Assuming an important role of stress in the development of chronic musculoskeletal symptoms, one may expect open or latent manifestations of such symptoms in patients with non-specific stress-related illnesses. It is possible that sympathetic activation may influence pain perception, and that treatments aimed at reducing stress may also affect the pain experience. Thus, the second aim of the thesis was to evaluate the effects of a cognitive-behavioral training program and a physical activity program for patients with stress-related illnesses on autonomic reactivity, pain, and perceived health. First, a laboratory model of computer mouse use was characterized in terms of biomechanical exposure of the wrist, and wrist position sense was determined before and after 45 minutes of continuous mouse use. Then, the effects of performing the computer mouse work under time pressure and precision demands were determined. Autonomic activity and muscle oxygenation in the upper extremity were measured during the work, and wrist position sense was assessed before and after the work. When patients with stress-related illnesses were compared to healthy individuals in autonomic reactivity to functional tests, pressure-pain thresholds, and ratings of health, indications of a relation between autonomic reactivity and symptoms of pain was found. Hence, in a subsequent evaluation of a cognitive-behavioral training program and a physical activity program for patients with stress-related illnesses, post intervention effects on autonomic reactivity to functional tests, pressure-pain thresholds, ratings of health and return-to-work were studied during a period of 12 months after the intervention. The main findings were the following. 1) Wrist kinetics data obtained during the computer mouse work showed similarities to previously presented data for mouse-operated design tasks. 2) When time pressure and precision demands were added to the computer work, increased autonomic activity paralleled with decreased muscle oxygenation in the upper extremity was found. Wrist position sense accuracy, however, did not decrease after the work as it did when the work was performed without the additional demands. The result is intriguing, as it does not appear to be in concordance with previous animal studies. 3) Patients with stress-related illnesses showed higher autonomic reactivity to cognitive and physical laboratory tests than healthy control subjects. They also had substantially lower pressure-pain thresholds in the back, and rated poorer health and health-related behavior than the control subjects. 4) We found little difference in effect of cognitive-behavioral training and physical activity, compared to usual care, for patients with stress-related illnesses. Patients in the control group showed an improvement of about the same magnitude as in the treatment groups over the 12-month follow-up period. The present findings indicate a non-additive relation between autonomic activity during repetitive work and position sense inaccuracy. Furthermore, patients with stress-related illnesses often reported pain in the neck, shoulders, and lower back. This was associated with lower pressure-pain thresholds in the back and a modest increase in sympathetic reactivity to physical and mental tests, which might suggest a potential use of these methods in the clinical examination and rehabilitation of patients with stress-related illnesses.