Bakgrund: Ett flexibelt arbete innebär att arbetet är flexibelt gällande tid och rum där arbetstagarna får ett stort inflytande över när, var och hur länge de ska utföra sitt arbete. Flexibiliteten kan innebära att gränserna mellan arbete och privatliv suddas ut, där det föreligger individuella skillnader i såväl förmågan att sätta gränser mellan domänerna arbete och privatliv som preferenser gällande gränssättande, där vissa föredrar att hålla arbetet på arbetet medan andra trivs med att blanda samman arbetet med privatliv. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka om obalans mellan beteende och preferenser inom ett flexibelt arbete visade samband med stress hos undervisande och forskande personal på ett universitet. Studien kontrollerade även för relevanta variabler. Metod: Designen var en tvärsnittsstudie där en enkät skickades ut till 1271 undervisande och forskande personal på ett universitet. För att mäta gränslöst beteende, preferenser gällande gränssättande och stress användas tre stycken etablerade formulär; Work interrupting nonwork behaviors scale, Workplace segmentation preferences och COPSOQ II. Svarsfrekvensen var 39,7% och två hierarkiska multipla regressionsanalyser genomfördes med stress som utfallsvariabel, arbetsbelastning och undervisningsfördelning som förväxlingsvariabler och prediktorn utgjordes i analys 1 av Obalans – Beteende, seg. (n=218) och i analys 2 av Obalans – Beteende, integ. (n=303). Resultat: I analys 1 förelåg det ett negativt samband mellan stress och Obalans – Beteende, seg. När förväxlingsvariablerna kontrollerades förklarade Obalans – Beteende, seg. 4,4% av variationen i stress. I analys 2 förelåg det ett positivt samband mellan stress och Obalans – Beteende, integ. När förväxlingsvariablerna kontrollerades förklarade Obalans – Beteende, integ. 9,3% av variationen i stress. Slutsats: Föreliggande studie indikerar på att obalans mellan beteende och preferenser både är en faktor som kan genera i ökad och minskad stress, där studiens resultat tyder på att obalansen värderas olika vilket i sin tur skulle kunna bero på att segregation respektive integration är olika svårt att uppnå. / Background: Flexible work means flexible in terms of time and space, where employees have influence over when, where, and for how long they will work. This also means that the boundaries between work and privacy can become unclear. There are individual differences in both the ability to set boundaries between work and privacy as for preferences; some prefer to keep work at work while others prefer to merge work with privacy. Objective: The aim of the study was to examine if imbalance between behavior and preferences in a flexible work was associated with stress. Relevant confounders were included. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted within one university. Three established forms were used; Work interrupting nonwork behaviors scale, Workplace segmentation preferences, and COPSOQ II. Two hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted, with stress as the outcome variable, workload and teaching distribution as confounders, and Imbalance – Behavior, segregation as predictor in analysis 1 (n=218) and Imbalance – Behavior, integration as predictor in analysis 2 (n=303). Results and Conclusion: Imbalance – Behavior, segregation was associated with lower levels of stress, and Imbalance – Behavior, integration was associated with higher levels of stress. The results of the study indicate that the imbalance is evaluated differently, which could be due to the fact that segregation versus integration are variously hard to achieve.

The purpose of the study is to highlight perceptions about data literacy among employees at Luleå University professional services and institutions. The purpose is motivated on the report that the University Library in Luleå wrote in 2018, a report that shows a discrepancy between the national vision of open research data and the actual research data management at Luleå University of Technology. The university employees' perceptions about the issue can be seen as a current situation description at Luleå University of Technology, but also as a starting point for future discussions about educating data literacy at Luleå University of Technology. The theoretical foundat-ion of the study is social constructionist and is within the socio-cultural perspective formation in which Roger Säljö's interpretations of literature and learning are in focus. The study shows that there are perceptions that express the need for education in data literacy, but also that there are intra-institutional problems regarding get-ting time and space for the education and that there is a demand for a greater collaboration between libraries and institutions on the issue. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.

The initial research question for this study asked whether single women were having their employment needs met by the union in a university setting. Twelve single women who were members of a union at a university participated in semi-structured interviews about their experiences with the union. To the surprise of the researcher, the single women interviewed felt they had no needs. Drawing from feminist literature on the social construction of gender, this analysis argues that because of the patriarchal nature of our culture, women were raised to be mindful of other's needs and not their own, which made it difficult for participants to identify their own needs. / Graduation date: 2013

This research was undertaken within the broader concept of Corporate Social Investments and how this concept is integrated within the context of staff retention and what this means for business and creating employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Illustrated through the description of CSI literature and intending to explain the link between CSI and employee retention, research questions presented as part of the outcomes for the research examines notion that there is a relationship between Corporate Social Investment and Employee Retention. Reference to the case study "Rhodes / Kuyasa Partnership" illustrates how such partnerships attempt to create opportunities for the community, the organisation, people with disabilities and employees at large. The case study was written to be used as a teaching case study in the context of Human Resources, Business Sustainability and Corporate Social Investment. The effectiveness and viability of the Kuyasa / Rhodes partnership will highlight acceptance and or non acceptance of people with disability by the non-disabled workforce. This case study will highlight CSI linkages that lead to staff retention, higher job satisfaction, lower turnover of staff, enhanced community engagement, creating opportunities that accommodate people with special needs, developing models that can be replicated in other organisations, creating additional opportunities for existing staff. Metcalf (2008:61) suggests that organisations need to ensure that the leadership and organisation culture within organisations is appropriate to engage staff with disabilities and non-disabled staff, and that their most senior managers demonstrate their commitment to develop, and help others develop, in the same way. The Kuyasa Rhodes Partnership may have started off as a Retention Strategy, however has given rise to a social initiative that can be replicated in other enabling organisations. The case study material was acquired through one on one interviews, and a focus group session on the effectiveness with the retention of such employees with intellectual disabilities, internship and mentoring issues, and as well as issues such as affirmative action, and the benefits and shortcomings of staff retention to the organisation. Key stakeholders interviewed for this case study expressed differing view -points, and in particular the benefits and shortcomings of this initiative. The Rhodes Kuyasa initiative appears to have achieved some success in enabling young adults / learners to work in a mainstream working environment by developing employment skills and life skills, and by improving their employment opportunities. Factors critical to the continuation of such initiatives included: the close involvement with both partners (Rhodes and the Kuyasa Special School), the sensitive treatment of the learners, and creating internal departmental partnerships within the Rhodes environment. A selected group of ten learners were mentored and provided with full time employment within the industrial Campus Food Services facility. Discussion that was highlighted in the case study must give consideration to a more investigative approach into overcoming the barriers of discrimination in the workplace and the major barriers to skills development. These have highlighted a number of relatively consistent themes around what were the successful and unsuccessful strategies. Integration of people with disabilities within the Rhodes University service areas has had positive effects for the disabled learner and employee workplace. People with disabilities indicated on how having mainstream employment allowed them to be independent, have a purpose in life and enhance their self worth in their communities and place of employment. Furthermore, being employed had positive repercussions on the person‘s co-workers. By demonstrating their competence, people with disabilities have had significant impact on other people‘s attitudes to disabled persons. Discussions held with the Principal of the Kuyasa Specialised School highlighted the need for crucial planning within special schools for disabled people in the area of transition from school to skills development and work. Skills development guidance is important in ensuring a choice of relevant interventions and obtaining the necessary information. Some staff expressed frustration at being with co-workers who questioned their presence and placement in the kitchen environment. Even though the disabled person was suitably placed they faced stereotypical behaviour and attitudes from their co-workers on what people with disabilities can or cannot do. Staff with intellectual disabilities commented that their co-workers see them as needing constant attention and care and not being capable of working. Some of the staff with disabilities had to work much harder to be recognised by their co-workers and supervisors. Currently few people with disabilities seem to be receiving career guidance while at school, as reflected in the case studies. One person with an intellectual disability described how the intervention of developing a comprehensive school leaving plan, which was then implemented by the school, allowed for good transition from school to Rhodes University. The role of personal factors such as life skills, personal motivation, the desire for personal achievement and a positive attitude were common themes that came out of the focus group. Initiatives to ensure that people accept themselves, their circumstances and are able to express their desires and realise their dreams are important factors. In addressing the barriers, co-worker attitudes make a big difference to how effectively the disabled person is able to participate in the training and employment. The future focus must be enabling and in line with successes and failures in the areas of employee integration in the workplace, life-skills development for people with disabilities. A clear career guidance plan should be developed for all disabled children before they leave school. This plan should include provision of adequate information on different career options and training. The negative attitudes of co-workers and supervisors should be changed by providing training support to ensure that they feel confident to meet the needs of disabled staff. Employers should be providing support and information on how to meet the needs of disabled employees. People with intellectual disabilities are an integral part of the South African population. Business and social enterprises need to have a focused inclusive strategy to integrate people with intellectual disabilities within the South African society to ensure equity and diversity awareness. Working with people with intellectual disabilities has been the focus of this research to ensure long term sustainable employment, CSI and Employment equity. Integrating Corporate Social Investment policies with Human Resources Equity policies are important factors in ensuring that people with intellectual disabilities are a fundamental focus in recruitment and retention strategies within business and social enterprises. Initiatives such as the Kuyasa / Rhodes Partnership are attempting to align to the overall objectives of incorporating people with intellectual disabilities into mainstream work, in particular, with the objective of incorporating people with disabilities in some accessible sections within the organisation. This contributes to the Rhodes University Campus Food Services becoming an example of excellence in the CSI and employee retention field. It is hoped that this teaching case study will make an important contribution to students learning about sustainable business practices, and for business focusing on employment recruitment and retention strategies to integrate people with intellectual disabilities within their organisations.

Through the use of contextual data, this research study aims to explicate a theory about the experiences of academic women, who are also mothers, employed at a South African University. The research is interpretive in nature as it explores the women's accounts of the conflicts they face in striving to satisfy the demands of both their scholarly work and family responsibilities within multiple intersecting factors related to their personal/familial circumstances, and the strategic processes they engage in to manage the balance between these competing roles. The study followed a constructivist grounded theory design in an attempt to test the hypothesis (emerging from a prior pilot study) that the most significant enabling factors at work in the lives of these women comprise various relational support processes. The findings indicate that balancing academic work and mothering is a delicate activity that is sensitive to a number of facilitating as well as hindering factors. The participants revealed that they experience work-family role-conflict as a result of competing desires to dedicate themselves fully to both of these roles. The relational factors most prominently cited as being critical to enabling a work-family balance include the presence of a supportive partner, a support structure in the home in the form of an employed domestic helper, and the support derived from a 'shared experience' with other working mothers. Non-relational factors emanating from the unique quality of life afforded to mothers by employment within the particular case institution also emerged as being significantly enabling of a work-family balance for this group of academic mothers.