Det övergripande syftet med denna studie var att undersöka skillnader mellan den traditionella och hybrida arbetsmodellen med avseende på deras påverkan på arbetslivsbalans och psykiskt välbefinnande hos kommunala kontorsarbetare. Studien hade en kvantitativ karaktär, där en webbaserad enkät genomfördes och genererade totalt (N=132) deltagare, varav (N=22) arbetadeenligt den traditionella arbetsmodellen och (N=110) enligt den hybrida arbetsmodellen. Deltagarna i studien rekryterades genom ett bekvämlighetsurval. Vid analys av insamlad data användes Mann-Whitney U-test. Resultatet visade att det inte finns någon statistiskt signifikant skillnad mellan arbetsmodellerna gällande arbetslivsbalans och psykiskt välbefinnande. Resultatet diskuteras i diskussionen.

Background: The line between work-life and personal life has been blurred as a consequence of the constant connectivity from the rising technological innovation. It has resulted in many employees using work-related information and communication technologies (WICTs) after work hours, which has been shown to have negative consequences such as burnout and strained personal relationships. Several countries in the EU have put legislation that forbids managers from reprimanding employees who do not engage in after-hours use of WICTs as a result of the European Parliament’s initiative to implement a right to disconnect. However, Sweden has shown no interest in such a law.  Purpose: The study aims to understand how Swedish employees of Generation X in the consulting industry cope with work-life balance, particularly in managing communication demands after hours. It also aims to find the benefits of potentially implementing regulations on this in Sweden. In order to uncover significant insights, an exploration of coping mechanisms and the impact of digitalization on work-related ICTs (WICTs) was made.  Method: To fulfill the research purpose, a qualitative study was conducted using a deductive research design. The interviews were semi-structured, and a total of eight participants in Generation X in the consulting industry participated in the study.  Conclusion: The findings revealed a spectrum of various coping mechanisms impacted by digitalization and generational differences. While individuals exhibit diverse approaches, organizations must be aware of the complexities and set policies to create a healthy environment that fosters employee well-being.

Bakgrund och problem: En auktoriserad eller godkänd revisor är den somundertecknar revisionsberättelser. Under denna person finns det sedan oftaflera nivåer av medarbetare som hjälper till med granskningsarbetet. Dennastruktur utgör den hierarki som präglar yrket. Auktoriserade och godkändarevisorer har höga krav på sig, vilket ökar behovet av stöd och vägledning.Under högsäsongen är kraven ännu högre och de långa dagarna kan leda tilltrötthet och ökade stressnivåer samt försämrad prestation. Trots dessautmaningar finns det fortfarande nyutexaminerade studenter som söker sig tillyrket. Dessa har dock annorlunda förväntningar på arbetslivet jämfört medtidigare generationer. Idag efterfrågas kontrollmöjligheter allt mer dåflexibilitet och arbetslivsbalans är högre prioriterat än det tidigare varit. En godarbetsmiljö med stöd från arbetsgivare och kollegor stimulerararbetslivsbalans, vilket leder till högre prestation och ökat välmående, trotshögt ställda krav. Syfte: Denna uppsats syfte är att bidra till djupare förståelse för hur krav,kontroll och stöd relaterar till revisorers upplevda arbetsbelastning ochmöjligheten till att uppnå arbetslivsbalans. Metod: Studien har genomförts genom kvalitativ metod. Empirin har insamlatsgenom semistrukturerade intervjuer med elva stycken auktoriserade ochgodkända revisorer från småländska revisionsbyråer. Slutsats: Det bekräftas att det råder höga krav och hög arbetsbelastning inomyrket, detta särskilt under våren då det råder högsäsong. Detta skapar en presspå revisorerna och kräver att både kontroll och stöd finns för att hanteraarbetsbelastningen. Olika revisorer upplever olika grad av kontroll, demöjligheter som finns till kontroll inom yrket rör framförallt flexiblaarbetstider och möjlighet till att arbeta på distans, vilket utnyttjas i olikautsträckning. Stöd kommer från arbetsplatsen i form av ett socialt sammanhangoch från sin chef i form av förståelse och kommunikation. Även stöd frånpersoner i privatlivet är viktigt, även här är förståelse och kommunikationcentralt. Resultaten visar att kraven inom yrket är hanterbara, förutsatt attkontrollmöjligheter finns och att revisorn upplever stöd. Med dessa kriterieruppfyllda finns även goda möjligheter att uppnå arbetslivsbalans. / Background and problem: An authorized or approved auditor is the one whosigns audit reports. Below this person, there are often multiple levels of staffwho assist with the auditing work. This structure forms the hierarchy thatcharacterizes the profession. Authorized and approved auditors face highdemands, which increases the need for support and guidance. During the peakseason, the demands are even higher, and the long days can lead to fatigue,increased stress levels, and reduced performance. Despite these challenges,there are still recent graduates who seek a career in auditing. However, thesenewcomers have different expectations of the work environment compared toprevious generations. Nowadays, control and flexibility are increasingly indemand, as work-life balance is more highly prioritized than before. A goodwork environment with support from employers and colleagues fosterswork-life balance, leading to higher performance and improved well-being,even in the face of high demands. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to a deeper understandingof how demands, control, and support relate to auditors' perceived workloadand the possibility of achieving work-life balance. Method: The study was conducted using a qualitative method. The empiricaldata was collected through semi-structured interviews with eleven authorizedand approved auditors from accounting firms in Småland. Conclusion: It is confirmed that there are high demands and a heavy workloadwithin the profession, especially during the spring when it's the peak season.This creates pressure on auditors and requires both control and support tomanage the workload. Different auditors experience varying degrees ofcontrol; the possibilities for control in the profession primarily involve flexiblework hours and the ability to work remotely, which are utilized to varyingextents. Support comes from the workplace in the form of a social context andfrom one's manager in the form of understanding and communication. Supportfrom individuals in one's private life is also important, where understandingand communication also play a central role. The results show that the demandswithin the profession are manageable, provided that control opportunities existand the auditor feels supported. With these criteria met, there are good chancesof achieving work-life balance.

The content and understanding of student life has changed noticeably since the 1980s, and during this it also had to adapt the media and digital spaces into its existence as well. This can also be argued as having led to a change in how students perceive that they can create and maintain specific use of spaces within a work life balance for the student life. Under such terms, student life thus becomes focused on acquiring knowledge and skills through studies, identity creation, socialization and media literacy in present day context. It thus raises the question of how student work life balance can be different between male and female students, as while earlier research has mapped out the effect of student life during the pandemic, one also needs to explore how use of space, gender workload, social capital in a post pandemic setting. This has been done from a faculty perspective, where phenomenon such as gender norms, social capital and academic housework have shown that the workload between male and female professors are perceived differently as well as changing their view on work life balance and use of space. Thus, this thesis aims to explore how students use spaces in a manner that creates hybrid/third spaces that allows for creation of social capital and identity creation alongside being able to study in various places due to digitalization being present at the university, in their social media and their home. How the media presence has affected the student ability to plan a work life balance thorough use of hybrid spaces, and how use and space perception can differ between gender will be explored and analyzed through a thematic analysis and interviews with students. In the analysis it will then be explored with how perception of aspects such as workload, spatial use, normative expectation, media literacy and similarity themes to understand how they as factors create a normative growing ground for gendered expectations on male and female students. / <p>En masteruppsats från masterprogrammet i Geomedia vid Karlstad Universitet. Valde de nationella ämneskategorier som fångade in programmets inriktning.</p>

The COVID-19 pandemic will significantly transform workplace dynamics, resulting in a notable surge in remote work environments. This qualitative grounded theory study aims to investigate the impact of distributed work arrangements on employee engagement within the evolving work landscape. To accomplish this, the study will employ semi-structured interviews, a demographic survey, as well as research tools such as Zoom and NVivo. The research will be conducted within the United States, with a sample comprising human resources managers and employees representing diverse industries. The primary objective of this study will be to gain an in-depth understanding of how distributed work arrangements influence employee engagement, considering the unique circumstances and challenges that will arise in the evolving work landscape. By employing a qualitative grounded theory approach, the research aims to generate theories and conceptual frameworks that can inform organizational practices and policies related to remote work.The study will employ purposive sampling techniques to recruit a diverse sample of HR managers and employees from various industries within the United States. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted to gather rich and nuanced data, enabling participants to share their experiences, perceptions, and challenges related to distributed work arrangements. Furthermore, a demographic survey will supplement the interview data, offering additional insights into the background characteristics of the participants. Zoom will serve as the primary platform for conducting semi-structured interviews, facilitating participation from individuals across the country and enabling them to engage effectively, regardless of geographical constraints. NVivo, a qualitative data analysis software, will organize, code, and analyze the interview transcripts and survey data. This study will identify emerging themes, patterns, and relationships, contributing to developing a grounded theory. The findings of this study are expected to shed light on the factors that will shape employee engagement and distributed work arrangements, including communication, collaboration, autonomy, work-life balance, and organizational support. These insights will inform organizations about strategies to enhance employee engagement in the future work environment, resulting in improved productivity, job satisfaction, and overall well-being. The study described in this research proposal seeks to make a substantial contribution to the body of knowledge on remote work by thoroughly examining the impact of distributed work arrangements on employee engagement. The findings are expected to empower organizations to make well-informed decisions regarding their remote work policies and practices in the future. Dissemination of these findings will be accomplished through scholarly papers and presentations, ensuring that the insights reach a wide and relevant audience. / Business Administration/Human Resource Management

Yes / This article presents midwives' views and experiences of flexible working and work-life balance. Both flexible working and work-life balance are important contemporary agendas within midwifery and can have both positive and negative consequences for midwives. Full-time midwives and those without caring commitments feel disadvantaged by flexible working and work-life balance policies as they have to fit when they work around part-time midwives and are increasingly expected to cover extra work. They feel their work-life balance is marginalised and this is fuelling discontent and resentment among midwives and leading to divisions between full and part-time staff that reinforce flexibility stigma. Although flexible working and work-life balance are important for recruiting and retaining midwives they are part of the ongoing tensions and challenges for midwives and the midwifery profession. Keywords flexibility stigma, flexible working, full-time work, marginalisation, midwives, National Health Service,

Am Beispiel von Projektarbeit in der IT-Branche werden die Auswirkungen neuer Managementkonzepte auf die Zeitsouveränität von Projektbeschäftigten anhand qualitativer Interviews untersucht. Flexible Formen der Arbeitsorganisation zielen auf eine Veränderung des Arbeitskraftvermögens hin zu größerer Autonomie und Übernahme betrieblicher Verantwortung durch die Beschäftigten. Mit den veränderten Kontrollformen des Managements modifizieren sich die betrieblichen Machtverhältnisse. Im Konzept des Zeithandelns werden die aktiven Gestaltungsleistungen der Beschäftigten bei der Arbeitszeitgestaltung hervorgehoben, gleichzeitig können verschiedene zeitsoziologische Theorien integriert werden. Wesentliches Ergebnis der empirischen Untersuchung verschiedener Arbeitszeitkulturen in IT-Betrieben ist eine Machtverschiebung zugunsten des Managements. Auf Seiten der abhängig Beschäftigten ist positiv zu verbuchen: eine größere Autonomie in der Arbeit, die Ausdifferenzierung eigenständiger Zeitstile sowie eine hohe Wertschätzung und Anerkennung durch Vorgesetzte. Dagegen stehen restriktive Rahmenbedingungen wie Zeitdruck, ungünstige Bedingungen für die Work-Life-Balance und starke zeitliche und gedankliche Vereinnahmung der Beschäftigten durch den Betrieb. Durch das Fehlen kollektiver Formen der Interessenvertretung und einen defensiven Konfliktumgangsstil sind die betrieblichen Beziehungen durch individuelle Aushandlungsprozesse geprägt.

Am Beispiel von Projektarbeit in der IT-Branche werden die Auswirkungen neuer Managementkonzepte auf die Zeitsouveränität von Projektbeschäftigten anhand qualitativer Interviews untersucht. Flexible Formen der Arbeitsorganisation zielen auf eine Veränderung des Arbeitskraftvermögens hin zu größerer Autonomie und Übernahme betrieblicher Verantwortung durch die Beschäftigten. Mit den veränderten Kontrollformen des Managements modifizieren sich die betrieblichen Machtverhältnisse. Im Konzept des Zeithandelns werden die aktiven Gestaltungsleistungen der Beschäftigten bei der Arbeitszeitgestaltung hervorgehoben, gleichzeitig können verschiedene zeitsoziologische Theorien integriert werden. Wesentliches Ergebnis der empirischen Untersuchung verschiedener Arbeitszeitkulturen in IT-Betrieben ist eine Machtverschiebung zugunsten des Managements. Auf Seiten der abhängig Beschäftigten ist positiv zu verbuchen: eine größere Autonomie in der Arbeit, die Ausdifferenzierung eigenständiger Zeitstile sowie eine hohe Wertschätzung und Anerkennung durch Vorgesetzte. Dagegen stehen restriktive Rahmenbedingungen wie Zeitdruck, ungünstige Bedingungen für die Work-Life-Balance und starke zeitliche und gedankliche Vereinnahmung der Beschäftigten durch den Betrieb. Durch das Fehlen kollektiver Formen der Interessenvertretung und einen defensiven Konfliktumgangsstil sind die betrieblichen Beziehungen durch individuelle Aushandlungsprozesse geprägt.

Over the last three decades, the impact of dramatic change in the social, religious, political and economic environment has led to a rapid expansion in the number of women entering the paid labour force in Sri Lanka as elsewhere. However, their identities and workload continue to be defined around caring work, especially for children. Not surprisingly, employed mothers endeavour to balance these two central spheres of their life, family and work. This research focuses on the contradictions of mothers' work-life balance. It does so through an analysis of how successfully (or unsuccessfully) professional and managerial mothers in Sri Lanka combine motherhood with paid work, and how they understand this in terms of gendered identities and social norms. This example also allows an evaluation of western derived theories about mothers' decision making in the context of a developing, Asian country. Grounded theory was used to examine mothers' narratives about life in the family and at work, drawn from in-depth qualitative interviews, along with data from some representative secondary sources, in order to explore these questions. This thesis demonstrates that working women's mothering leads to the formation of a gendered identity which varies according to different socio-cultural and religious opportunities and constraints. Using the Bourdieu approach the research suggests how everyday life operates in terms of habitus, field and capital. However, these working mothers have low capacity to achieve a work-life balance and this may lead to complex social problems.

The general focus of this thesis is on how the family, work and the welfare system are intertwined. A major determinant is the way responsibilities are shared by the state, the market and civil society in different welfare state regimes. An introductory chapter will therefore be dedicated to the development of the social dimension in the process of European integration. A first chapter will then go deeper into the comparative analysis of welfare state regimes, to comment on the provision of welfare in societies with a different mix of state, market and societal welfare roles and to assess the adequacy of existing typologies as reflections of today’s changed socio-economic, political and gender reality. Although they stand strong on their own, these first two chapters also contribute to contextualising the research subject of the remainder of the thesis: the study and comparison of the differential situation of women and men and of mothers and non-mothers on the labour markets of the EU-15 countries as well as of the role of public policies with respect to the employment penalties faced by women, particularly in the presence of young children. In our analysis, employment penalties are understood in three ways: (i) the difference in full-time equivalent employment rates between mothers and non-mothers, (ii) the wage penalty associated with motherhood, and (iii) the wage gap between part-time and full-time workers, considering men and women separately. Besides from a gender point of view, employment outcomes and public policies are thus assessed comparatively for mothers and non-mothers. Because women choose to take part in paid employment, fertility rates will depend on their possibilities to combine employment and motherhood. As a result, motherhood-induced employment penalties and the role of public policies to tackle them should be given priority attention, not just by scholars, but also by politicians and policy-makers.