Cognitive functioning is important for managing work and life in general. However, subjective cognitive complaints (SCC), involving self-perceived difficulties with concentration, memory, decision making, and clear thinking are common in the general and in the working population and can be coupled with both lowered well-being and work ability. The present thesis investigated the extent to which SCC among people in the work force can be explained by objective cognitive functioning (study I &amp; II) and working conditions (study III), utilizing samples from the working population. The potential roles of other common psychological problems which often co-occur with SCC were also investigated in studies I-III. In Study I, high levels of SCC were associated with significantly poorer episodic memory performance during high executive demands and a trend was found towards poorer episodic memory, while not being associated with semantic memory. In Study II, high levels of SCC were associated with significantly poorer executive cognitive performance on all three executive cognitive tests used. Symptoms of depression, chronic stress and sleeping problems were found to play an important role in the relations between SCC and episodic memory during divided attention in study I and executive cognitive functioning in study II. In Study III, in all cross-sectional data analyses, high quantitative demands, information and communication technology (ICT) demands, underqualification in the work situation and inter-personal conflicts were positively associated with SCC, whereas social support, good resources at work and overqualification in the work situation were negatively associated with SCC. In all prospective data analyses, quantitative job demands, ICT demands and underqualification were positively associated with future SCC, including when adjusted for baseline cognitive complaints. The findings may guide prevention of and interventions for SCC among people in the work force. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Submitted. Paper 2: Accepted.</p>

Well-being at work is of major public interest, and justice at the workplace can be a key factor contributing to employees and managers feeling well. Research has found direct relationships between organizational justice perceptions and work and health outcomes. With research on the justice–health link still emerging, this thesis examines the moderating and mediating processes for the effects of justice perceptions on work outcomes and especially health outcomes. As little is known about those who enact justice, the antecedents and consequences of justice enactment are also studied. In Study I, the relationships between organizational justice and work and health outcomes were in focus, as the moderating role of job characteristics was investigated utilizing the demand–control(–support) model. Organizational justice and job characteristics were associated with work and health outcomes within and across time. The multiplicative effects showed that the organizational justice effects were stronger when perceived job demands were high, job control was low or social support was low. Study II examined the processes through which justice perceptions translate into health outcomes. Building on the allostatic load model, mental preoccupation with work was found to be a relevant mediator of the justice–health relationship, with locus of control moderating the mediated relationships. Study III focused on the actor perspective. Investigating predictions based on the deontic model of justice and ego-depletion theory, moral regard and justice self-efficacy predicted justice enactment positively, and justice enactment had positive effects on feeling professionally recognized but also negative health consequences for the actors themselves. This thesis contributes to advancing the emergent justice–health research stream by providing insights into the processes underlying these aspects, and by incorporating this stream into the actor perspective. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Submitted.</p>

Aim: The aim of the study was to describe the experience of working environment in open plan office within IT- sector. Background: Previously was the most common office model cell office, open plan office is now the most common. A good working environment in theise two office types needs different attributes. A theory to explain relationship between health and unhealth is Karasek and Theorells demand- control- supportmodel. Method: A qualitative interview study was performed to gain a deeper understanding of the experience of working in open plan office within IT- sector. Ten informants from two different organizations were chosen. The result has been analyzed with qualitative content analysis. Results: The analyses resulted in three themes and six sub-themes. The result showed that there were both positive and negative aspects of working environment in open plan office. Positive aspect was mentioned as good communication and good social interaction while high sound level and disturbing working situation was mentioned as negative aspects. Conclusion: The result shows that there is many aspects to take in consideration white work in open plan office. To have a good working environment there is need to have a deeper understanding from the organization how the open plan office affect the individual. / Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka upplevelsen av arbetsmiljö i öppna kontor inom IT-sektorn. Bakgrund: Tidigare var den vanligast förekommande kontorsmodellen att sitta i enskilt cellkontor numera har öppna kontor blivit den vanligast förekommande arbetsplatsmodellen. Förutsättningen för god arbetsmiljö ser helt olika ut i dessa två kontorsmodeller. I öppna kontor är Karasek och Theorells Krav- kontroll- stödmodell en användbar teori för att tydliggöra förhållandet mellan hälsa och ohälsa på arbetsplatsen. Metod: En kvalitativ intervjustudie genomfördes för att få en djupare förståelse för upplevelsen av att arbeta i öppna kontor inom IT-sektorn. Tio informanter från två olika verksamheter intervjuades och materialet analyserades sedan med kvalitativa innehållsanalys. Resultat: Analysen resulterade i tre huvudkategorier och sex underkategorier. Det framkom både fördelar och nackdelar i arbetsmiljön på öppna kontor. Bland annat god kommunikation och det sociala samspelet lyftes som fördelar medan ljudnivån och brist på ostörd arbetsmiljö ansågs negativt. Konklusion: Studiens resultat visar att det finns många olika aspekter att ta hänsyn till vid arbete i öppna kontor. För att få en god arbetsmiljö krävs förståelse från verksamhetschefer och medarbetare hur det öppna kontoret påverkar individen ur både fysiskt och psykiskt perspektiv

Bakgrund: Många arbetsmiljöproblem kretsar kring psykosociala faktorer. Relationen mellan krav, kontroll och socialt stöd har betydelse för hälsan. Riskökning för psykiskt lidande ses när både lågt socialt stöd och låg kontroll upplevs. Arbetstid och bristande kontroll har visat samband med bl.a. gastrointestinala problem och sömnstörningar. Brandpersonal har ett farligt yrke och inom brandmannayrket finns många stressorer som påverkar hälsan. Få studier finns gällande brandpersonals upplevelse av krav, kontroll och stöd kopplat till stressrelaterade symtom i arbetet. Det är betydelsefullt att undersöka förekomst av detta, då ohälsa kan få konsekvenser för individen, arbetsgruppen och hela samhället. Syfte: Kartlägga förekomst av stressrelaterade symtom och samband med krav, kontroll och socialt stöd hos brandpersonal i Sverige. Metod: Studien var en del av en tvärsnittsundersökning gällande brandpersonals hälsa där 476 personer deltog. Korrelationsanalyser med Spearmans korrelationskofficient utfördes. Resultat: Låg förekomst av sömn- och magbesvär sågs hos brandpersonalen. Samband påvisades där krav och socialt stöd korrelerade med sömnbesvär och magbesvär. Sömnbesvär och magbesvär korrelerade signifikant. Kön korrelerade med magbesvär. Konklusion: Förekomsten av mag- och sömnbesvär var låg och deltagarna mådde relativt bra. Vidare forskning kring friskfaktorer hos brandpersonal samt fler studier med andra variabler jämfört med krav, kontroll och stöd behövs. / Background: Many health and safety problems revolve around psychosocial factors. The relationship between demand, control and social support affect our health. Increased risk for mental suffering exists when low social support and low control is experienced. Working hours and lack of control can be associated with gastrointestinal- and sleeping problems. Firefighters have a dangerous occupation and many stressors affect the firefighter´s health. Few studies have investigated demand, control and support linked to stress-related symptoms at work for firefighters, it is important to investigate this though it may affect the individual, workgroup and society. Purpose: Identify occurrence of stress related symptoms and their relationship with demand, control and social support in Swedish firefighters. Method: The study was part of a cross-sectional study of firefighter's health, 476 people attended. Correlation analyzes with Spearman's korrelationskofficiens was performed. Results: Low prevalence of sleep- and stomach problems was seen. Correlation was found where demand and social support correlated with sleep- and stomach problems. Sleep- and stomach problems correlated significantly. Gender and stomach problems also correlated. Conclusion: The incidence of sleep- and stomach problems was low and participants felt relatively good. Further research on health factors of firefighters and more studies with other variables compared with demand, control and support is needed.

Denna studie grundar sig i Arbetsmiljöverkets föreskrift om organisatorisk och social arbetsmiljö, AFS 2015:4, som tagits fram i syfte att främja en god arbetsmiljö och förebygga risk för ohälsa. Utifrån de ökande antalet anmälningarna om arbetssjukdom med stress och psykiska påfrestningar som orsak ligger fokus i studien på ohälsosam arbetsbelastning och om det inom kommunen finns kunskaper att förebygga och hantera dessa risker. Syftet har varit undersöka hur kommunen praktiskt arbetar med föreskriften inom tre organisatoriska nivåer och hur de anställda uppfattar sin psykosociala arbetsmiljö. Fokus låg även på att undersöka hur de anställda är delaktiga i ovanstående arbetsmiljöarbete. Studien utgick från ett hermeneutiskt perspektiv med en kvalitativ ansats genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. En gruppintervju bestående av två medarbetare som representerade HR-avdelningen och två individuella intervjuer på chefsnivå. På medarbetarnivån genomfördes två gruppintervjuer med tre medarbetare vardera från de avdelningarna som respektive chef leder. Av studien framgår att goda resultat kan uppnås i den psykosociala arbetsmiljön när alla organisatoriska nivåer integrerar frågorna i sitt systematiska arbetsmiljöarbete och upprättar rutiner för att förebygga och hantera ohälsosam arbetsbelastning. Studien bekräftar att socialt stöd, kunskap, kommunikation och delaktighet är viktiga framgångsfaktorer för en god psykosocial arbetsmiljö. I diskussionen lyfts vikten av att avsätta tid i syfte att förebygga ohälsa och förslag lyfts om att använda krav/kontroll/stöd-modellen som verktyg att analysera och reflektera kring de anställdas arbetsbelastning. / This study is based on the Swedish work environment authority statute book about organisational and social work environment, AFS 2015:4 provisions, that has been developed to promote a good work environment and prevent risks of ill health. Because of the increasing numbers of work-related ill health due to stress and mental strain, the focus in this study was unhealthy workloads and if there is knowledge in the municipality about preventing and dealing with these risks. The aim was to examine how the municipality practically work with the provision within three organizational levels and how the employees perceive their psychosocial work environment. There were also focus on investigating how employees participate in the above environment work. The study was based on a hermeneutic perspective with a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews. One group interview consisting two employees representing the HR department and two individual interviews at the managerial level. At the employee level, two group interviews were held with three employees from the departments headed by the managers. The outcome of the study shows that good results can be obtained in the psychosocial work environment when all organizational levels integrates these issues in their systematic work environment and establish routines to prevent and dealing with unhealthy workload. The study confirms that social support, knowledge, communication and employee participation are important factors for a healthy psychosocial work environment. The discussion shows the importance of taking time for preventing ill health and suggestions about using the demand/control/support-model as a tool for analysing and reflect over the employee workload.

Idrotten som fenomen har globalt liksom i Sverige blivit allt mer kommersialiserat och professionaliserat. Detta för med sig att idrottssektorn idag i större utsträckning har börjat ha heltidsanställda inom föreningarna. Detta gäller för både de stora föreningarna som bedriver elitverksamhet och de mindre föreningarna som bedriver breddverksamhet. Ökad professionalisering av idrott innebär även större krav på både föreningarna och dess anställda att leverera goda resultat. Syftet med denna studie var att belysa hur anställda inom bredd- fotbollsföreningar, upplever den psykosociala arbetsmiljön och arbetsrelaterad stress på sina arbetsplatser. Studiens övergripande frågeställning var: Hur upplever de anställda fotbollstränarna sin psykosociala arbetsmiljö och arbetsrelaterad stress? Utifrån studiens syfte valdes den kvalitativa forskningsmetoden med semi-strukturerade intervjuer. För insamling av empiri, intervjuades fyra anställda från fyra olika bredd-fotbollsföreningar. Analysen av empiri har skett genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Studiens resultat visade att hälften av respondenterna upplevde stressnivån som lagom och andra hälften upplevde att den arbetsrelaterade stressen var på för hög nivå. För att summera respondenternas generella uppfattning av den psykosociala arbetsmiljön var den överlag positiv, samtliga respondenter berättade att de mådde- och trivdes bra på jobbet. Utifrån studiens resultat är det framförallt det sociala stödet som lyfts fram som en nyckelfaktor till den positiva upplevelsen av den psykosociala arbetsmiljön. / Sports as a phenomenon have become increasingly commercialized and professionalized globally as in Sweden. This means that the sports sector today has more full-time employees within the associations. This applies to both the major associations engaged in elite activities and smaller associations with broad-based activities. Increased Professionalization of sport also implies greater demands on both the associations and its employees to deliver good results. The purpose of this study was to create an understanding of how employees in football associations, experience the psychosocial work environment and work-related stress at their workplaces. In order to achieve the purpose of the study following question was asked: How do the football coaches experience their psychosocial work environment and work-related stress? Based on the purpose of the study, the qualitative research method was chosen with semi-structured interviews. For this study, four employees were interviewed from four different football associations. The analysis of data has been done with a qualitative content analysis. The study results showed that half of the respondents experienced that stress level at work was relatively normal and the other half felt that the work-related stress was too high. To sum up the respondents' general perception of the psychosocial work environment, all respondents reported that they felt good and enjoyed working. Based on the results of the study, it is primarily social support that is a key factor in the overall positive experience of the psychosocial work environment.

Syftet med studien var att studera enhetschefers upplevelse av arbetsrelaterad stress, samt hur stressupplevelsen och balansen på deras privatliv varierade. En kvalitativ metod genomfördes med hjälp av en semistrukturerad intervjuguide. Utifrån syfte och Karaseks och Theorells krav-kontroll och stödmodell utformades fyra frågeställningar. Sex enhetschefer intervjuades och det insamlade materialet analyserades med hjälp av en deduktiv tematisk analys. De fyra huvudtemana: krav på arbetsplatsen, kontroll över arbetssituationen, vikten av socialt stöd samt balansen mellan arbete och privatliv var förutbestämda utifrån teorin. Det övergripande resultatet visade på att respondenterna upplevde höga krav och låg kontroll på arbetsplatsen. Vidare framkom det att det sociala stödet var av stor vikt i respondenternas arbetssituation. Modellens förutsedda stressupplevelse stämde överens med enhetschefernas faktiska stressupplevelse och balansen mellan arbete och privatliv visade sig vara begränsad. / The purpose of this study was to study unit managers' experience of strenuous work and work-related stress, as well as how the stress experience impacted on their privacy. A qualitative method was carried out using a semi-structured interview guide. Based on the purpose and Karaseks and Theorell's demand-control and support model, four questions were formulated. Six unit managers were interviewed, and the collected material was analyzed using a deduction thematic analysis. The four main themes: workplace requirements, control of the work situation, the importance of social support and the balance between work and privacy were predetermined based on theory. The overall result showed that respondents experienced high demands and a low level of control at the workplace. Results also showed that social support was of great importance in the respondents' work situation. The model's predicted stress experience was in line with the unit managers' actual stress experience and the balance between work and privacy proved to be limited.

Vårt gemensamma intresse för arbetsmiljö grundade idén till denna studie, vårt examensarbete, vars syfte är att beskriva lärares arbetssituation med fokus på psykosocial arbetsmiljö och arbetsvillkor samt vilken betydelse ledarskapet har för den individuella arbetsmiljöupplevelsen. Den teoretiska referensramen har sitt fokus på psykosocial arbetsmiljö och behandlar områden som ledarskap, krav-kontroll-stöd modellen, arbetsrelaterad stress, kommunikation samt lärares arbetsvillkor. Metoden är av kvalitativ karaktär där sex semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts med fem lärare och en rektor som alla är yrkesverksamma inom grundskolan. Resultatet visar att lärarna upplever en hög arbetsbörda av administrativ karaktär som behöver minskas för att arbetssituationen ska anses som hanterbar och bidra till ett hållbart arbetsliv. De lärare som ansåg sig ha en rimlig arbetsbelastning har tillgång till stöd, något som de som upplever sig ha en för tung arbetsbelastning saknar. En tematisering av de centrala områden som kunde utläsas ur respondenternas svar upprättades: arbetsbelastning, kommunikation, behovet av stöd och ledarskap, synen på ledarskap samt lärarrollen och det pedagogiska uppdraget. Resultatet analyserades sedan med hjälp av den teoretiska referensramen. De slutsatser som vi kan dra av studien är att det är tre variabler som är avgörande för lärares upplevelser gällande den egna arbetssituationen: tid, stöd och kommunikation. Om dessa variabler är närvarande i verksamheten tenderar personalen att trivas bättre men i de fall dessa variabler däremot är helt frånvarande tenderar det således att få motsatt effekt, en omotiverad och oengagerad personal. Ledare inom skolväsendet bör således arbeta kontinuerligt och strukturerat med dessa tre variabler för att motverka den negativa trenden med sjukskrivningar och uppsägningar bland lärare i den svenska skolan. / Our common interest in the work environment founded the idea of this study, our bachelor degree project, which aims at describing the teachers' work situation with a focus on psychosocial work environment and working conditions and the importance of leadership for the individual work environment experience. The theoretical frame of reference focuses on the psychosocial work environment and addresses areas such as leadership, job-demand-control-support model, work-related stress, communication and teachers' working conditions. The method is of a qualitative nature, in which six semistructured interviews were conducted with five teachers and one principal, all of whom are employed in elementary school. The result shows that teachers experience a high level of administrative burden that needs to be reduced in order for the work situation to be considered manageable and contribute to a sustainable working life. The teachers who considered themselves having a reasonable workload have access to support, something that those who find themselves having a too heavy workload are missing. A thematisation of the key areas that could be read from the respondents' answers was established: workload, the need for support and leadership, the view of leadership, and the role of teacher and the educational task. Then the result was analyzed using the theoretical reference frame. The conclusions we can draw from the study are that there are three variables that are crucial for teachers' experiences regarding their own work environment: time, support and communication. If these variables are present in the business, the staff tend to feel better, but if these variables are completely absent, they tend to have the opposite effect, an unmotivated and unattended staff. Leaders in the school system should thus work continuously and structured with these three variables to counteract the negative trend of sick leave and redundancies among teachers in the Swedish school.

Introdução - O ambiente psicossocial do trabalho em enfermagem influencia diretamente a qualidade de vida dos trabalhadores desta área. Diferenças entre as categorias profissionais nesta profissão podem se traduzir em diferenças na percepção de saúde e de condições de trabalho. Objetivo - Avaliar as associações entre condições de trabalho e qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde (QVRS) de enfermeiros, técnicos e auxiliares de enfermagem. Métodos Foram coletados dados em um hospital universitário no município de São Paulo, de uma população de 696 enfermeiros, técnicos e auxiliares de enfermagem, população predominantemente feminina (87,8%) e que trabalhava em turnos diurno e noturno. Os dados coletados a partir de questionário correspondiam a informações sobre aspectos sóciodemográficos, condições de trabalho e de vida, hábitos de vida e sintomas de saúde referidos desta população. Foram também utilizados os questionários: Questionário Genérico de Avaliação de Qualidade de Vida (SF-36), Escala de Estresse no Trabalho e Desequilíbrio Esforço-Recompensa (ERI). Foram ajustados modelos de regressão logística ordinal de chances proporcionais para cada dimensão do SF-36. Resultados Aproximadamente 22% da população foi classificada como trabalhando em condições de alto desgaste e 8% em desequilíbrio desfavorável entre esforços e recompensa no trabalho. Vitalidade, dor e saúde mental foram as dimensões do SF-36 com pior avaliação. Os modelos de regressão múltipla 5 demonstraram: alto comprometimento associado a todas as dimensões do SF-36, e ERI desfavorável associado a todas as dimensões relacionadas à saúde mental. Alto desgaste no trabalho, ERI desfavorável, alto comprometimento e ser enfermeira associaram-se de maneira independente aos resultados desfavoráveis da dimensão de aspectos emocionais. Conclusões As dimensões relacionadas à saúde mental foram as que mais sofreram influência dos fatores psicossociais do trabalho. ERI desfavorável e alto comprometimento mostraram-se mais significativos à saúde desta população comparados com altas demandas e baixo controle. Os resultados indicam que a análise conjunta dos modelos de desequilíbrio esforço-recompensa e demandacontrole contribui para a discussão sobre os papéis profissionais, condições de trabalho e QVRS de profissionais de enfermagem. / Introduction- The psychosocial work environment influences the quality of life of nursing professionals. Differences among job titles may lead to distinct perceptions of working conditions and health status. Aim-To evaluate working and living conditions and quality of life associated with health (HRQL) among nursing professionals. Methods- Six hundred ninety six nursing professionals, registered nurses and nurse assistants, predominantly females (87.8%), working day or night shifts, participated in a study carried out in an university hospital of São Paulo, Brazil. Data collection took place during 2004-2005 and included a comprehensive questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics, life styles, working and living conditions, and health outcomes. HRQL was evaluated using the short form questionnaire of quality of life (SF-36). Working conditions included the job stress scale, effort-reward imbalance (ERI), and other environmental and occupational stressors. Ordinal logistic regression of proportional ratios was used to evaluate each of SF-36 dimensions. Results- Imbalance of the effort-reward ratio and high work strain were mentioned by 7.8% and 22.1% of the participants, respectively. Vitality, pain and (poor) mental health were the SF-36 worse perceived outcomes. The multiple regression models showed: over commitment associated with all SF-36 dimensions, and unfavorable ERI associated with mental health dimensions. High 7 job strain, unfavorable ERI, over commitment, and being a registered nurse were independently associated with negative emotional outcomes. Conclusions- The dimensions associated with mental health were significantly influenced by psychosocial factors at work. Unfavorable ERI and over commitment were more significantly associated with health compared to high demands and low control. These results show the importance to jointly evaluate ERI and demand- control models to discuss professional roles, working conditions and HRQL of nursing professionals.

A real-world study was undertaken of the indoor air quality in a recently-built single family home in central Sweden, to establish whether demand controlled ventilation provided superior interior conditions, when compared with other air supply strategies, including the standard used by the Swedish buildings regulator. The property was highly airtight, with ventilation achieved using a forced exhaust system. Extraction was possible from all rooms of the house, and using a Renson Healthbox air handling unit, the rates of air flow from each room could be adjusted either according to a time schedule, or under demand control according to the unit’s sensing of the air quality in individual rooms. Five ventilation modes were evaluated, each for a period of 24 hours. Occupancy of the house was standardised, with test participants. Two separate air quality monitors were deployed to verify whether measurements made at the air handling unit were representative of the conditions that occupants experienced. Key measurements were the stable level of carbon dioxide overnight in an occupied double bedroom and the time taken for that room to refresh to background CO2 level the following day. The time taken for a kitchen/living room to similarly refresh was also examined. The study found that demand controlled ventilation achieved indoor air quality – assessed on carbon dioxide concentration – comparable with rates of fixed ventilation far greater than the regulated standard. In doing so, the air volume exchanged over a representative day was 33 % less than that standard, providing for significant energy savings. The parallel monitoring of air quality inside the room and via the air exhaust duct showed noticeable variation, but indicated the air handling unit under demand control would never ventilate insufficiently, based on its internal CO2 sensors.