Studien syftade till att undersöka på vilket sätt arbetsrelaterad self-efficacy predicerade de arbetsrelaterade stressorerna krav, kontroll och socialt stöd hos verksamma inom kontaktyrken (N=63). Syftet var också att undersöka om, och därest på vilket sätt, prediktionerna modererades av ålder. Genom en kvantitativ studie distribuerades en webbenkät till slutna Facebook-grupper för verksamma inom kontaktyrken. Webbenkäten innehöll en mätskala för arbetsrelaterad self-efficacy och en mätskala för krav, kontroll samt socialt stöd i arbete. Vidare efterfrågades ålder samt andra demografiska frågor. Resultaten analyserades genom tre linjära (enkla) regressionsanalyser vilka inte påvisade statistiskt signifikanta linjära samband mellan arbetsrelaterad self-efficacy och krav, kontroll eller socialt stöd. Vidare påvisade tre modereringsanalyser inte några statistiskt signifikanta modererande effekter av ålder på prediktionerna mellan arbetsrelaterad self-efficacy och krav, kontroll eller socialt stöd i arbete. / The purpose of this study was to investigate in what way occupational self-efficacy predicted the work-related stressors job demands, control and social support among human services workers (N=63). Furthermore, this study aimed to investigate if, and subsequently how, the predictions were moderated by age. Through a quantitative study, a web-based survey was distributed to closed Facebook-groups for workers in human services. The web-based survey contained a measure for occupational self-efficacy and a measure for job demands, control and social support. Additionally, age and other demographic questions were included. The results were analysed by three linear (simple) regression analyses which showed no statistically significant linear relationships between occupational self-efficacy and job demands, control or social support. Three moderation analyses found no statistically significant moderating effects by age on the predictions between occupational self-efficacy and job demands, control or social support.

I Sverige ökar stressrelaterade diagnoser kopplade till utbrändhet, och forskning från andra länder visar att anställda inom ideella organisationer upplever hög stress. Det existerar få svenska studier som undersöker arbetsrelaterad stress hos anställda i ideella organisationer. Studiens syfte var därför att undersöka arbetsrelaterad stress och dess samband med kön, ålder samt dimensionerna i Job-demand-control-social-support modellen hos ideellt anställda, samt undersöka om faktorerna kunde förklara variationen i arbetsrelaterad stress. Enkäter för att mäta dimensionerna samlades in från totalt 148 deltagare, varav 120 kvinnor. Analysen visade samband mellan arbetsrelaterad stress och dimensionerna krav, kontroll och socialt stöd, samt att krav och socialt stöd förklarade 48% av variationen i arbetsrelaterad stress. Detta indikerar både på likheter och skillnader mellan anställda i ideella organisationer i Sverige och utomlands. Resultatet visar att anställda på ideella organisationer behöver undersökas mer för att skapa förståelse för förutsättningar och utmaningar, både jämfört med andra sektorer och andra länder. / In Sweden, stress-related diagnoses linked to burnout are increasing, and research from other countries shows that employees in non-profit organizations experience high levels of stress. There are only a few Swedish studies examining work-related stress among employees in non-profit organizations. The purpose of the study was therefore to examine work-related stress and its relationship with gender, age, and the dimensions of the Job-demand-control-social-support model in this group, and to investigate to what extent these factors could explain variation in work-related stress. Questionnaires to measure the dimensions were collected from a total of 148 participants, 120 of whom were women. The analysis showed correlations between work-related stress and demand, control and social support, and that demand and social support could explain variation in work-related stress. This indicates both similarities and differences between employees in non-profit organizations in Sweden and abroad. The results show that employees in non-profit organizations need to be studied more to create an understanding of conditions and challenges, both compared to other sectors and other countries.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka projektledares upplevelse av sin psykosociala arbetsmiljö när de arbetar i multiprojektmiljöer inom offentlig sektor. Projektledarnas psykosociala arbetsmiljö har undersökts utifrån upplevelsen av de krav som följer projektledarna när de hanterar parallella projekt, kontrollen de har över sitt arbete samt hur de upplever socialt stöd. För att konkretisera syftet har två frågeställningar formulerats: Hur upplever projektledare sin psykosociala arbetsmiljö när de arbetar med flera parallella projekt i multiprojektmiljöer inom offentlig sektor till följd av de krav som ställs? och Vilken betydelse har upplevd kontroll över arbetet och socialt stöd för projektledares välbefinnande när de hanterar flera parallella projekt, i en multiprojektmiljö inom offentlig sektor? För att besvara forskningsfrågorna och därmed adressera studiens syfte användes en kvalitativ metod med en deduktiv ansats. Teorin som ligger till grund för studien är Karasek och Theorells (1990) krav-kontroll- och stödmodell, en välanvänd teori som legat till grund för många undersökningar gällande just psykosocial arbetsmiljö. Nio semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med projektledare alla verksamma inom offentlig sektor och i en roll där de hanterar flera parallella projekt. Intervjuerna analyserades sedan med hjälp av en tematisk analys och tre förutbestämda teman som skapades med utgångspunkt i krav-kontroll- och stödmodellen.  Studiens resultat visar att det finns många krav kopplat till att driva parallella projekt i en multiprojektmiljö inom offentlig sektor. Trots en stor mängd krav med av karaktär visar resultatet att samtliga projektledare har en positiv upplevelse av deras psykosociala arbetsmiljö. Projektledarna upplever också att kontrollen och det sociala stödet har en stor betydelse för deras välbefinnande. Det är till stor del baserat på deras upplevda autonomi och det stöd de känner i och med förtroendeingivande och tillitsfulla relationer med sina närmsta chefer. / The purpose of the study was to investigate project managers' experiences of their psychosocial work environment when working in multi-project environments within the public sector. The psychosocial work environment of project managers has been examined based on their experience of the demands they face when managing parallel projects, the control they have over their work, and their perception of social support. To concretize the purpose, two research questions were formulated: How do project managers experience their psychosocial work environment when working with multiple parallel projects in multi-project environments within the public sector as a result of the demands placed on them? and What significance does perceived control over work and social support have for project managers' well-being when managing multiple parallel projects in a multi-project environment within the public sector?  To answer the research questions and thus address the purpose of the study, a qualitative method with a deductive approach was used. The theory underlying the study is Karasek and Theorell's (1990) demand-control-support model, a well-established theory that has been the basis for many investigations into psychosocial work environments. Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with project managers all working in the public sector and in a role where they manage multiple parallel projects. The interviews were then analyzed using thematic analysis and three predetermined themes were created based on the demand-control-support model. The results of the study show that there are many demands associated with managing parallel projects in a multi-project environment within the public sector. Despite a large number of demands with varying characteristics, the results indicate that all project managers have a positive experience of their psychosocial work environment. The project managers also consider that control and social support are of significant importance for their well-being. This is largely based on their perceived autonomy and the support they feel through trusting and supportive relationships with their immediate supervisors.

This report was about employer branding focusing on health promotion and a good psychosocial work environment at company A. The company and the company’s participants from the interviews are anonymous. The purpose in this report was to see how employees and HR managers at company A perceive the psychosocial work environment, the most important strategies for health promotion and the psychosocial work environment and lastly if there were any solutions to possible challenges? The material came from interviews by employees and HR in other words it was qualitative research. The material resulted in common themes of self-leadership, areas of development, organizational culture,benefits, and network of colleagues. In conclusion all employees thrive and are perceived to be in good health at company A due to good health benefits even if the tempo can be high sometimes. There were some areas that needed improvement such as: increased support from managers to employees, employees wanting to be more involved in decisions, access to further development, and the consequences of working too much from home and self-leadership resulting in decreasing social support, knowledge sharing and as well company culture.

L’objectif principal de ce mémoire est d’approfondir les connaissances à propos de l’impact des stresseurs organisationnels sur la concentration du cortisol salivaire. Plus précisément, nous étudierons la contribution des modèles demande-contrôle de Karasek (1979) et demande-contrôle-soutien de Karasek et Theorell (1990) à la variation du cortisol salivaire chez les individus. Les associations entre les composantes principales de chacun des modèles (demandes psychologiques, latitude décisionnelle et soutien social), mais également les effets d’interaction inclus dans ces modèles, c’est-à-dire de l’effet modérateur de la latitude décisionnelle et du soutien social, seront étudiés. L’axe HPS a été associé aux symptômes de la santé mentale (Abelson et al., 2007; Havermans et al., 2011; Vreeburg et al., 2009b, 2010, 2013; Staufenbiel, 2013) ainsi qu’aux stresseurs en milieu de travail (Chida et Steptoe, 2009). À l’heure actuelle, le cortisol salivaire serait un indicateur de l’axe hypothalamo-pituito-surrénalien (HPS) le plus prometteur pour mesurer la réponse physiologique face à un événement stressant ou à un stress chronique (Maïna et al., 2009). Les données proviennent de l’étude SALVEO, menée par l’Équipe de recherche sur le travail et la santé mentale de l’Université de Montréal. Les résultats des analyses multiniveaux ne soutiennent pas l’implication du modèle demande-contrôle-soutien sur la concentration de cortisol. En effet, elles ne permettent pas de conclure que les effets, autant principaux que d’interaction, du modèle demande-contrôle-soutien expliquent la variation dans les concentrations de cortisol. La consommation de tabac est significativement reliée à la concentration de cortisol salivaire et doit être prise en considération dans les études futures. Par conséquent, ces résultats suggèrent que d’autres recherches sont nécessaires pour comprendre comment les stresseurs du travail s’incorporent à l’individu au niveau physiologique. Des connaissances approfondies de ces associations permettraient de mieux comprendre les associations entre le stress à long terme et les effets sur la santé, c’est-à-dire, comment les tensions au travail affectent la santé mentale à long terme (Karhula et al., 2015). / The main objective of this master thesis is to increase the knowledge about the impact of organisational factors on salivary cortisol concentrations. Especially, the models demand-control (Karasek, 1979) and demand-control-support (Karasek and Theorell, 1990) will be studied in relationship to the salivary cortisol. The objectives of this study are to investigate the associations between the main components of each model (psychological demands, decision latitude and social support), but also patterns of interaction effects, i.e. the effect moderator of decision latitude and social support. It has been shown that the HPA axis would be linked to symptoms of mental health (Abelson et al., 2007; Havermans et al. 2011; Vreeburg et al. 2009b, 2010, 2013; Staufenbiel, 2013) as well as stressors in the workplace (Chida and Steptoe, 2009). Currently, salivary cortisol, an indicator of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) or the axis of stress management, would be the most promising for measuring the physiological response to a stressful event or chronic stress (Maïna et al. 2009). The data results come from the SALVEO surveys led by the research team on work and mental health of University of Montreal (ERTSM). Results of multilevel analyses do not support the involvement of the demand - control - support model to changes in cortisol concentration. Indeed, they do not suggest that the main effects as much as the interaction effects of the demand-control-support model, explain the variation in cortisol levels. Tobacco consumption is significantly related to salivary cortisol concentration and must be taken into account in previous studies. Therefore, these results suggest that further research is needed to understand how the occupational stressors are incorporated into the individual at the physiological level. Depth knowledge of these associations would help to understand the associations between long-term stress and health effects or how job strain affects long-term mental health (Karhula et al. 2015).

Although musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and other health complaints are an occupational problem for ambulance personnel, there is a lack of knowledge regarding work-related factors associated with MSDs and other health complaints. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate the relationships between occupational demands, individual characteristics and health-related outcomes among ambulance personnel. A random sample of 234 female and 953 male ambulance personnel participated in a national questionnaire survey on work-related factors, and musculoskeletal and other health complaints. Physical demands was associated with activity limitation due to neck-shoulder and low-back complaints among the female personnel. Among the male personnel, physical demands was associated with low-back complaints and activity limitation due to low-back complaints. Psychological demands was significantly associated with neck-shoulder complaints, sleeping problems, headache and stomach symptoms among both female and male ambulance personnel. Worry about work conditions was associated with musculoskeletal disorders and sleeping problems, headache and stomach symptoms. A local sample of 26 ambulance personnel was followed during a 24-hour work shift and for the next two work-free days. Subjective stress- and energy levels, and cortisol levels were measured at regular intervals, and heart rate was registered continuously by electrocardiogram (ECG). Autonomic reactivity to standardized tests before (pre-work) and at the end of the work shift (post-work) was also investigated. For the whole group, baseline values of heart rate were higher pre-work than post-work, but autonomic reactivity did not differ. Increased reactivity to the mental test, modest deviation in heart rate variability (HRV) pattern during the late night hours at work and higher morning cortisol values during work than during leisure time were observed in personnel with many health complaints, but not among their co-workers without or with few complaints. Ambulance personnel with many health complaints also reported higher psychological demands and tended to be more worried about work conditions. Heart rate (HR), lactate level (LL) and perceived exertion (RPE) were investigated in 17 female and 48 male ambulance personnel during a simulated standardized work task “carry a loaded stretcher”. The ambulance personnel had to carry the loaded stretcher (920 N) up and down three flights of stairs twice. The high physiological strain (HR, LL, RPE) for the male, and near or at maximal strain for the female ambulance personnel, implied the importance to identify what kind of physical capacity is most important for ambulance personnel. Therefore, the explained variance of developed fatigue by tests of cardiorespiratory capacity, muscular strength and endurance, and coordination was investigated. The results showed that VO2max and isometric back endurance were important predictors for development of fatigue when carrying a loaded stretcher. The influence of body size on the relationships between maximal strength and functional performance was investigated in a methodological study. The results confirm that the assessment of physical performance could be confounded by the body weight. Therefore, the models for explaining development of fatigue when carrying the loaded stretcher were adjusted for height and weight. Including height in the models significantly increased the explained variance of accumulated lactate among female, but not among male personnel. Lactate levels were higher among short compared to tall female personnel. Weight had no effect on any of the models. In conclusion, the national survey showed that self-reported physical demands was a risk factor of having MSDs, and that self-reported psychological demands and worry about work were important risk factors of having MSDs and other health complaints. Stress monitoring of ambulance personnel during work and leisure time showed that physiological and subjective stress markers did not show any differences between the 24-hour ambulance work shift and leisure time afterwards. However, ambulance personnel with many health complaints had certain physiological changes during the work shift in comparison with the next two work-free days. The physiological and subjective responses during carrying a loaded stretcher, especially among the female ambulance personnel, showed that female and male ambulance personnel could be exposed to internal exposures at different levels when performing the same work task. A better understanding of the relationships between occupational demands and health-related outcomes require further studies on age- and gender matched groups in long-term perspective studies.

Thesis in project management, D-level by Chris Baldebo & Anders Persson spring semester2011. Tutor: Lennart Ljung. “Project Manager's Psychosocial Work Environment in thePublic Sector – A Qualitative Study in the Värmland County Council”. The purpose of this study is to examine how project managers in the public sector perceivetheir psychosocial work environment in a public organization. Therefore we have formulateda hypothesis based on the assumption that there exist differences in how project managersperceive their psychosocial work environment, depending on whether they work in public orprivate sector.Based on the objective, one research question has been formulated: How do projectmanagers active in the Pegasus program experience their psychosocial work environment? Tobe able to say something characteristic about the project managers psychosocial workenvironment our approach has been to interview five project managers. Further in ouroperationalization and analysis we have used Karasek/Johnsons demand/control/supportmodel with amplifications in form of project specific factors taken from theory about projectmanagement.From the analysis of the empirical data, we conclude that the project managers who areactive in the Pegasus program in the Värmland county council experience their psychosocialwork environment in several ways. In this study that means that several of the respondentsexperience high levels of stress in the psychosocial work environment while the degree ofself-monitoring and social support to the project manager’s work varies between therespondents. We can also see that several of the project managers feel that their psychosocialwork environment is stimulating while others experience it mainly as stressing. Some of theproject managers could therefore more than others, eventually suffer from psychosomaticdisorders as long as their work demands mostly not are compensated by a higher degree ofself-monitoring. / Examensarbete i projektledning, D-uppsats av Chris Baldebo & Anders Persson vårterminen2011. Handledare: Lennart Ljung. ”Projektledares psykosociala arbetsmiljö inom offentligverksamhet – En kvalitativ studie i Värmlands landsting”. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur projektledare verksamma inom offentligverksamhet upplever sin psykosociala arbetsmiljö. Utifrån detta har vi formulerat en hypotessom bygger på antagandet att det finns skillnader i hur projektledare upplever sinpsykosociala arbetsmiljö beroende på om de arbetar inom offentlig eller privat sektor.Utifrån syftet har en preciserad frågeställning formulerats: Hur upplever projektledareverksamma inom Pegasusprogrammet i Värmlands landsting sin psykosociala arbetsmiljö?För att kunna säga något karakteristiskt om detta har vår ansats varit att intervjua femprojektledare. Vidare i vår operationalisering och analys har vi utgått från Karasek/Johnsonskrav/kontroll/stödmodell samt förstärkt denna med projektspecifika faktorer som hämtats frånteori om projektledning.Genom analysen av våra empiriska data drar vi slutsatsen att projektledare som ärverksamma inom Pegasusprogrammet upplever sin psykosociala arbetsmiljö på flera olikasätt. Detta innebär i denna studie att flera av respondenterna upplever en hög grad avarbetskrav i den psykosociala arbetsmiljön. Samtidigt varierar graden av egenkontroll ochsocialt stöd i arbetet mellan respondenterna. Vi kan också se att flera av projektledarnaupplever att deras psykosociala arbetsmiljö är stressande medan andra ser den främst somstimulerande. Utifrån de olika upplevelserna riskerar därmed vissa av projektledarna i högreutsträckning än andra, att på sikt drabbas av psykosomatiska besvär så länge deras arbetskravinte motsvaras av en högre grad av egenkontroll.Nyckelord:

As a consequence of the Covid-19 global pandemic, many occupational groups have been forced to readjust to teleworking. This has resulted in meetings held through different digital platforms, such as smartphones and video-meetings, instead of seeing each other physically face-to-face. This study aims to investigate social workers' experience of performing social work from home based on the aspects of relationship and communication. Central questions that are covered is how collegial- and client relationships are affected when digital means of communication becomes the leading way to communicate. Previous research that is referred to in this study illustrates aspects such as how relationships are affected when communication is done through digital means, what social workers' work situation looks like and the importance of relationships at work for social workers. The theories that are used in this study is symbolic interactionism, communication theory and control-demand-support. The study is based on the qualitative research method semi-structured interviews, containing six participants. The results of this study shows that performing work from home has both positive and negative aspects. Teleworking social workers have a need for social interaction and support from colleagues. Also, physical encounters are perceived as important when it comes to the assessment of clients, but the more established the relationship is, the less of a need for physical encounters. Having client contact from home can generate a negative feeling that clients comes to close, while for others an emotional distance is created through the calming effect of the home environment. / På grund av omständigheterna med covid-19 har organiseringen av arbetet kommit till att ställas om till distansarbete för flera yrkesgrupper ute i samhället. Detta har bland annat inneburit möten via digitala medier, som till exempel mobiltelefon och videomöten istället för att mötas fysiskt. Denna studie undersöker socialsekreterares upplevelse av att utföra socialt arbete på distans utifrån aspekter relation och kommunikation. Centrala frågor som behandlas i är hur kollegiala relationer och klientrelationer påverkas när digitala kommunikationsmedel blir det ledande sättet att kommunicera på. Den tidigare forskning som hänvisas till i denna studie belyser aspekter av bland annat relationsskapande när kommunikationen sker digitalt, hur socialarbetares arbetssituation ser ut och vad vikten av relationer på arbetet innebär för socialarbetare. De teoretiska utgångspunkterna i denna studie är symbolisk interaktionism, kommunikationsteori och krav-kontroll-socialt stöd. Studien är baserad på en kvalitativ forskningsmetod där sex stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts. Socialsekreterare som arbetar på distans har ett behov av fysisk social samvaro och stöd från kollegor, att fysiska träffar upplevs som viktiga vid bedömningar av klienter, men ju mer etablerad relation desto mindre behov av fysiska träffar har man. Det visade sig även att utförandet av klientrelaterat socialt arbete hemifrån kunde ge en negativ känsla av att klienter kommer för nära, medan för andra skapades en emotionell distans genom hemmiljöns lugnande inverkan.

Som yrkesverksam inom sociala arbeten möter professionella tragiska människoöden och traumatiska berättelser. Utifrån återkommande exponering för dessa berättelser kan den yrkesverksamma i längden själv riskera drabbas av traumasymptom. Detta kallas för sekundär traumatisering, vilket i sin tur kan leda till utbrändhet och sjukskrivning. Studien undersöker hur chefer inom sociala verksamheter i Sverige anser att deras organisation kan förebygga sekundär traumatisering bland deras medarbetare. Studien utgår ifrån en kvalitativ, induktiv ansats där sju chefer från olika kommuner intervjuats genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Intervjupersonerna valdes utifrån ett målinriktat, bekvämlighets- och snöbollsurval. I genomförd innehållsanalys framkom tre kategorier gällande hur sekundär traumatisering kan förebyggas: genom kunskap, en planerad organisationsstruktur samt via en öppen organisationskultur. Resultatet har sedan diskuterats utifrån tidigare forskning samt ur ett chefsperspektiv på krav-kontroll-stödmodellen. Studien konkluderar att chefer kan förebygga sekundär traumatisering. För det första genom att skapa en planerad organisationsstruktur, vilken möjliggör kontroll och stöd för medarbetarna. För det andra genom att uppmuntra en god organisationskultur som bidrar till högt socialt stöd. För det tredje genom att öka kunskapen om sekundär traumatisering, vilket fungerar som ett skydd gentemot sekundär traumatisering. Dessutom dras slutsatsen att cheferna kan använda krav-kontroll-stödmodellen som ett verktyg i sitt förebyggande arbete mot sekundär traumatisering. / Professionals within social work encounter tragic human fates and traumatic stories. Due to recurring exposure of traumatic stories it is possible for professionals to risk suffering from trauma symptoms. This is called secondary traumatisation, which can result in burnout and sick leave. The thesis investigates how managers within the social sector in Sweden find that they can prevent secondary traumatisation among their employees. The study is based on a qualitative, inductive approach where interviews with seven managers from different municipalities where conducted. The interviewees were selected based on target sampling, convenience sampling, as well as snowball sampling. In the content analysis three categories regarding how secondary traumatisation can be prevented was discovered: through knowledge, a planned organisational structure and through an open organisational culture. The result has been discussed based on existing research as well as from a manager’s perspective on the demand-control-support model. The findings conclude that managers can prevent secondary traumatisation. Fist, by creating a planned organisational structure, which enable control and support for employees. Second, by encouraging a good organisational culture, which contribute to high social support. Third, employees receive a form of protection from secondary traumatisation by increasing knowledge about the subject. Furthermore, the findings also conclude that managers can use the demand-control-support model as a tool in preventing secondary traumatisation.

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