På grund av den ständigt ökande ohälsan på arbetsplatser orsakad av faktorer i den organisatoriska och sociala arbetsmiljön har arbetsmiljöverket tagit fram nya föreskrifter, AFS 2015:4. Förutom att arbetsgivares och arbetsledares ansvar för arbetsmiljön poängteras nämns även skyddsombud som en viktig resurs. Studiens syfte är att undersöka om skyddsombud inom socialpsykiatrin upplevt att föreskrifterna påverkat det systematiska arbetsmiljöarbetet, vilken betydelse arbetsledaren har i den psykosociala arbetsmiljön samt i vilken grad de själva är involverade i det systematiska arbetsmiljöarbetet. Det teoretiska ramverket bestod främst av AFS 2015:4 men även av tidigare forskning och gällande teorier. Metoden var kvalitativ och sju skyddsombud inom socialpsykiatrin intervjuades. Resultatet visar att arbetsledaren upplevs som betydelsefull i den psykosociala arbetsmiljön, att de nya riktlinjerna inte influerat det systematiska arbetsmiljöarbetet samt att skyddsombuden upplevde sig delaktiga i det systematiska arbetsmiljöarbetet. Ett förslag till framtida forskning är att utöka studien med större antal skyddsombud på slumpvis utvalda arbetsplatser.

The aim of this study was to investigate the conditions that Heads of Department are facing when conducting Systematic Work Environment Management (SWEM) within psychosocial work environment at Umeå University. The study has focused on the obstacles and tools that Heads of Department are experiencing in their efforts to investigate, assess, and measures to reduce risks and follow up actions in the psychosocial work environment. To investigate this, I conducted semi-structured interviews with four Heads of Department and a Head of Unit at Umeå University. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed. The result of the study is that dialogue and cooperation on different levels of the workplace seems to be the foundation of their SWEM within psychosocial work environment. A relationship-oriented leadership, good communication climate at the workplace, and various support functions are also important tools. Some of the obstacles that they experience are heavy workload, performance cultures, and sometimes lack of central support. SWEM also seems to be more time-consuming within psychosocial work environment than within the physical environment. It is not possible to draw any general conclusions from this study, but it has indicated several tracks that might be interesting to investigate further to improve conditions for the Heads of Department. For example, to further map their psychosocial environment, if the central support is perceived as sufficient and how to safeguard the local support from, for example, human resources specialists and work safety representatives.

Abstract The main subject of this essay is conflicts at work and the effect it has on the employee´s health.  I can through various reports read that bad health at workplaces is too high and that conflicts are a reason. What can be done to the work environment so it will be better from a psychosocial perspective? Sweden has a regulation that makes the employer responsible to work for an improvement in the work environment; can these regulations be used in purpose to reduce conflicts? My first question concerns the possibility to establish preventive procedures in the workplace systematic work regarding to improve the work environment. My second question is about the obligations of the employer to attempt to reduce conflicts at the workplace and the third question regards the documenting and monitoring of conflicts and the preventing work to reduce them. The purpose of this essay is to clarify how conflict preventive work can be included in the Systematic work environment management. To find answers to my questions I will interpret and analyze the current Swedish law but also international law. Current law and regulations will be supplemented with interviews to obtain information about the employer´s approach to preventive work regarding conflicts. After analyzing the material I come to my conclusion that it´s possible to use current regulations as a tool to reduce conflicts at workplaces and through that also reduce sick leave due to psychological disorders. But there is a need to set up more concrete routines that makes the employer´s obliged to take all measures deemed necessary.

This essay will study the working environment of heads of units in a health and social care organization. The working environment that will be focused on in the essay is the psychosocial. My interest in the subject evolved from a rapport that The Swedish Work Environment Authority preformed. The rapport displayed a supervision that took place in the years 2015–2017. The supervision investigated the psychosocial working environment of the heads of units in several workplaces in Sweden. This rapport was analyzed alongside with legislation and literature that regulates the working environment to get an understanding of problems in this area. The aims of this essay are therefore to identify problems in the working environment within the heads of units and do that with an equality perspective.    The result of this essay has shown that there is a lot of shortage with the environmental work of the heads of units. These shortages consist of the employee not getting enough resources to deal with the high demands of the work assignment. This leads to negative psychosocial health risks. The legal framework of the subject places high requirements on the employers. But nevertheless, the employers work with the preventive environmental work is insufficient and a contributory to this is the construction of the working environmental law as a frame law.

Our physical, social and mental health are all important for our wellbeing and no one should feel ill or mistreated because of their work situation. Despite this, an increasing number of people are suffering from unhealthy workload or victimization at work. Mental illness is an increasing problem and cost society around 70 billion SEK each year, 50 % of which can be related to loss in production caused by sick-leave. In addition to the immeasurable human costs, Sweden now faces one of its greatest challenges in modern time. In order to counteract this development, the Swedish Work Environmental Authority released new provisions regarding the organisational and social work environment called AFS 2015:4 which are aimed at all activities where an employee perform work on the employers account. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the understanding of difficulties and possibilities when revising current work practices to fulfil the provisions. The thesis uses a case study approach taking place in an organisation within Svevia, a Swedish construction company, using a literature review, a document analysis, interviews and a questionnaire. The findings indicate that even though the organisation had major efforts put into their work environment management, there were improvements to be made regarding the organisational and social work environment. Furthermore, what can be improved and how the organisation can support the improvements to fulfill the provisions and work towards a better work environment is concluded. The results are of great practical use not only to the case organisation but to all organisations similar in nature.

Kemikalier hanteras i det dagliga arbetet ombord. Syftet med den här studien var att ta reda på hur kemikalier hanteras ombord på en svensk passagerarfärja. Frågeställningarna koncentrerades på produkt- och metodval, kommunikation och tillämpning av rutiner och instruktioner samt riskmedvetenhet hos besättningen. Studien genomfördes som en enfallsstudie och bestod av dokumentanalyser, observationer och intervjuer med besättningsmedlemmar. Resultatet visar att informanterna på däcks- och maskinavdelningarna hade stora möjligheter att påverka arbetssituationen vad gäller hantering av kemikalier till skillnad från informanten på intendenturavdelningen som enbart hade begränsad möjlighet att påverka. En god kännedom om säkerhetsdatablad fanns hos samtliga informanter, liksom en hög riskmedvetenhet. Den personliga skyddsutrustningen prioriterades högt och sågs som en viktig del för att minska riskerna med kemikaliehanteringen. Den slutsats som drogs var att det praktiska arbetet med kemikalier ombord fungerade tillfredsställande, men dokumentationen kan förbättras i form av tydligare instruktioner och utförligare information. / Chemicals are a part of the daily work on board. The purpose of this study was to find out about the handling of chemicals on board a Swedish passenger ferry. The research questions were focused on choice of products and methods, communication and application of routines and instructions and risk awareness among the crew members. The study was carried out as a single-case study and consisted of analysis of documents, observations and interviews with crew members. The results show that the informants on the deck and engine departments had ample opportunity to influence the working situation in regards to handling of chemicals. The informant from the service department had limited ability to influence. All informants had a good knowledge about material safety data sheets and a high awareness about risks with chemicals. The personal protective equipment was highly prioritized and regarded as a vital part to minimize the risks with chemical handling. The conclusion drawn was that the practical work with chemicals on board functioned satisfactorily, but the documentation could be improved in terms of clearer instructions and more detailed information.

In today’s working life both the physical and the psychosocial aspects has to be considered when examining the work environment. The psychosocial working environment is of great relevance because it illuminates the individual's perception and experience of relationships and phenomena at work. This essay aims to investigate, describe and analyze the obligation an employer has to pursue in order to tackle high short- term sickness absence and at the same time manage the psychosocial work environment at the workplace. Furthermore, the purpose of this study is to acknowledge the European legislation on this subject matter in order to broaden the understanding of the comprehensiveness of the term psychosocial work environment and how applicable laws and guidelines apply in working life. The legal methodology has been used in order to answer the questions of this essay. The social perspective worked as a complement to the legal method in order to observe new problems and conduct more information in how to confront this issue at small scale enterprises. In conclusion this study deals with a complex situation where every case is unique. It is not possible to prevent all short-term sickness absence, but with the right preconditions and external assistance, employers can handle it without neglecting the psychosocial work environment. By securing a good psychosocial work environment even the smallest enterprises might be able to handle short- term sickness absence.

Bakgrund: Enligt svensk lagstiftning ska alla arbetsgivare bedriva ett systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete (SAM). Även om majoriteten av arbetsgivare anser att de följer lagens krav, visar såväl arbetsmiljöverkets statistik som empiriska undersökningar att detta inte alltid är fallet. Brist på tid, pengar och kunskap är de främsta förklaringarna till företagares oförmåga att bedriva ett fungerande SAM. Speciellt småföretagen har det svårt att uppfylla kraven. Vissa företag lyckas dock ovanligt bra med SAM, men om dessa goda exempel finns det lite forskning. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att undersöka och beskriva arbetsmiljöansvarigas attityder till systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete (SAM), på företag som bedriver ett fungerande SAM. Metod: Studien tillämpade en kvalitativ tvärsnittdesign. Semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med sex arbetsmiljöansvariga från fyra småföretag (<50 anställda). Datamaterialet analyserades genom metoden kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat och slutsats: Undersökningen resulterade i huvudtemat att ett systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete är en investering som ger många fördelar för företaget och anställda, men kräver anpassning efter företagets upplevda behov. Huvudtemat konstruerades utifrån fem identifierade sub-kategorier: ”SAM skapar en god image”, ”SAM är en konkurrensfaktor”, ”SAM är lönsamt för företaget och de anställda”, ”SAM är en dyr och tidskrävande investering” och ”SAM kan och måste anpassas till den egna verksamhetens behov”. Studiens slutsats var att de arbetsmiljöansvarigas attityder till SAM präglas av att det ger positiva effekter framförallt för företaget och även för de anställda. För att det ska fungera måste det anpassas till de egna företagets upplevda behov. Uppfattas behovet vara att förbättra arbetsmiljön anpassas SAM därefter, så att det blir en del av kvalitetsstyrningen. Uppfattas behovet framförallt vara att ge en god image och öka konkurrenskraften anpassas SAM så att kraven uppfylls, men attityden är att det egentligen inte är nödvändigt då den egna arbetsmiljön uppfattas som väldigt bra. / Background: According to Swedish legislation, all employers must conduct a systematic work environment management (SAM). Although most employers consider that they comply with the law's requirements, both statistics from the Swedish Work Environment Authority and empirical studies show that this is not always the case. Lack of time, money and knowledge are the most common explanations for entrepreneurs' inability to conduct a functioning SAM. Especially the small businesses have problems to meet the requirements. However, some companies are doing very well with SAM, but for those good examples there is little research. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate and describe the attitudes of work environment managers, to systematic work environment management (SAM), on companies operating a functioning SAM. Method: The study applied a qualitative cross-sectional design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six work environment managers from four small businesses (<50 employees). The data was analyzed by qualitative content analysis. Result and conclusion: The study resulted in the main theme that systematic work environment work is an investment that provides many benefits for the company and employees, but requires adaptation to the company's perceived needs. The main theme was constructed from five identified sub-categories: "SAM creates a good image", "SAM is a competitive factor", "SAM is profitable for the company and employees", "SAM is an expensive and time-consuming investment" and "SAM can and Must be adapted to the company needs". The study concluded that the attitudes of the work environment managers to SAM are characterized by positive effects primarily for the company but also for the employees. For SAM to work, it must be adapted to the company perceived needs. If the perceived need is to improve the work environment, SAM is subsequently adapted to become part of quality management. If the need is seen above all to become a good image and to increase competitiveness, SAM is adapted to meet the requirements, but the attitude is that it is not necessary when the own working environment is perceived as very good.

Verksamheter som bedriver effektivt Systematiskt Arbetsmiljöarbete (SAM) har visats ha friskare och nöjdare arbetstagare, bättre anseende, och större monetära framgångar, än verksamheter som inte gör det. Det saknas emellertid förståelse för vilka arbets- eller förhållningssätt som bidrar eller leder till att vissa verksamheter lyckas bedriva SAM effektivt. Hitintills har fallstudier fokuserat på hur SAM bedrivs i sin helhet eller på vilka brister som finns, oavsett om företaget bedriver SAM effektivt eller inte. Kort sagt saknas relevant underlag. I detta arbete studeras en verksamhet inom äldrevården (ett yrke med överlag bristande arbetsmiljö och stort behov av effektivt SAM) som bedriver effektivt SAM, i syfte att förstå hur och varför de har lyckats. Intervjuer utfördes med arbetstagare på alla nivåer för att få en insikt i vad deras yrkesroll innebär och hur det relaterar till SAM, varefter en analys av intervjumaterialet gjordes för att identifiera SAM-främjande arbetsmetoder och beteenden. Ur dessa utkristalliserades ett antal huvudkomponenter – nycklar till framgång. Nycklarna var (1) fokus på patientens välmående, (2) engagerat ledarskap, och (3) öppen kommunikation. Även om SAM ser olika ut i olika branscher och verksamheter, är nycklarna generella nog för att kunna ge arbetsgivare en ledtråd om vad de behöver arbeta med för att lyckas bättre med SAM. / Companies engaged in Systematic Work Environment Management (SWEM) have been shown to have healthier and more satisfied workers, better reputation, and greater monetary success than companies that do not. There is however a knowledge-gap about what approaches or attitudes companies with successful SWEM utilize, that lead to this success. Up to date, the focus of case studies have been how SAM as a whole is conducted in companies, or what flaws there are, regardless of the companies’ level of success. In short, there is a lack of relevant research. This work is a study of an eldercare unit (eldercare being a profession with over-all poor working environment) that conducts SWEM efficiently, the goal being to understand the reasons to their success. Employees of all levels were interviewed in order to gain insight into what type of work they do and how that relates to SWEM, after which an analysis of the interview-transcriptions was made to identify what practices and behaviours promote efficient SWEM. From these, a number of main components emerged – keys to success. The keys were (1) a focus on patient well-being, (2) keen leadership, and (3) open communication. Although work environment management may differ between different industries and companies, the keys are general enough to give employers a clue about what they need to work on in order to promote SWEM.

In Sweden, all employers are obligated to provide occupational health services that prevent and eliminate health risks in the workplace. Risk assessment is one of the recommended procedures of systematic work environment management that employers shall conduct to investigate the occurrence of workplace risks. However, implementation of systematic risk management tools might be challenging for employers because it requires certain organizational preconditions such as enough OHS skills, resources, management commitment or a good workplace climate because these preconditions might facilitate or hinder the implementation. To support the implementation of risk management tools, the organizational readiness for change can be assessed. This master's thesis was written in collaboration with LKAB, the Swedish company operating in the mining industry. Specifically, the aim was to assess the organizational readiness of the worksite LKAB Malmberget for initiating the implementation of the RAMP risk assessment tool. The organizational readiness was evaluated based on the modified theoretical model which was created by combining existing theoretical concepts about organizational readiness for change together with the findings from the empirical pre-study conducted with two ergonomists who worked with the RAMP tool implementation in the Swedish company Scania. The research method was a case study, the data were collected by semi-structured interviews and analysed through directed qualitative content analysis. The evaluation resulted in the identification of facilitating and hindering aspects of organizational readiness. The organizational facilitating factors for RAMP tool implementation were identified as - sufficient organizational resources for work environment activities; high management commitment to improving work environment; good organizational climate for employees' participation in work environment routines; well-integrated technological system for risk reporting; and workers' positive experience with previously done work environment changes. The organizational hindering aspects for RAMP tool implementation were identified as - the prevalence of reactive approach in the systematic work environment management; lack of usage of standardized risk assessment tools, lack of OHS expertise in the execution of the work environment routines; ergonomics was not integrated into the work environment management; top management's tendency to support work environment interventions with clear benefits and timelines. Finally, the evaluation of organizational readiness resulted in the development of practical recommendations for the worksite which could be supported and initiated for the RAMP tool implementation.