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Purpose This study explores the organisational dynamics in a change process across work units in a Swedish municipality. The purpose of this study is to understand how and why co-creation unfolds during efforts to bring different units into one united work unit. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative longitudinal study was designed using data triangulation for eight months, comprising written reflection texts, meeting protocols and interviews. This study is based on a back-and-forth inductive and abductive grounded theory analysis. Findings The main results of this study indicate that there was friction in the co-creation process between units, between the members of the change group and supervisors, as well as friction within the change group. Further, the results indicate that communications, relations, supervisor support and governing strategies clashed with work routines and methods, work cultures, roles and responsibilities and that the units had differing views of the needs of the intended target group. This thereby challenged the propensity for change which, in turn, may have limited developmental learning at a workplace and organisational level. Originality/value Working across units to find common and new paths and work methods for labour market inclusion proved to be challenging because of contextual circumstances. Crossing and merging organisational boundaries through co-creation processes was demanding because of new expectations from the organisation, as it shifted towards trust-based governance in conjunction with working during a pandemic when social interactions were restricted to digital communication channels.

Using virtual internationalization as a key concept, this article adds to the body of experiencebased knowledge on how to build partnerships and develop courses within higher education. The purpose of this article is to disseminate knowledge about the collaborative process that took place when Swedish and Canadian universities created an international online course focused on work and health. The article presents the challenges and mitigating strategies during course implementation and preconditions that enabled the co-production of the course. The conclusion provides critical reflections, questions and lessons learned that arose from the instructors reflections in relation to virtual internationalization. The self-reflexive experiences were analysed through the lens of internationalization in higher education and virtual internationalization literature, and the theory of social coordination and bureaucracy to enable an understanding of how we did it our way.

This study aimed to explore the distribution of social capital and its relation to self-perceived health in lone mothers across Europe. Data were drawn from the European Social Survey Round 5. The sample was restricted to women (15–64 years), not cohabiting with a partner, and with children (≤ 18 years) living in the household. Social capital was measured using variables, representing both structural (political engagement, social support, and social activity) and cognitive (generalized trust, institutionalized trust, reciprocity, and a feeling of safety) components. Individual-level measurements: age, educational attainment, employment status, income level, and household economy. Country-level measurements: family policy model and collective social capital. A multilevel analysis was conducted. The results revealed cross-country variance in the level of lone mothers’ social capital. After adjustment for individual-level and country-level measurements, only reciprocity and a feeling of safety were related to good self-perceived health among lone mothers in Europe.

Purpose The increasingly demanding psychosocial working conditions in Swedish public sector workplaces call for implementation of workplace health promotion (WHP) interventions. There is a need to increase first-line public sector managers’ capacities for health-promoting leadership. The purpose of this paper is to investigate first-line managers’ experiences of participating in an intervention aimed at strengthening health-promoting leadership. More precisely, the aim is to study what obstacles and prerequisites the intervention have for their learning processes to become health-promoting managers. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study in Northern Sweden at workplaces in the county council and municipalities was conducted. The data were gathered through individual interviews with 18 participating first-line managers. Inductive-content analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings The results identify time for reflection and collegial discussions about leadership as prerequisites for learning about health-promoting leadership. Managers experienced the intervention as a confirmation of the leadership behaviours already gained. However, the health-promoting leadership intervention was seen as a contradiction, since organisational prerequisites to implement WHP measures were perceived to be lacking. The managers were not involved in the planning of the intervention and questioned why the organisation did not involve them more when the educational activities were created. Originality/value When the organisation understands how and when its managers learn, what they need and want to learn about WHP, and what they already know, tailored participatory interventions can be facilitated that consider the unique prerequisites for the particular organisation.

Background: The self-employed are at increased risk of negative well-being outcomes when facing adversity such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies that examine socio-ecological factors that may protect their well-being are warranted. Methods: Data were drawn from a cross-sectional survey of European self-employed people (n = 1665). The WHO-5 Well-being Index was used to examine the impact on well-being of factors at four socio-ecological levels. Independent sample t-tests, Pearson correlations and linear regression were applied to analyse differences between groups of self-employed and interactions between variables using SPSS. Results: Well-being and the socio-ecological factors of resilience, social support, useful work and finding the rules clear were positively correlated with well-being. For self-employed who reported that it was challenging to run their business during the pandemic, social support and finding rules clear were of significantly greater importance to their well-being. Conclusions: The findings highlight that the socio-ecological factors of resilience, social support, doing useful work and finding the rules clear affect well-being. The results also indicate that it is vital to consider factors at multiple socio-ecological levels to improve the well-being of the self-employed during adversity.

Purpose: Long-term sickness absence is a significant human and economic cost in many countries, including Sweden making research on factors which impact on return to work (RTW) relevant. This study has two aims: (1) provide an overview of factors that impact RTW expectations in a national sample of Swedish workers on long-term sickness absence; and (2) gain an understanding of the interrelationships among these factors using a socioecological framework and decision tree analysis. Method: A survey, designed to capture information about demographic variables, health and work ability, workplace contact, supervisor support and expectations of return to work, was mailed to 1,112 randomly selected sick-listed people in Sweden and completed by 534, representing a response rate of 48%. Results: The most important factors affecting RTW expectations were work ability and burnout. Employees reporting high levels of work ability were more likely to expect to RTW compared to those reporting low levels, and this was dependent on their relative burnout score. Those with a high burnout score were less likely to expect to RTW, while for those with a low burnout score RTW expectations were dependent on age, country of birth, and supervisor support. For young employees reporting low work ability and low burnout score, RTW expectations were lower. Conclusions: Our results suggest a more nuanced approach to delivery of RTW services is required, whereby practitioners need to understand the socioecology of the range of factors that impact RTW expectations. The use of decision tree analysis facilitates this understanding by describing the interrelationships between these factors.

The chapter elaborates how workplace social relations influence practice in the return to work process. The social conditions in which the return to work process is embedded, and the way social interaction and relations between the sick-listed worker and other workplace actors (supervisor and coworkers) evolve, have only been researched to a limited extent. In this book chapter, we will discuss critical new dimensions of social relations research in the field of return to work that can “make” or “break” a workplace return to work process. These critical new dimensions highlight the importance of viewing return to work as a dynamic process over time, where supervisors and coworkers display shifting roles depending on phases of the process. The chapter conveys new dimensions of social relations, acknowledging the positive contribution of coworker efforts in the process, which may have an important impact on workplace-based return to work interventions.

Since long-term sickness absence constitutes a problem in most western countries, research that can facilitate return to work (RTW) is important. Today there is evidence that the social context at the workplace has a significant impact on return to work. The dual aims of the study was firstly to investigate the pattern and quality of contact between employees on long-term sick leave and different actors at the workplace, and secondly to investigate whether contacts with the workplace were associated with expectations regarding return to work. An explorative method and descriptive design was used for the first aim. For the second aim, the data was analysed in a multivariate logistic regression model. The results show that employees had frequent and, in most cases, appreciated contact with their supervisor and co-workers. Contact with other workplace actors; that is, the occupational health unit, the union representative, and the human resources department, were less frequent. Employees who experienced the contact as supportive and constructive were far more positive and optimistic than others regarding return to work. It is concluded that supervisors and co-workers should be aware that they play a significant role in the return-to-work process, and that quality of contact is what matters.

There is a large body of research examining work disability management and the return to work (RTW) of sick or injured workers. However, although this research makes clear the roles of the returning worker and supervisor, that of the co-workers is less well understood. To increase understanding of this topic, we have identified, reviewed, and discussed three studies that emerged from our connection with a Canadian research-training program. The first study, conducted in Sweden by Tjulin, MacEachen, and Ekberg (2009), showed that co-workers can play a positive role in RTW, but this is often invisible to supervisors. The second study, undertaken by Dunstan and MacEachen (2013) in Canada, found that RTW could both positively and negatively impact co-workers. For instance, co-workers may benefit from learning new skills, but may also be burdened by the need to assume extra work to accommodate a returning worker. The third study, performed in Belgium by Mortelmans and Verjans (2012) and Mortelmans, Verjans, and Mairiaux (2012) reported the need to include the expectations and objections of co-workers in RTW plans and implemented a three-step RTW tool that involves co-workers. Taken together, these studies highlight the social context of work, the positive role played by co-workers in the RTW process, the impacts of workplace social relations on RTW outcomes, and the benefits to all of involving co-workers in RTW plans.

Purpose: The objective of this article was to investigate how individual learning emerges among workplace actors during the return-to-work process, and whether the prerequisites for collective learning at the workplace are present and managed by the actors. Learning in this context is viewed as a change in the preconceptions, experience or competence of the individual as a result of interactions in the workplace due to the return-to-work process. Method: A qualitative method was used, consisting of open-ended interviews with 19 individuals across 11 workplaces in the public and private sector. Inductive content analysis was performed. Results: The key findings from this study are that individual learning emerges in the return-to-work process due to previous experience, communication with other workplace actors, or insights into what works for the individual. However, the individual learning that occurs in the return-to-work process is not carried over into workplace learning due to barriers in understanding the needs and opportunities that may be present in the process. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that individual learning occurs within social practices through social interaction between the actors involved (workers on sickness absence supervisors and colleagues) and individual experiences. A greater knowledge of the factors that contribute to workplace learning could facilitate biopsychosocial and ecological return-to-work interventions, which allow workplace actors to draw on previous experiences from one return-to-work process to another.