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Forestry has many dangers, and much effort has been put into supporting accident prevention by developing legislation and certification systems. In Sweden, forestry contractors have an important role in developing and maintaining a good working environment for the employed forestry workers. The objectives of this study were to describe forestry contractors' current practices regarding occupational safety and health (OSH) management and identify variations in relation to the contractors' characteristics and finances, as well as to highlight areas that need improvement. In 2023, data were collected through a survey distributed to 1200 limited liability companies registered to perform logging or silvicultural services, with a response rate of 22%. Multi- and univariate analyses were performed to compare contractor groups, and the results show that larger companies had more well-developed and formalized routines and guidelines for their operations. Geographical differences were also identified; for example, employees in the north were more likely to have access to staff facilities when working in the forest. However, no clear connection between OSH management practices and the contractors' finances could be demonstrated. The study concludes that there is a need for improvements in OSH work within the industry because many companies do not meet all of the formal requirements that exist today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: According to shortage of registered nurses, organisational and leadership aspects grounded in person-centrered approach, are highlighted to ensure high quality of care. Therefore, it is interesting to develop knowledge regarding registered nurses working environment. Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate registered nurses' reason to end their employment at a university hospital setting (internal medicine, emergency department). Method: Qualitative content analysis with an inductive methodological approach was used to analyse registered nurses' experiences regarding their former employment. Inclusion criteria; all nurses (n = 55) who ended employment during one year (first of July 2020-30th of June 2021) were invited, and 38 semi-structured interviews were conducted. Results: Three categories were identified: Limited organisational support, Lack of visible leadership, and Limited healthy working environment, followed by six subcategories: Longing for organisational support, Being a tile in a box, Need for professional relationship, Limitation of supportive leadership, Imbalance of work versus personal life, and Ethical stress. Conclusion: To improve registered nurses working environment and commitment to work, balance between time at work and personal life is significant. Therefore, organisational support and leadership skills grounded in a person-centred approach are crucial to develop a healthy working environment. A person-centred leadership could improve collaboration and shared decision-making in partnership with those involved, managers, nurses, and team members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spring 2020, a global SARS-Cov-2 pandemic was declared. The number of patients in need of intensive care exceeded the number of available care places at intensive care units (ICUs) and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) were relocated to ICUs to support the care during the pandemic. The aim of this study was to illuminate the experiences of the CRNAs regarding relocation to COVID-19 intensive care. An interview study based on qualitative content analysis was conducted. The participants were CRNAs who usually work in the operating unit, however, were relocated to work in the COVID-19 ICU at a university hospital in southern Sweden during the pandemic. Four themes emerge in the results: sense of pride, competence, work environment, and nursing. The results illuminate the CRNAs' experience of relocating from their usual working environment to caring for critically ill patients in a COVID-19 ICU. The CRNAs managed the relocation well, although sometimes it was difficult. The CRNAs showed great loyalty, dedication, competence, and flexibility in their professional capacity. The time they worked in COVID-19 intensive care was a challenging period, but it gave them a well-deserved sense of pride and competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aims of this study were to describe clinical staff perceptions of their ED working environment and to explore associations between staff demographics, coping styles and the work environment. Methods: A cross‐sectional study was conducted in one Swedish ED and two Australian EDs in 2015–2016. Descriptive statistics were used to explore stressors, coping styles and aspects of the working environment for the combined cohort and the cohort split by age, sex, professional role, years of employment in the ED and country. Regression analyses examined the impact of coping style and demographic characteristics on staff perceptions of the working environment. Results: Two hundred and six ED staff completed the survey (response rate: 64%). Factors most stressful for ED staff included death or sexual abuse of a child, heavy workload and poor skill mix. Staff perceptions of the working environment differed based on age, sex, country, tenure and job role. Regression analysis of perceptions of the work environment on demographics and coping strategies revealed that negative coping strategies were associated with low self‐realisation, high workload, high conflict and high nervousness. Active coping and positive thinking were associated with increased self‐realisation. Positive thinking was associated with lower levels of conflict. Conclusions: Employees engaging in positive coping strategies had more positive perceptions of the work environment, while those engaging in maladaptive coping strategies reported negative perceptions of the work environment. These data suggest that strategies that promote the use of active coping and positive thinking should be encouraged and warrant further research in the ED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Falls are a daily occurrence in nursing homes and few interventions for reducing fall-related injuries have proven to be effective. Impact absorbing flooring (IAF) in residential care has shown promising results in reducing fall-injuries and in the process of developing and implementing IAF all aspects are valuable to explore. Therefore, the aim of this qualitative study is to describe the enrolled nurses (ENs) experiences of IAF. We carried out focus group interviews with ENs and used content analysis to process the data. The ENs experienced both negative and positive aspects with the IAF. Importantly, the ENs perceived the IAF as effective in preventing fall-injuries. They also appreciated the improvements in acoustics. Negative aspects were that the flooring initially was challenging to walk on and that it made it harder to maneuver heavy equipment. A significant and transferable finding in this study was the importance of the ENs' perceived difficulty in preventing fall-injuries amongst elderly people living in nursing homes. This seemed to be a driving force to accept the intervention. Although IAF affects the working conditions in a nursing home, ENs are willing to accept these issues given the perceived effectiveness of the intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Sweden has experienced an increase in sickness absenteeism, stress-related health problems and a deterioration of psychosocial working conditions. Several researchers have emphasized that leadership with a focus on developing human resource practices is a necessary component of a high organizational performance. The purpose of this article is to explore whether there are patterns in leadership values and methodologies associated with subordinates' views of leadership, health outcomes and quality aspects. Four public and four private organizations in northern Sweden were studied. McGregor's X and Y hypotheses, plus three other hypotheses, were used as a base for the analyses. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews with the leaders, questionnaires (completed by leaders and co-workers), and assessment of selected human resource accounting data (sickness absenteeism). The leader views were mirrored with the co-worker views through a comparison of qualitative and quantitative results in a stepwise analysis process. The study's main findings were that leaders with more X hypotheses get lower results concerning employee-judged leadership and quality aspects and, to some extent, lower results concerning health outcomes. The explanatory analyses concerning leadership and health are complex with many influencing factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Investment in research is high on the agenda of many countries in recognition of the fact that research is important for the development of society. Doctoral students have a vital role and represent a substantial part of this investment. It is therefore imperative to reduce the risk of students dropping out from doctoral studies. The aim of this qualitative study was to gain deeper insight into the working conditions of, and obstacles and opportunities for, doctoral students at an institute of medicine in Sweden. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2013 with 17 doctoral students—of varying genders, professions and fields of research—from the Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using systematic text condensation. Results: Four categories emerged from the data. They were: Safety, Frustrating Structures, Others - not me, and the future. They included positive as well as negative perceptions. Among the positive perceptions were recognition of the importance of the supervisor, as well as secure conditions, and personal development. Frustrating structures in the academic culture, stress and differences in career building constituted the negative points. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that there is a need for structures within the university that support doctoral students who feel they are not receiving the assistance they need, who believe they have unreasonable working conditions, or who may need to change supervisors in order to complete their graduate research studies. Our study also highlights the fact that supervisors have a major influence on the work environment of doctoral students, and that the general and academic perception of the research area likewise has an effect on the successful completion of the research project and dissertation. Providing leadership training for supervisors could be an important measure that may help improve conditions for the doctoral students they supervise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aims of the study were to trace the patterns of work environment factors and compensated sickness absence (SA) among nurses and care assistants compared with other occupations and to compare SA among exposed and non-exposed nurses and care assistants., Design: A cross-sectional survey on work environment factors based on the biennial Swedish Work Environment Surveys 1991-2013, linked to longitudinal register data on SA 1993-2014., Participants: The study included 98 249 individuals, stratified into nurses and care assistants (n=16 179) and a reference population including all other occupations (n=82 070)., Outcome Measure: Annual days of compensated SA (>14 days) 3 years after exposure years., Results: Nurses and care assistants had higher SA in 1993-2014 compared with all other occupations, and differences in background factors only partly explained this relationship. For both groups, exposure to physical work factors remained steady, but the number of exposed were 10%-30% higher among nurses and care assistants. Those exposed to heavy physical work and strenuous working postures had in most years significantly higher SA when compared with non-exposed (rate ratio range: 1.4-1.9). Exposure to high job demands increased 10%-25% in 1991-1999 among nurses and care assistants but became more stable in 2001-2013 and high proportions of high job demands coincided with the increase in SA in 1995-1999. Nurses and care assistants exposed to high job demands had for most years significantly higher SA than non-exposed (rate ratio range: 1.5-2.1). Low job control and low support from supervisors elevated SA significantly only for a few years., Conclusions: Exposure to negative work factors among nurses and care assistants was weakly associated with variations in SA, but may be related to their higher level of SA when compared with other occupations. Improved physical and psychosocial working conditions may reduce the elevated SA level in these occupations., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)