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Background: Since a financial crisis in the 1990’s employees in the Swedish public sector have suffered from work stress and related consequences such as long-term sick leave. Reduced working hours has long been debated in Sweden as a possible way of improving psychosocial health, and was therefore empirically evaluated in a large, quasi-experimental trial in four public sectors; care and welfare, call centers, technology, and the social services. Working hours were reduced by 25 percent and workload reduced in proportion to this, and employers received financial compensation in order to be able to hire temporary extra staff. Social work in Sweden has been identified as a particularly exposed and vulnerable part of the public sector, subject to problems with employee retention and stress-related disorders. Therefore a specific study was made of social workers during the trial, in order to contribute to the scant body of research on interventions that may reduce work-related stress in social work. Aims: Study I explored the effect of reduced working hours on stress, symptoms of exhaustion syndrome, and related work-characteristics, in the participating social workers. Study II studied the impact of reduced working hours on stress, stressful situations, work and free-time stress, coping behaviour, situational reactivity, and burnout symtoms, at one of the participating social work agencies. Study III explored the experience of the social workers at the same agency, in relation to work-life balance, social work and everyday recovery choices. Study IV evaluated the impact of reduced working hours on stress and sleep in all four participating public sectors, with a particular focus on sleep. Study V examined employee time use, and the effect on total workload and time for recovery, in all four sectors. Methods: Studies I-V all used data collected during the reduced working hours trial, which had three measuring points: one at baseline, and two whilst participants in the

Little is known about how reduced working hours relate to social work stressors, coping and work-life balance. An exploratory mixed methods study was therefore performed at a Swedish social service agency participating in a quasi-experimental trial of work-time reduction by 25%, with proportionally reduced workload, and retained full-time pay. Social workers that reduced their working hours reported less emotional exhaustion (n = 28, p < 0.05) on the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey, and less reactivity in stressful situations connected to time urgency and irritation (n = 28, p < 0.05) on the Everyday Life Stress Scale. In interviews, the social workers described that despite using effective, problem-focused coping behaviour at work, both before and after work-time reduction, high caseload remained a central stressor, creating time conflicts that exacerbated stressful situations involving emergencies, practical setbacks, client aggression, report deadlines, and managerial stress. In contrast, the work-time reduction was described as fully resolving time conflicts and stress during free-time in situations that involved finding time for friends, household chores, rest, exercise and childcare. Results suggest that reduced working hours lowered emotional exhaustion and situational reactivity by increasing free-time recovery opportunities and decreasing total daily exposure to work stress, but future trials should also compare reduced work-time with reduced caseload., Kunskap saknas om hur arbetstidsförkortning påverkar stressorer i socialt arbete, coping och balans mellan arbetsliv och fritid. En explorativ mixad metod-studie genomfördes därför på ett svenskt socialkontor som deltog i en kvasiexperimentell studie av 25% förkortad arbetstid med proportionerligt minskad arbetsbelastning, och bibehållen heltidslön. Socialarbetare som minskade sin arbetstid upplevde mindre emotionell utmattning (n = 28, p < 0.05), mätt med Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey, och mindre reaktivitet i stressande situationer relaterade till tidsbrist och irritation (n = 28, p < 0.05), mätt med Vardagens stress. I intervjuer beskrev socialsekreterarna att trots att de använde effektivt, problem-fokuserat coping-beteende på arbetet, både före och efter arbetstidsförkortningen, förblev hög ärendemängd en central stressor, som skapade tidskonflikter som förvärrade stressfulla situationer rörande akuta situationer, praktiska motgångar, aggressivitet från klienter, deadlines för utredningar, och chefsstress. Däremot beskrevs arbetstidsförkortning lösa tidskonflikter och stress på fritiden i situationer som rörde att hitta tid att träffa vänner, göra hushållssysslor, vila, motionera, och barnavård. Resultaten antyder att arbetstidsförkortning minskade emotionell utmattning och situationell reaktivitet genom att öka möjligheten till återhämtning på fritiden, och genom att minska den dagliga totala mängden stress, men framtida studier bör också jämföra arbetstidsförkortning med minskad ärendemängd., Titel på svenska:Coping och stressfulla situationer i socialt arbete före och efter arbetstidsförkortning, en mixad metod studie

Stress has been reported among Swedish social workers for over a decade. Survey data from a longitudinal quasi-experimental trial in the public sector of reduced working hours, with a proportional decrease in workload and retained full pay, were used to examine the effect on stress, symptoms of Exhaustion syndrome, psychosocial work characteristics and work-life balance in social workers. Reduced working hours had a positive effect on restorative sleep, stress, memory difficulties, negative emotion, sleepiness, fatigue and exhaustion both on workdays and weekends; on sleep quality on weekends; and on demands, instrumental manager support and work intrusion on private life.

Objectives: A 25% reduction of weekly work hours for full-time employees has been shown to improve sleep and alertness and reduce stress during both workdays and days off. The aim of the present study was to investigate how employees use their time during such an intervention: does total workload (paid and non-paid work) decrease, and recovery time increase, when work hours are reduced? Methods: Full-time employees within the public sector (N=636; 75% women) were randomized into intervention group and control group. The intervention group (N=370) reduced worktime to 75% with preserved salary during 18 months. Data were collected at baseline, after 9 months and 18 months. Time-use was reported every half hour daily between 06 and 01 a.m. during one week at each data collection. Data were analyzed with multilevel mixed modeling. Results: Compared to the control group, the intervention group increased the time spent on domestic work and relaxing hobby activities during workdays when worktime was reduced (p≤0.001). On days off, more time was spent in free-time activities (p=0.003). Total workload decreased (-65 minutes) and time spent in recovery activities increased on workdays (+53 minutes). The pattern of findings was similar in subgroups defined by gender, family status and job situation. Conclusions: A worktime reduction of 25% for full-time workers resulted in decreased total workload and an increase of time spent in recovery activities, which is in line with the suggestion that worktime reduction may be beneficial for long-term health and stress.