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Refereed/Peer-reviewed Objectives: Dental caries is a health problem that can be prevented. The aim of this study is to analyse if the quality of leadership, in Swedish Public Dental Health clinics, influences the extent to which patients with caries receive preventive care, and if any such effect is mediated through a collaborative work climate, clear role expectations and a low average level of burnout among staff. Methods: The multilevel cross-sectional design includes work environment data from surveys of 75 general public dental clinics, register-based data on preventive measures provided to 5398 patients who received a dental filling due to a caries diagnosis, and patient demographics. Using a multilevel path analysis with logistic regression, we tested a model with one direct and three indirect pathways, controlling for the potential confounding effect of patient demographic factors. Results: Leadership quality, as assessed by the staff at the clinic, was associated with increased odds of patients with caries receiving prevention, controlling for patient demographic factors. Leadership quality was also positively related to a collaborative work climate, clear role expectations and a low average level of burnout among staff. Against expectations, however, no indirect effect from leadership quality on prevention through the other work environment factors was found. Conclusions: In conclusion, the quality of leadership in Swedish Public Dental Health clinics was positively related to a good work environment for staff and to delivery of preventive care to patients experiencing caries.

Background and Objectives The global aging workforce necessitates new approaches in designing work environments to cater to the needs of increasingly age-diverse work groups. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has in reaction outlined that organizations need to provide age-inclusive work environments that support the needs of their multigenerational workforce, to ensure their sustainability and profitability. To capture the age inclusiveness of the work environment, the present study proposes and validates an age-inclusive “environment check” for organizations referred to as the Age-Inclusive Work Environment Instrument (AIWEI), which covers discrimination, inclusion, and development opportunities. Research Design and Methods We validate the 9-item AIWEI using cross-sectional and multilevel data from 2,892 Swedish workers across 101 workplaces who completed an online survey, using confirmatory factor analyses across young, middle-age, and older workers. Using a nomological approach, we also evaluate the concurrent validity of the AIWEI with a 2-1-1 path analysis. Results The factor analyses supported a 3-factor model comprising of inclusion, discrimination, and development opportunities, across 3 age groups (i.e., young, middle-age, and older workers). These 3 factors had high Intraclass Coefficient (ICC) scores showing consistency in responding in the workplace. In accordance with the nomological approach, the factors of the AIWEI were linked with Psychosocial Safety Climate, burnout, and engagement, demonstrating concurrent validity for the AIWEI. Discussion and Implications This new “environment check” provides a way to capture age-inclusive work environments for both younger and older workers, in an age-diverse workforce. In the validation process, age-inclusive work environments were found to exist as a group phenomenon, through shared perceptions within an organization, as well as an individual phenomenon, as experiences specific to an individual. This is important for the development and implementation of policies and strategies designed to benefit workers and organizations.

The aim of this study was to investigate staff-assessed care quality at the clinic as a predictor of stress and as a moderator between job demands (quantitative demands and role conflict) and stress among dental professionals as an example of human service workers. Cross-sectional questionnaire data from 1012 dental professionals (i.e., dentists, dental hygienists and dental nurses) working at 99 clinics were analysed by confirmatory factor analysis and a two-level hierarchical linear model. Stress, quantitative demands and role conflict were measured by the Swedish standard version of COPSOQ III and care quality was measured by three proprietary items. The results showed that staff-assessed care quality at the clinic was of importance for the individual workers' experiences of stress. Furthermore, the staff's joint assessment of the care quality at the clinic mitigated the negative effect of role conflict on stress among dental nurses. These results indicate that a high level of staff-assessed care quality at the clinic can contribute to reduced stress in dental professionals.

PurposeThe aim of the current interview study was to investigate how the university staff and their immediate managers perceived the academic work environment after a transition to activity-based workplaces (ABW).Design/methodology/approachInterviews were conducted with 11 university lecturers/researchers and 12 academic middle managers, that is, heads of departments or units in a Swedish university.FindingsThe qualitative content analysis revealed four central themes indicating how the academic environment had been affected: challenges related to decision-making and implementation of ABW, interpersonal relations and communication, consequences for academic identity and issues related to the physical work environment.Research limitations/implicationsThe non-purposive sampling of participants coming from a single university is a limitation of the current study. More studies are needed to deepen the knowledge and to further corroborate the transferability of the findings.Practical implicationsThe savings the universities expect to achieve in terms of reduced costs for premises, when introducing ABW, may lead to other kinds of costs, such as jeopardizing employee performance, comfort and well-being. It is therefore important that the academic staff is empowered and involved during the planning and implementation process of new offices.Originality/valueThe study contributes new knowledge concerning implementation of ABW and its consequences for the academic work environment.

Introduction: A new third version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ III) has been developed in response to trends in working life, theoretical concepts, and international experience. A key component of the COPSOQ III is a defined set of mandatory core items to be included in national short, middle, and long versions of the questionnaire. The aim of the present article is to present and test the reliability of the new international middle version of the COPSOQ III. Methods: The questionnaire was tested among 23,361 employees during 2016–2017 in Canada, Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, and Turkey. A total of 26 dimensions (measured through scales or single items) of the middle version and two from the long version were tested. Psychometric properties of the dimensions were assessed regarding reliability (Cronbach α), ceiling and floor effects (fractions with extreme answers), and distinctiveness (correlations with other dimensions). Results: Most international middle dimensions had satisfactory reliability in most countries, though some ceiling and floor effects were present. Dimensions with missing values were rare. Most dimensions had low to medium intercorrelations. Conclusions: The COPSOQ III offers reliable and distinct measures of a wide range of psychosocial dimensions of modern working life in different countries; although a few measures could be improved. Future testing should focus on validation of the COPSOQ items and dimensions using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Such investigations would enhance the basis for recommendations using the COPSOQ III. Keywords: Psychosocial risk factors, Psychosocial working conditions, Risk assessment

Testing assumptions of the widely used demand–control (DC) model in occupational psychosocial epidemiology, we investigated (a) interaction, i.e., whether the combined effect of low job control and high psychological demands on depressive symptoms was stronger than the sum of their single effects (i.e., superadditivity) and (b) whether subscales of psychological demands and job control had similar associations with depressive symptoms. Logistic longitudinal regression analyses of the 5-year cohort of the German Study of Mental Health at Work (S-MGA) 2011/12–2017 of 2212 employees were conducted. The observed combined effect of low job control and high psychological demands on depressive symptoms did not indicate interaction (RERI = −0.26, 95% CI = −0.91, 0.40). When dichotomizing subscales at the median, differential effects of subscales were not found. When dividing subscales into categories based on value ranges, differential effects for job control subscales (namely, decision authority and skill discretion) were found (p = 0.04). This study does not support all assumptions of the DC model: (1) it corroborates previous studies not finding an interaction of psychological demands and job control, and (2) signs of differential subscale effects were found regarding job control. Too few prospective studies have been carried out regarding differential subscale effects.

Background Welfare societies like Sweden face challenges in balancing the budget while meeting the demand for good quality healthcare. The aim of this study was to analyse whether care quality, operationalized as survival of dental fillings, is predicted by workplace social capital and if this effect is direct or indirect (through stress and/or job satisfaction among staff at the clinic), controlling for patient demographics. Methods The prospective design includes A) work environment data from surveys of 75 general public dental clinics (aggregated data based on 872 individual ratings), and B) register-based survival of 9381dental fillings performed during a 3-month period around the time of the survey, and C) patient demographics (age, gender, income level and birth place). Using a multi-level discrete-time proportional hazard model, we tested whether clinic-level social capital, stress, and job satisfaction could predict tooth-level filling failure, controlling for patient demographics. One direct and two indirect pathways, moderated by filling tooth, location, and filling type, were tested. Results High workplace social capital reduced the risk of early failure of fillings in molar teeth, mediated by group-perceived job satisfaction (indirect path: OR = 0.93, p p Conclusions Workplace social capital boosted the quality of dental fillings through increased levels of job satisfaction. In addition, staff at clinics with higher social capital reported less stress and higher levels of job satisfaction. These results indicate that promotion of social capital may improve both occupational health and care quality.

The present study investigated how psychosocial safety climate (PSC), job demands (role conflict and work-family conflict), job resources (social support from superiors and social community at work), and assessments for quality of work relate to social workers’ work engagement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. The results of the questionnaire study (N = 831) showed that quality of work was strongly related to all three outcomes, whereas PSC was found to be related to social workers’ job satisfaction. The contribution of the study is discussed in relation to understanding the retention of social workers.

AIM: The aims of the study are to explore workplace violence perpetrated by patients or visitors from the perspective of hospital ward managers and to describe how ward managers perceive their leadership role and manage related incidents. BACKGROUND: Few studies focus on workplace violence from the perspective of ward managers even though they are the closest managers to the operational staff. METHOD: Fifteen semistructured interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Four categories emerged: the face of workplace violence, a two-fold assignment, strive towards readiness to act, and managing incidents. CONCLUSION: While the most common acts of workplace violence are considered less serious and related to patients' medical conditions or dissatisfied visitors, hospital organizations focus on serious but rarely occurring incidents. Consequently, ward managers have limited opportunities to ensure a safe work environment on an everyday basis. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: To support ward managers' occupational safety and health management, workplace violence prevention and management should be acknowledged as an important responsibility for senior management in hospitals. It is important to identify incidents that most likely will occur at the wards and to create strategies related to those incidents. Strategies could include risk assessments, prevention, evaluation, education and reflection combined with, for example, scenario training.

The purpose of the present study was to validate the short version of The Psychosocial Safety Climate questionnaire (PSC-4, Dollard, 2019) and to establish benchmarks indicating risk levels for use in Sweden. Cross-sectional data from (1) a random sample of employees in Sweden aged 25&ndash, 65 years (n = 2847) and (2) a convenience sample of non-managerial employees from 94 workplaces (n = 3066) were analyzed. Benchmarks for three PSC risk levels were developed using organizational compliance with Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) regulations as criterion. The results support the validity and usefulness of the Swedish PSC-4 as an instrument to indicate good, fair, and poor OSH practices. The recommended benchmark for indicating good OSH practices is an average score of &gt, 12.0, while the proposed cutoff for poor OSH practices is a score of &le, 8.0 on the PSC-4. Scores between these benchmarks indicate fair OSH practices. Furthermore, aggregated data on PSC-4 supported its reliability as a workplace level construct and its association with quantitative demands, quality of leadership, commitment to the workplace, work engagement, job satisfaction, as well as stress and burnout. Thus, the Swedish version of PSC-4 can be regarded as a valid and reliable measure for both research and practical use for risk assessment at workplaces.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate staff-assessed care quality as an indicator of register-based measures of care quality at dental clinics, more specifically register-based measures of survival of dental fillings and initiation of preventive treatments for caries patients.Methods: This prospective study includes data from cross-sectional workplace psychosocial risk assessment surveys at dental clinics and register data on survival of dental fillings, and initiation of preventive treatment for caries patients obtained from the Swedish Quality Registry for Caries and Periodontal Disease (SKaPa)Demographic background data on the age, gender, income level and place of birth of patients was obtained from Statistics Sweden (SCB). The data were analysed using discrete-time multilevel survival analysis and multiple linear regression analysis.Results: The results showed that staff-assessed care quality rated by the total staff or by dental nurses at the clinic predicted the risk of replacement of dental fillings made due to a caries diagnosis during the 3-year follow-up period, controlling for potential confounding due to patient demographic characteristics (age, sex, income and country of birth). In contrast, the better the staff-assessed care quality at the clinic, the smaller the proportion of the patients received preventive care in addition to operative caries therapy when controlling for potential confounding due to patient demographics. Care quality assessed by dentists at the clinic did not predict either of these outcome measures.Conclusions: Premature failure of dental fillings is costly for both patients and society, which leads to a need for relevant measures for following dental care quality.Our findings indicate that staff-assessed care quality – a cheap and easy measure to collect and follow continuously in dental practice – can be used to monitor aspects of quality in real time in order to facilitate continuous improvement and quickly amend quality problems. Also, it can be used for integrating quality improvement insystematic work environment risk management. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This study presents the Swedish standard version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, COPSOQ III, and investigates its reliability and validity at individual and workplace levels with the aim of establishing benchmarks for the psychosocial work environment. Cross-sectional data from (1) a random sample of employees in Sweden aged 25&ndash, 65 years (N = 2847) and (2) a convenience sample of non-managerial employees at 51 workplaces (N = 1818) were analysed. Internal consistency reliability was evaluated as well as the effects of sex, work sector and blue/white-collar work. Population benchmarks and mean scores for major occupational groups were computed based on weighted data. ICC(1) and ICC(2) estimates were computed to evaluate aggregation to the workplace level and Pearson inter-correlations to evaluate construct validity at individual and aggregated levels. The reliability and scale characteristics were satisfactory, with few exceptions, at both individual and workplace levels. The strength and direction of correlations supported the construct validity of the dimensions and the amount of variance explained by workplace justified aggregation to the workplace level. The present study thus supports the use of COPSOQ III for measurement at the workplace level and presents benchmarks for risk management as well as for research purposes.

There has been an increased interest in the study of emotional demands (ED) at work and its impact on workers’ well-being. However, ED have been conceptualized as a unitary concept, focused on interactions with clients, and excluding other potential sources of ED at work. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to explore the relation between ED from different relational sources (clients/patients/customers and colleagues, supervisors, and employees) and service workers’ exhaustion and engagement. Cross-sectional data from a sample of 2742 service workers were analysed using structural equation modelling. Results showed that ED from both sources (clients and colleagues) were associated with more emotional exhaustion, particularly if dealing with clients was not an integrated part of the role. Further, ED from clients’ relations were negatively associated with engagement for managers with staff responsibility, but positively for managers without staff responsibility. We also found moderating effects of psychosocial safety climate (PSC), whereby ED had the strongest effect on emotional exhaustion when PSC was low. This study suggests that different relational sources of ED at work have a different impact on employees’ well-being. Strategies that promote a reduction of extra-role ED, and the development of a PSC in the organization, could therefore offer possible solutions to promote employees’ psychological well-being and motivation.

Work-related stress and stress-related ill health are major concerns in modern Western societies. In the European Union, the joint Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) framework obliges employers to ensure the health and safety of workers in every aspect related to work, including psychological safety and health. Against this background, the aim of the present study was to gain a deeper understanding of the cross-cultural validity of the Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC) instrument as a measure for organizational and managerial commitment to employee psychological health. By integrating findings from cognitive interview studies conducted in Germany and in Sweden, we found participants considered the focus of PSC on managerial and organizational perspectives as an important contribution to workplace surveys. However, we were also able to identify some challenges (e.g., in relation to translation of key concepts, the intended shift of referent, and the use of the intermediate response options) as difficulties in identifying a homogeneous PSC within an organization was also observed to some extent. We can conclude that integrating findings from cognitive interviews conducted in two European countries expands the existing knowledge of the PSC measure. This is achieved by a deeper understanding of problems that might occur when transferring PSC to a different context. The overall findings of the present study corroborate the cross-cultural validity of transferring the PSC measure from an Australian to a European context, and we consider PSC to be a valid and useful framework for targeting psychosocial risks and organizational procedures in a European setting.

In 2005, Suzan Lewis and Carolyn Kagan launched the Community Work and Family Journal. As they reminded us during their introduction speech at the 6th International Community, Work and Family confe...

Emotional demands are an inevitable feature of human services, and suggested to be a defining antecedent for workers' stress and ill health. However, previous research indicate that emotional demands can have a favorably association to certain facets of human service workers' motivation and well-being. Furthermore, recent research report that the effect of emotional demands on workers' health and well-being seem to be contingent on the parallel level of other job demands. Still, initial investigations of interaction effects between emotional demands and other types of job demands have primarily focused on negative outcomes in terms of stress-related concerns and absenteeism. The present study investigated interaction effects between emotional demands and other types of job demands in relation to positive outcomes. In a larger sample of human service workers (social workers

Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate whether organizational justice climate at the workplace level is associated with individual staff members’ perceptions of care quality and affective commitment to the workplace. Methods: The study adopts a cross-sectional multi-level design. Data were collected using an electronic survey and a response rate of 75% was obtained. Organizational justice climate and affective commitment to the workplace were measured by items from Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire and quality of care by three self-developed items. Non-managerial staff working at dental clinics with at least five respondents (n = 900 from 68 units) was included in analyses. A set of Level-2 random intercept models were built to predict individual-level organizational affective commitment and perceived quality of care from unit-level organizational justice climate, controlling for potential confounding by group size, gender, age, and occupation. Results: The results of the empty model showed substantial between-unit variation for both affective commitment (ICC-1 = 0.17) and quality of care (ICC-1 = 0.12). The overall results showed that the shared perception of organizational justice climate at the clinical unit level was significantly associated with perceived quality of care and affective commitment to the organization (p

PurposeThere is an increased interest for introducing activity-based offices at universities. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the knowledge about the importance of the built environment for the psychosocial work environment within academia by analyzing how staff at a large Swedish university experienced the physical and psychosocial work environment before and after moving to activity-based offices.Design/methodology/approachA Web-based survey was distributed to all employees at two faculties at a university three months before (2015,n= 217, response rate 51 per cent) and nine months after (2016,n= 200, response rate 47 per cent) relocation to a new activity-based university building.FindingsIn the new premises, a vast majority (86 per cent) always occupied the same place when possible, and worked also more often from home. The social community at work had declined and social support from colleagues and supervisors was perceived to have decreased. The participants reported a lower job satisfaction after the relocation and were more likely to seek new jobs. No aspects in the physical or psychosocial work environment were found to have improved after the relocation.Research/limitations implicationsThe study had a two-wave cross-sectional design, which does not allow establishing causal relations.Practical implicationsThere is reason to be cautious about relocation to activity-based offices at universities. The potential savings in costs for premises may lead to may be followed by an increase in other costs. The risk that staff cannot concentrate on their work in activity-based university workplaces and lose their sense of community with colleagues are factors, which in the long run may lead to decreased efficiency, more conflicts and poorer well-being.Originality/valueThis paper contributes with new knowledge concerning changes in the physical and psychosocial work environment when relocating from cell offices to activity-based offices in a university setting.

Aim This study aims at investigating the nomological validity of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ II) by using an extension of the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model with aspects of work ability as outcome. Material and methods The study design is cross-sectional. All staff working at public dental organizations in four regions of Sweden were invited to complete an electronic questionnaire (75% response rate, n = 1345). The questionnaire was based on COPSOQ II scales, the Utrecht Work Engagement scale, and the one-item Work Ability Score in combination with a proprietary item. The data was analysed by Structural Equation Modelling. Results This study contributed to the literature by showing that: A) The scale characteristics were satisfactory and the construct validity of COPSOQ instrument could be integrated in the JD-R framework; B) Job resources arising from leadership may be a driver of the two processes included in the JD-R model; and C) Both the health impairment and motivational processes were associated with WA, and the results suggested that leadership may impact WA, in particularly by securing task resources. Conclusion In conclusion, the nomological validity of COPSOQ was supported as the JD-R model can be operationalized by the instrument. This may be helpful for transferral of complex survey results and work life theories to practitioners in the field.

Dentistry is characterized by a meaningful but also stressful psychosocial working environment. Job satisfaction varies among staff working under different organizational forms. The aim of this study was to identify (i) to what extent crucial psychosocial work environment characteristics differ among occupations in general public dental clinics in Sweden, and (ii) how much of the variation within each occupation is attributable to the organizational level.All staff (N=1782) employed in four public dental organizations received an email with personal log-in to an electronic questionnaire based on the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire. After two reminders, a response rate of 75% was obtained. Responses from 880 nonmanagerial dentists, dental hygienists and dental nurses working in general practices were included in our analyses.First, we compared the three dental occupations. We found that job demands, task resources (eg influence, possibilities for development and role clarity), strain symptoms and attitudes to work differed among occupations, dentists having the least favourable situation. Next, we compared the four organizations for each occupational group, separately. For dentists, a significant and relevant amount of variance (P.05 and ICC.05) was explained by the organizational level for 15 of 26 subscales, least pronounced for task resources. By contrast, for dental nurses and hygienists, the corresponding number was 2 subscales of 26. The psychosocial working environment of people working at the organization with the highest levels of strain indicators and the least positive work-related attitudes differed systematically from the organization with the most favourable profile, in particular regarding job demands and leadership aspects.In conclusion, the psychosocial working environment depended to a large degree on occupation and, for dentists in particular, also on their organizational affiliation. The findings suggest a potential for designing interventions at organizational level for improvements of the psychosocial working environment for dentists.

The Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ II) includes scales for measuring 'workplace social capital'. The overall aim of this article is to evaluate the content validity of the following scales: horizontal trust, vertical trust and justice based on data from cognitive interviews using a think-aloud procedure. Informants were selected to achieve variation in gender, age, region of residence, and occupation. A predetermined coding scheme was used to identify: 1) Perspective (reflection on behalf of oneself only or abstraction to a broader perspective), 2) Use of response options, 3) Contexts challenging the process of answering, and 4) Overall reflections included in the retrieval and judgement processes leading to an answer for each item. The results showed that 1) the intended shift from individual to a broader perspective worked for eight out of eleven items. 2) The response option balancing in the middle covered different meanings. Retrieval of information needed to answer constituted a problem in four out of eleven items. 3) Three contextually challenging situations were identified. 4) For most items the reflections corresponded well with the intention of the scales, though the items asking about withheld information caused more problems in answering and lower content validity compared to the other items of the scales. In general, the findings supported the content validity of the COPSOQ II measurement of workplace social capital as a group construct. The study opens for new insight into how concepts and questions are understood and answered among people coming from different occupations and organizational settings.

Berthelsen H, Pejtersen JH, Soderfeldt B. Measurement of social support, community and trust in dentistry. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2011; 39: 289–299. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S Abstract – Background and aim: Relationships among people at work have previously been found to contribute to the perception of having a good work. The aim of the present paper was to develop scales measuring aspects of social support, trust, and community among dentists, and to evaluate psychometric properties of the scales. Material and methods: In 2008, a questionnaire was sent to 1835 general dental practitioners randomly selected from the dental associations in Sweden and Denmark. The response rate was 68% after two reminders. Principal Component Analysis was applied to 14 items and scales were established based on the resulting factors. Internal consistency was evaluated by Cronbach’s alpha. Differential Item Functioning (DIF) with respect to gender, nationality and employment sector was analysed using ordinal logistic regression methods. Construct validity was assessed in relation to self-rated health and a range of work satisfaction outcomes. Results: The percentage of missing values on the items was low (range 0.7%–3.8%). Two scales (range 0–100) were established to measure ‘Community with Trust’(nine items, mean = 79.2 [SD = 13.4], Cronbach’s alpha = 0.89) and ‘Collegial Support’(five items, mean = 70.4 [SD = 20.8], Cronbach’s alpha = 0.89). DIF of only minor importance was found which supported cultural equivalence. The two scales were weakly positively correlated with each other. ‘Community with Trust’ was in general more strongly correlated with work satisfaction variables than ‘Collegial Support’ was. Conclusions: Stability and internal consistency of the scales were considered as satisfactory. Content validity and construct validity were considered as good. Further validation in other populations is recommended.

Human service work differs from industrial work, which should be considered when organizing work. Previous research has shown organizational differences in the perceptions of work, often with a focus on negative aspects. The aim of this study was to analyse the overall job satisfaction among private- and public-practising dentists in Sweden and Denmark. This also implied a description of the questionnaire Swedish and Danish Dentists' Perceptions of Good Work about opportunities and positive and rewarding aspects of work.A questionnaire covering the multidimensional concept of good work was developed. A total of 1835 dentists randomly sampled from the dental associations were sent a questionnaire in November 2008. A special non-response study was performed. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to create a measure of overall job satisfaction, comparing four organizational subgroups.The average net response rate was 68% (n = 1226). The special non-response study of the Danish private practitioners showed more males, managers and dentists with more working hours than the respondents. PCA of three satisfaction questions showed a stable one-factor solution. There were differences in job satisfaction, with Danish public dentists ranked highest in overall job satisfaction and Swedish public dentists lowest.There were organizational differences in the perception of job satisfaction. Further analysis of how the human service is organized in the different groups is needed.

Social support is an important phenomenon in the psychosocial work environment. The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which Danish general dental practitioners perceived support from colleagues and to relate perceived support to demographic and work related background factors. A questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 300 Danish dentists. The response rate was 80% after one reminder. Factor analyses and multiple regression analyses were carried out. The results showed that clinic size was the overall most important variable explaining perceived support among dentists. Gender differences were found in perceived emotional and practical support, and women perceived more emotional support (e.g. discussing problematic patients with peers) than their male colleagues. A similar gender difference was not found for the perception of practical support, such as helping each other in the event of falling behind schedule. Dentists from small and large practices did not differ in the extent of peer contact outside the clinical environment. This study emphasized the importance of the organizational setting for a professional and personal supportive psychosocial working environment in dentistry.

In Sweden and Denmark, clinical dentistry is changing and public dentistry is in transition towards more market orientation. Dentists' overall job satisfaction is important for how public dentistry can fulfil the new expectations from patients, the public and politicians.The aim of this study was to investigate what organizational factors were important for publicly employed salaried dentists' overall job satisfaction.A random sample of active, general dental practitioners (private and publicly employed) was selected in Denmark and in Sweden, and they received a postal questionnaire. The number of questionnaires was 1835 and the response rate was 68% (n = 1226). This study analysed only the publicly employed dentists. The sampling frame for the Swedish dentists was 431, response rate 68.9% (n = 297) and for the Danish ones 194, response rate 81.9% (n = 159). Multivariate regression was used with overall job satisfaction as a dependent variable.Common organizational variables were important. The used model explained between 32% (Sweden) and 39% (Denmark) of the variance in overall job satisfaction. The only significant individual factor was less job satisfaction for Swedish dentists born outside Sweden. An organizational climate characterized by a focus on professional values was associated with job satisfaction in both countries. Among the Swedish dentists, number of colleagues and degree of influence were also important and among the Danish ones sufficient time for patients.Organizational factors had an impact on salaried publicly employed dentists' overall job satisfaction in both countries. The findings may have implications for other Human Service Organizations with employed professionals.

Objectives. The aim of the study was to better understand the associations between work factors and professional support among dentists (Collegial Support) as well as the sense of being part of a work community characterized by trust (Community with Trust). Methods. A questionnaire was sent to 1835 general dental practitioners, randomly selected from the members of dental associations in Sweden and Denmark in 2008. The response rate was 68%. Two models with the outcome variables Collegial Support and being part of a Community with Trust were built using multiple hierarchical linear regression. Demographic background factors, work factors, managerial factors and factors relating to objectives and to values characterizing climate of the practice were all introduced as blocks into the models. Results. A different pattern emerged for Collegial Support than for Community with Trust, indicating different underlying mechanisms. The main results were: (I) Female, married/cohabitant, collegial network outside the practice, common breaks, formalized managerial education of leader and a climate characterized by professional values, which were positively associated with Collegial Support, while number of years as a dentist and being managerially responsible were negatively associated. (II) Common breaks, decision authority and a climate characterized by professional values were positively associated with Community with Trust. Conclusion. A professionally-oriented practice climate and having common breaks at work were strongly associated with both outcome variables. The study underlined the importance of managing dentistry in a way which respects the professional ethos of dentists.

Berthelsen H, Hjalmers K, Pejtersen JH, Soderfeldt B. Good Work for dentists – a qualitative analysis. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2010. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S Abstract – Objective: This study explores dentists’ perceptions of Good Work in the meaning of positive and rewarding aspects in their work in contrast to a traditional problem-centred focus on work life. Methods: Nine informants were selected among Danish and Swedish general dental practitioners to obtain variation as to country of origin, gender, age and clinical work experience. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim in the original language. Statements concerning positive aspects of work were used for systematic text condensation according to the principles of Giorgi’s phenomenological analysis, as modified by Malterud, generalizing descriptions reflecting aspects of Good Work. Selection of participants continued until saturation of the emerging categories was achieved. Results: The core of Good Work emanates from the clinical encounter: from the relation with the patient and from the opportunity to carry out high quality odontological handicraft. Social relations at the workplace, as well as organizational values and conditions were perceived as influencing the opportunities to achieve the rewarding aspects from the clinical encounter. Conclusions: The results implicate a need for developing a work-environmental model with intrinsic as well as extrinsic rewards when dealing with human service organizations. At policy level it is necessary to address the professional culture.