Acceptability of restrictions in the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based survey in Denmark and Sweden

IntroductionDenmark and Sweden initially adopted different responses to the COVID-19 pandemic although the two countries share many characteristics. Denmark responded swiftly with many mandatory restrictions. In contrast, Sweden relied on voluntary restrictions and a more “relaxed” response during the first wave of the pandemic. However, increased rates of COVID-19 cases led to a new approach that involved many more mandatory restrictions, thus making Sweden’s response similar to Denmark’s in the second wave of the pandemic.AimThe aim was to investigate and compare the extent to which the populations in Denmark and Sweden considered the COVID-19 restrictions to be acceptable during the first two waves of the pandemic. The study also aimed to identify the characteristics of those who were least accepting of the restrictions in the two countries.Materials and methodsCross-sectional surveys were conducted in Denmark and Sweden in 2021. The study population was sampled from nationally representative web panels in the two countries, consisting of 2,619 individuals from Denmark and 2,633 from Sweden. The questionnaire captured key socio-demographic characteristics. Acceptability was operationalized based on a theoretical framework consisting of seven constructs and one overarching construct.ResultsThe respondents’ age and gender patterns were similar in the two countries. The proportion of respondents in Denmark who agreed with the statements (“agree” alternative) that captured various acceptability constructs was generally higher for the first wave than the second wave of the pandemic. The opposite pattern was seen for Sweden. In Denmark, 66% in the first wave and 50% in the second wave were accepting of the restrictions. The corresponding figures for Sweden was 42% (first wave) and 47% (second wave). Low acceptance of the restrictions, defined as the 25% with the lowest total score on the seven acceptability statements, was associated with younger age, male gender and lower education levels.ConclusionRespondents in Sweden were more accepting of the restrictions in the second wave, when the country used many mandatory restrictions. In contrast, respondents in Denmark were more accepting of the restrictions in the first wave than in the second wave, implying an increased weariness to comply with the restrictions over time. There were considerable socio-demographic differences between those who expressed low acceptance of the restrictions and the others in both countries, suggesting the importance of tailoring communication about the pandemic to different segments of the population

Social Distancing Policies in the Coronavirus Battle: A Comparison of Denmark and Sweden

Social distancing measures have been a key component in government strategies to mitigate COVID-19 globally. Based on official documents, this study aimed to identify, compare and analyse public social distancing policy measures adopted in Denmark and Sweden regarding the coronavirus from 1 March 2020 until 1 October 2020. A key difference was the greater emphasis on laws and executive orders (sticks) in Denmark, which allowed the country to adopt many stricter policy measures than Sweden, which relied mostly on general guidelines and recommendations (sermons). The main policy adopters in Denmark were the government and the Danish Parliament, whereas the Public Health Agency issued most policies in Sweden, reflecting a difference in political governance and administrative structure in the two countries. During the study period, Sweden had noticeably higher rates of COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations per 100,000 population than Denmark, yet it is difficult to determine the impact or relative effectiveness of sermons and sticks, particularly with regard to broader and longer-term health, economic and societal effects

Avstämningsmötet : en arena för förhandling omarbetsförmåga och rehabiliteringsansvar

I juli 2003 infördes ett krav i lagstiftningen att Försäkringskassan vid behov ska använda sig av ett så kallat avstämningsmöte vid bedömningen av individers rätt till ersättning och rehabiliterande insatser från sjukförsäkringen. På policynivå har avstämningsmötet presenterats som ett effektivt verktyg i lösningen på problemen med långa sjukskrivningar och hög sjukfrånvaro. Genom att samla involverade aktörer ”runt ett bord” (Försäkringskassan, den sjukskrivne, sjukvården, arbetsgivare och Arbetsförmedlingen) förväntas parterna hitta gemensamma lösningar som ska underlätta den sjukskrivnes väg tillbaka i arbetslivet. Huvudsyftet med föreliggande studie har varit att analysera på vilka grunder involverade parter bedömer individers arbetsförmåga och möjligheter för återgång i arbete. En central frågeställning var att studera vilka aspekter av arbetsförmåga som under mötet belystes. Fokus riktades mot involverade aktörers resonemang om arbetsförmåga och hur parterna såg på sin egen och övriga aktörers roll i verksamhetsprocessen. Rapporten baseras på nio inspelade avstämningsmöten under år 2007 och 2008 i Östergötland. Det empiriska materialet har kompletterats med metodstöd från Försäkringskassan och offentliga rapporter. En innehållsanalytisk metod har använts i analysen av det empiriska materialet. Studiens resultat visar hur välfärdspolitikens fokus på arbetslinjen och aktiva insatser ställer krav på de organisationer som har till uppgift att återföra sjukskrivna i arbetslivet. Avstämningsmötet äger rum i skärningspunkten mellan organisationer med skilda regler och rutiner. Mötena utmärktes av en förhandling om arbetsförmåga och vilka aktörer som hade rehabiliteringsansvaret för individerna i fråga. Tre perspektiv på arbetsförmåga blev framträdande: det medicinska, regelverkets och arbetslivets perspektiv. Försäkringskassan argumenterade ofta utifrån sjukförsäkringens regelverk, och sjukvården betonade främst medicinska hinder för individens arbetsoförmåga, medan arbetsgivare framhöll individens fysiska nedsättningar i relation till arbetes krav. Samtidigt som perspektiven kunde knytas till specifik aktör kunde parterna växla mellan olika perspektiv på arbetsförmåga beroende på situation. I förhandlingen om den sjukskrivnes arbetsförmåga utgjorde den medicinska expertisen en ”neutral expertfunktion” som skapade legitimitet för parternas ståndpunkter. I rapporten visas hur Försäkringskassans regelverk med fokus på tidig återgång i arbete och aktiva insatser kom på kollisionskurs med arbetsgivarnas svårigheter att anpassa arbetsplatsen. Sjukskrivnas arbetsförmåga och möjligheter att återgå i arbete berodde därför inte enbart beror på den strikt medicinska bedömningen av funktionsnedsättning. I praktiken grundades bedömningen av arbetsförmåga istället på relationen mellan individens förmåga och arbetets förutsättningar. Studien aktualiserar avslutningsvis frågor om vilka förutsättningar den arbetslivsinriktade rehabiliteringen har när arbetsmarknaden idag tenderar att lämna begränsat utrymme för människor som inte anses leva upp till arbetslivets krav

Avstämningsmöte som arena för förhandling om arbetsförmåga

I studien analyseras på vilka grunder individers arbetsförmåga bedöms, med utgångspunkt i nio avstämningsmöten mellan sjukskrivna, Försäkringskassan, sjukvården och arbetsgivare. Fokus riktas mot hur parterna diskuterar och resonerar om arbetsförmåga och hur aktörerna ser på sin och övriga parters roll i rehabiliteringsprocessen. Avstämningsmötena utmärktes av en förhandling om arbetsförmåga och vilka aktörer som hade rehabiliteringsansvaret för den sjukskrivne. Studien visar att sjukskrivnas arbetsförmåga i hög grad bestämdes av arbetsgivarens anpassningsmöjligheter. Bedömningen av arbetsförmåga grundades således i praktiken på relationen mellan individens förmåga och arbetets förutsättningar. Studien visar också hur läkares arbetsförmågebedömningar, trots att de ibland bygger på osäkra uppskattningar, används som objektiva expertutlåtanden i diskussioner om sjukpenning och återgång i arbete

Activating the Sick-Listed : Policy and Practice of Return to Work in Swedish Sickness Insurance and Working Life

A critical task of social policy in most Western welfare states during recent decades has consisted of reducing the economic burden on society due to sick leave, by stimulating participation in the labour market. Many jurisdictions have introduced activation policies, based on the premise that work “per se” has a therapeutic effect on sick-listed workers. People are expected to be “active”, rather than “passive”, recipients of financial benefits. However, there is limited knowledge of how activation policies focusing on return to work (RTW) are carried out in local practice. Against this background, the overall aim of this thesis is to study the local practice of activation policies by analysing how they are received, implemented and experienced by welfare state organizations, employers and sick-listed workers. The analysis has been influenced by theories concerning organization fields, individualization, street-level bureaucracy and organizational governance. In this thesis, the overall aim is investigated in four interrelated papers. In Paper I, the aim is to analyse the perspectives of stakeholders (i.e. welfare state actors and employers) on work ability by studying multistakeholder meetings. Paper II sheds light on activation policy, focusing on early RTW in the context of modern working conditions; the aim is to analyse RTW practice in local workplace contexts, in relation to Swedish early-RTW policy. The third paper focuses on employers, with the aim of analysing their role and activities regarding RTW, in local workplace practice. In Paper IV, the aim is to analyse sick-listed workers’ experiences of the sickness insurance system in their contact with the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (SSIA) and their front-line staff. The empirical material comprises two empirical studies: 1) audio-recorded multi-stakeholder meetings from regular practice (n=9) and 2) semi-structured interviews with sick-listed workers and their supervisors in 18 workplaces (n=36). The analyses of the material have been performed in accordance with the principles of qualitative content analysis. Main findings of the papers reflect strong organizational boundaries in the implementation process of activation policies. Welfare state actors and employers appear to be governed by their own organizational logics and interests, so the actors involved fail to take a holistic view of sick-listed workers and do not share a common social responsibility for individuals’ RTW. This thesis illustrates how current activation policies focusing on RTW are based on a rather idealized image of the standard workplace. There is an explicit or implicit assumption that employers and work organizations are able to welcome sick-listed workers back to work in a healthy way. However, the intensity of modern working life leaves limited room for accommodating people with reduced work ability, who are not considered to have a business value to the workplace. In several cases, findings indicate that the SSIA’s focus on activation and early RTW clashes with the financially oriented perspective of employers. Economic considerations regarding their business take precedence over legal and ethical considerations, and employers have difficulty taking social responsibility for RTW. Sick-listed workers are encouraged to adjust to new workplace settings and environments to meet the demands of the workplace, and, if RTW is not possible, to the demands of the labour market. The findings also show that sick-listed workers experience that contacts with the SSIA are ‘standardized’; i.e., they perceive that the officials are loyal  to demands in their organizations rather than being involved actors who support workers’ individual needs. Sick-listed workers clearly experience that measures in Swedish activation policies have a strong focus on demanding aspects (financial work incentives) and less on enabling aspects (investments in skills). Overall, this thesis illustrates an emerging social climate where sick-listed workers are positioned as active agents who must take responsibility for their sick leave and their RTW process. In a Swedish context, RTW is a matter of activating the sick-listed rather than activating the workplace

En möjliggörande arbetsmarknadspolitik? Arbetsförmedlingens utredning och klassificering av klienters arbetsförmåga, anställbarhet och funktionshinder

De höga kraven i dagens arbetsliv har lett till att många personer ses som icke anställbara och allt fler arbetssökande kodas som funktionshindrade av Arbetsförmedlingen. Artikeln analyserar det bedömningsarbete som ligger till grund för funktionshinderkodningen, och där de sökandes arbetsförmåga, anställbarhet och funktionshinder upptäcks, skapas och objektifieras. Funktionshinderkodningen ska dock främst förstås i en vidare kontext kopplat till krav och förväntningar i Arbetsförmedlingens omgivning

When the Client Becomes Her Own Caseworker: Dislocation of Responsibility through Digital Self-Support in the Swedish Public Employment .

Drawing on ethnography in the Swedish Public Employment Service, this article compares caseworkers’ and local managers’ perceptions of changes towards increasing digital self-services for clients. Findings reflect a conflict of interest between different service ideals: vulnerable subjects in need of personalized guidance (caseworkers) versus competent subjects ready to manage their own unemployment via digital self-services (local managers). As we argue, the dislocation of responsibility via digital self-services serves to reinforce responsibilization, thus turning the client into her own caseworker. This development runs the risk of pushing vulnerable groups even further away from employment than they already are

Practicisng empty talk - Compliance and resistance to normative control among caseworkers in the Swedish Public Employment Service

This article draws on theories of normative control and critical management studies to investigate caseworkers’ strategies in correspondence to a new leadership philosophy in the Swedish Public Employment Service called self-leadership. Based on 43 interviews and observations at two local offices, we find that managerial models are arbitrary and cause uncertainty at the local level as caseworkers both comply and resist managerial talk of self-leadership. Based on a distinction between types of and grounds for strategic responses, we identify four subject positions defined as “personal embracement”, “personal detachment”, “professional recognition” and “professional dismissal”. The study shows that newly employed comply through practices of personal embracement, while senior employees resist based on professional dismissal. The article concludes that caseworkers are not docile bodies, who adjust to managerial talk, but derive their identity, engagement and esteem linked to a shared-work identity as organisational professionals. This demonstrates the relevance of closing the gap between street-level bureaucracy and critical management studies to further explore the tension between governing “employees” or “professionals” in contemporary public welfare governance