Working from Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Workplace Relationships

This article aims to explore what working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic means forworkplace relationships. This study is based on semi-structured interviews with Swedish knowledgeworkers. Three approaches are identified as regards how employees maintain their workplacerelationships when working from home: (1) being selective as regards social interactions, (2) beingcompliant and resistant during digital meetings, and (3) having less spontaneity and creativitywhen in the digital space. Further, our findings also point to the prioritization of the individual’sinterests and needs over those of the collective. The study indicates the importance of understanding the dynamics of the workplace relationships when working remotely

Working from Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Workplace Relationships

This article aims to explore what working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic means for workplace relationships. This study is based on semi-structured interviews with Swedish knowledge workers. Three approaches are identified as regards how employees maintain their workplace relationships when working from home: (1) being selective as regards social interactions, (2) being compliant and resistant during digital meetings, and (3) having less spontaneity and creativity when in the digital space. Further, our findings also point to the prioritization of the individual’s interests and needs over those of the collective. The study indicates the importance of understanding the dynamics of the workplace relationships when working remotely

Living with bipolar disorder : An analysis of the stories of two women

Psykisk ohälsa är ett av Sveriges största folkhälsoproblem. Psykiska besvär kanvariera från lindriga symtom så som nedstämdhet till allvarliga psykiska symtom.Bipolär sjukdom är en allvarlig långvarig sjukdom som kännetecknas av depressivaperioder med sänkt stämningsläge, medan de maniska perioderna ger en ökad energioch tankeverksamhet som kantas av omdömeslöshet. Syftet med denna studie var attbeskriva två kvinnors upplevelser av att leva med bipolär sjukdom. Tvåsjälvbiografier analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys med manifest ansats.Analysen resulterade i sex kategorier: att uppleva hälsa och ohälsa relaterat till mani,att uppleva utanförskap, att uppleva sjukdomens mörker, att behandlingen inte löstealla problem, att uppleva närstående både på gott och ont samt att uppleva hälsa ivardagen. Slutsatsen blev att upplevelsen av att leva med bipolär sjukdom är komplexoch mångfacetterad samt att den har stor effekt på personens upplevelser av allt fråndet egna livet och den egna vardagen till livet som sådant. Därmed påverkarsjukdomen också livets alla dimensioner så som synen på sig själv, relationer,yrkesliv. Detta kräver ett holistiskt förhållningssätt, och ställer stora krav påkunskaper från vårdens sida för att kunna erbjuda god omvårdnad till dessa personer.Ytterligare kvalitativ forskning behövs för att öka kunskapen och förståelsen förhelheten av hur det är att leva med en så komplex diagnos som bipolär sjukdom

Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic : implications for workplace relationships

This article aims to explore what working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic means for workplace relationships. This study is based on semi-structured interviews with Swedish knowledge workers. Three approaches are identified as regards how employees maintain their workplace relationships when working from home: (1) being selective as regards social interactions; (2) being compliant and resistant during digital meetings and (3) having less spontaneity and creativity when in the digital space. Further, our findings also point to the prioritization of the individual’s interests and needs over those of the collective. The study indicates the importance of understanding the dynamics of the workplace relationships when working remotely

Vad hände med de sociala relationerna under coronapandemin?

Under covid-19-pandemin blev många anställda rekommenderade eller tvingade att arbeta på distans (Fackförbundet ST, 2020; Wang m.fl., 2021). Sammantaget arbetade 30–40 procent av arbetstagarna hela eller delar av sin arbetstid på distans under pandemin (Myndigheten för arbetsmiljökunskap, 2021). Den fysiska arbetsplatsen var inte längre en självklarhet; från en dag till en annan blev i stället distansarbete normen i vardagen för många. Under pandemin var förhållandena unika, distansarbetet var påtvingat och inte ett resultat av varken organisationers behov eller individers önskemål. Det finns på så vis påtagliga skillnader i distansarbete före och under pandemin (Wang m.fl., 2021). I studier som har genomförts om arbete på distans under covid-19-pandemin har framför allt faktorer som den fysiska arbetsmiljön (i.e. Mihalca m.fl., 2021), anställdas psykiska hälsa (i.e. George m.fl., 2021; Palumbo, 2020), balansen mellan arbete och hem/familj (i.e. Arntz m.fl., 2020; Ford m.fl., 2021) samt produktivitet (i.e. Awada m.fl., 2021; Ferreira m.fl., 2021) uppmärksammats. Däremot det saknas det fördjupade studier om hur anställda upprätthåller sociala relationer med kollegor under distansarbete (Byrd, 2022). En studie av Lal m.fl. (2021) visar dock att sociala interaktioner fortlever under distansarbete, men att dessa interaktioner blir färre och sker i en mer organiserad form. En viktig pusselbit blir därför att förstå vad som händer med ansvaret för de sociala relationerna, när de tidsmässiga- och rumsliga förutsättningarna förändras och möjligheten att träffas fysiskt upphör. Studiens syfte är att förstå hur anställda upplever att relationerna till kollegorna förändrades när de blev förhindrade att mötas fysiskt i det påtvingade distansarbetet under covid-19-pandemin. Teoretiskt inspireras vi av forskning som har fokus på individualisering av arbetsförhållanden, flexibilitet och betydelsen av sociala relationer. Studien är empiriskt grundad och baseras på data från djupintervjuer med 19 anställda som helt eller delvis har arbetat på distans under pandemin. De anställda finns inom samhällssektorerna privat, offentlig och idéburen verksamhet

Urholkade sociala relationer i distansarbete under covid-19-pandemin

Denna artikel har som syfte att förstå hur anställda upplever att relationerna till kollegorna förändrades när de blev förhindrade att mötas fysiskt i det påtvingade distansarbetet under covid-19-pandemin. Studien baseras på djupintervjuer med anställda inom kunskapsintensiva yrken. Resultatet visar på (i) färre kontakter, (ii) minskad tillgänglighet och (iii) försvagad dynamik mellan kollegor. Slutsatsen som dras är att de som arbetade på distans under covid-19-pandemin, inte inkluderade ansvar för de sociala relationerna i sina arbetsuppgifter och att de därför inte särskilt engagerar sig för att upprätthålla dem

In Absence of a Working Place : A Gig Worker’s Sense Making of Work Community

In recent years, gig work – short-term and temporary assignments mediated via digital platforms – has captured the interest of media and research and is growing as an area of academic inquiry. Previously research has mainly focused on the regulations and breadth of gig work. Gig work can be been understood as a significant break from ‘standard employment relationship’, meaning that we are now heading towards a new phase of organisation of work. Gig work is often described as a lonely, risky, precarious work, and lacking the sense of community provided by a common workplace. Gig work is also described as offering flexibility, variety, allowing the worker to choose when, how much and with whom to work. Common for these two ways of describing gig work is the absence of a physical work place shared with other gig workers. Much of the literature deals with the juridical status or the working conditions of the gig work. However, more recent research is also addressing the emotional side of the gig work and how gig work is experienced and the bulk of literature pinpoints the negative feelings associated with performing gig work. Other studies address the negative feelings related to uncertainty and the fear of loosing work. Further aspects raised by the literature are related to communication and how poor communication contributes to negative feelings of uncertainty and feeling devaluated. One study has focused on the effect of deficient communication with platform owners when problem or conflicts occur. Another study addresses the lack of face-to-face communication platforms imply, while online communities can have positive effects on how gig work is experienced. In line with this study, another study scrutinizes the establishment of “holding environments” by gig works as a strategy to deal with the lack of a traditional physical working place. Working life research has been instrumental in pinpointing the importance of interpersonal relationships for how individuals experience their work and workplace. It is the feeling of belonginess that opens for reflection on and sense making of the experience of work. Being able to reflect and learn together with colleagues is central to the feeling of belonginess. Hence, the goal of this study is to shift focus towards the collective dimensions of gig work and gig workers’ opportunities to feel belonginess to a social context. To better understand how belongingness is experienced we employ the concept of sense making. The concept of sensemaking rests on a combination of both thinking and action. Online communities and holding environments are actions gig workers organize themselves to make sense of their situation, to make it more orderly – which is a central theme of both organizing and sensemaking research. Through sense making individuals engage in a process of creating structure and order among all experiences one is facing. The process of sense making does not happen in a vacuum, but in a context, through relations. The process of sense making can be understood as the relation between “frames” (moments of socialization) and “cues” (moments of experience). We chose the frames and cues framework to understand the present experience of gig work through the relation to the traditional view/understanding of work. It is also allowing us to capture both experience of earlier work, but also how work is understood. A gig work is, for many their first job, hence their frame is how work has been portrayed to them. For others, gig work is a choice; maybe as a counter-reaction to the traditional work. From a broader perspective, the lenses of the sensemaking perspective allows us to shed light on the changing understanding of work.This is a qualitative netnografic study. The aim is to understand how online communities are used by gig workers to make sense of their situation, which for many of them is characterised with an absence of a physical work place as well as colleagues and managers

The Resilient Public Library: Understanding and Reflecting on Own Practice

This article describes, discusses, and evaluates an educational program aimed at building resilience in public libraries. The program focuses on personal and organizational resilience and builds upon four themes: trust, stress and uncertainty, group identity, and character-strengths. Eighty-seven Swedish public library professionals participated in it. A mixed-method approach was used to study how the program supported employees in discussing and reflecting on resilience, as well as how they experienced what the program had given them in terms of knowledge and insights. Two main results are addressed; (i) the value of an educational program lies both in its power to make employees jointly discuss and reflect on their own roles and situations and in library-management using this information to change the organization, and (ii) staff gaining new insight and knowledge from the program experienced improvements in a number of outcomes related to the content of the program. Overall, this study implies that locally designed educational programs facilitate both personal and organizational resilience at public librarie

Rationale, development and feasibility of group antenatal care for immigrant women in Sweden : a study protocol for the Hooyo Project

INTRODUCTION: Somali-born women comprise a large group of immigrant women of childbearing age in Sweden, with increased risks for perinatal morbidity and mortality and poor experiences of care, despite the goal of providing equitable healthcare for the entire population. Rethinking how care is provided may help to improve outcomes. OVERALL AIM: To develop and test the acceptability, feasibility and immediate impacts of group antenatal care for Somali-born immigrant women, in an effort to improve experiences of antenatal care, knowledge about childbearing and the Swedish healthcare system, emotional well-being and ultimately, pregnancy outcomes. This protocol describes the rationale, planning and development of the study. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: An intervention development and feasibility study. Phase I includes needs assessment and development of contextual understanding using focus group discussions. In phase II, the intervention and evaluation tools, based on core values for quality care and person-centred care, are developed. Phase III includes the historically controlled evaluation in which relevant outcome measures are compared for women receiving individual care (2016-2018) and women receiving group antenatal care (2018-2019): care satisfaction (Migrant Friendly Maternity Care Questionnaire), emotional well-being (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale), social support, childbirth fear, knowledge of Swedish maternity care, delivery outcomes. Phase IV includes the process evaluation, investigate process, feasibility and mechanisms of impact using field notes, observations, interviews and questionnaires. All phases are conducted in collaboration with a stakeholder reference group. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study is approved by the Regional Ethical Review Board, Stockholm, Sweden. Participants receive information about the study and their right to decline/withdraw without consequences. Consent is given prior to enrolment. Findings will be disseminated at antenatal care units, national/international conferences, through publications in peer-reviewed journals, seminars involving stakeholders, practitioners, community and via the project website. Participating women will receive a summary of results in their language