Welcome to the 3rd Malmö Work Science Meeting, a gathering of scholars and practitioners dedicated to exploring the multifaceted dimensions of work, arranged by Centre for Work Life Studies (CTA) and the Work Science Network at Malmö University. This Book of Abstracts presents the diverse contributions from our participants, organized into thematic sessions that reflect the breadth and depth of contemporary work science research. We hope this compilation serves as a valuable resource for engaging discussions and future collaborations.

This study investigates the evolution of societal values regarding homosexuality and abortion in Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia from 1995 to 2020. Utilizing data from the World Values Survey, the research examines how these values have shifted in relation to religiosity and institutional changes. The findings reveal significant divergences among the three countries. Croatia and Serbia have experienced an increase in conservative attitudes towards sexuality, particularly influenced by rising religiosity and the impact of religious nationalism. Conversely, Slovenia has shown a liberalizing trend, with decreasing proportions of the population viewing homosexuality and abortion as unjustifiable. The study employs regression models to analyse the influence of religiosity, gender, age, and education on these values. The results indicate that while religiosity is a significant factor, national differences persist even after controlling for it. The paper concludes that historical trajectories and the interplay between formal and informal institutions play crucial roles in shaping values on sexuality. The study highlights the need for further research on the connection between institutional reforms, historical contexts, and value changes.

The Croatian islands have many difficulties that resemble the general problems of rural and remote regions, which include rapid urbanization, deagrarianization, and falling birth rates, but there are also some specific national causes and explanations. Despite this, demographic trends in Croatia are generally treated as a marginal problem, even though they, directly and indirectly, generate economic and social problems that are difficult to overcome: demographic aging, labour market bottlenecks, problems of caring for elderly persons, lack ofsustainability in health and social security systems, and reduced economic growth. In this article, we examine previous studies on why people leave remote and rural areas. The research questions are: (RQ1) What do we know about why people leave rural and remote regions? (RQ2) What are the main drivers for leaving rural and remote regions? For this, we use theoretical perspectives on migration and previous empirical findings. We find that there are many lessons learned from international experiences that also can be applied on the Croatian islands, for example, migration due to education and labour market possibilities. When it comes to access to amenities and higher quality of life, these are advantages for the Croatian islands and may be used as comparative advantages.

Most European countries have experienced depopulation in rural and remote places over thelast decade. Eurostat (2021) forecasts that populations are likely to shrink in four out of fiverural regions by 2050. Croatia has for more than half a century recorded an increasing numberof places with a significant decrease in the number of inhabitants. This process is particularlypronounced on many islands. There are almost 200 uninhabited places in Croatia (Dugački,Peternel and Škiljan 2021), of which many are located on the islands.Croatian islands have many difficulties that remind of the general problems of rural andremote regions, which includes fast urbanization, deagrarianization and falling birth rates, butthere are also some specific national causes and explanations. Despite this, demographictrends in Croatia are generally treated as a marginal problem, regardless of the fact that theydirectly and indirectly generate economic and social problems that are difficult to overcome:demographic aging, labour market bottlenecks, problems of caring for single elderly, lack ofsustainability in health and social security systems, and reduced economic growth.In this paper we focus on migration and examine previous studies on why people leave remoteand rural areas. The research questions are: (RQ1) What do we know about why people leaverural and remote regions? (RQ2) Which are the main drivers for leaving rural and remoteregions according to previous research? For this, we consider both the theoreticalperspectives on migration, but also previous empirical findings. We have found that there aremany lessons learned from international experiences that also can be applied on Croatianislands, for example migration due to education and labour market possibilities. However,access to amenities and higher quality of life are advantages for the Croatian islands.

Many Croatian island municipalities depend on tourism, which provides income by usingnatural resources; however, traditional tourism is labour intensive and low-skilled whichleads to low wages and low possibilities to increase productivity. This paper aims toanalyse and discuss other possibilities than traditional tourist industry for the Croatianislands to develop. We will turn towards the concept of digital nomads to discuss if digitalnomads can be a solution for the Croatian islands. As a starting point, we use aconceptual model inspired by Harris and Todaro’s theoretical outline. We discuss thenew possibilities that digitalisation has opened for these islands. The digital economyhas made where and when work is performed less important. Thus, the lines betweenwork and non-work are blurred. Tourist industry must look ahead for new forms ofmobility and new kinds of work and non-work, which may bring positive exogenouseffects to the islands in the form of higher educational level, cultural activities, andpurchase power. Our main point is that turning towards attracting digital nomads can,to some extent, be a solution. 

The aim of this article is to investigate how newly arrived immigrants’ career learning is implemented and organized in an education reform that focus on work first. As a case,we chose to study the newly launched Combination Education. From this we specify these research questions: 1) How can career counselling support students career learning? 2)How does cooperation between the counsellors and teachers work? 3) Which are the organizational conditions for career learning? The method used was qualitative. First, we made 29 interviews with career counsellors from 22 different municipalities. These interviews were made over the web using the tool Zoom. In the second part, we made IRL visits to 5 municipalities and interviewed 31 persons, who worked as career counsellors, teachers, headmasters, operations managers, and coordinators. In a labour market paradigm that focus on workfare, incentives, and work first, less notice is given to the transition from school to work and the recruitment practice. In such a labour market paradigm, career learning may be devalued. By using a Program Theory framework and setting up the Program Logic for the education programme, we found its critical points.These are 1) when the student applies to the Combination Education, and 2) when the student ends Combination Education and make the transition to work life. To make sustainable career choices, the individual need to have Career Management Skills (CMS), and to develop CMS, the student must have had the opportunity to develop his or hercareer learning. Further, to develop career learning in a wider and broader sense, the cooperation of different professional groups is needed. This cooperation must have organizational and structural conditions, and not depend on individuals. As several other studies and government reports have noticed (e.g., Parliamentary Committee on Education 2018; Swedish Schools Inspectorate 2013) the governing and management of career guidance and counselling (CGC) is weak, and the career counsellor often left alone and isolated. When it comes to Combination Education, we found that managing documents are rare, which shows a lack of interest from the managing level in the municipality.

Youth labour remained important well into the twentieth century, although it is often elusive in traditional sources. In this article, we investigate messengers – a category of occupational titles, including errand and office boys, which is thought of as youth jobs. We sketch the long-term development of the occupation by making use of digitised Swedish daily newspapers and discuss demand-side, supply-side and institutional factors for the disappearance of the occupation. Our investigation suggests that the messenger jobs reached their peak around 1945 and thereafter decreased to low levels in the 1960s. We find that employers looking for messengers were large organisations that needed in-house help with deliveries and simple office tasks. These employers originally aimed at young men aged 15–17 years. The minimum age requirement was not loosened over time; instead, employers began to announce for older workers. We interpret this as employers’ adapting to a situation where the supply of young messengers had decreased. Employers made their ads appealing by emphasising good working conditions and career prospects, indicating that there was still a demand for messengers despite the changing times.

Som en konsekvens av, och i linje med, den nya arbetslinjen som växte fram i början av det nya milleniet blev utgångspunkten för kombinationsutbildning att nyanländas etablering i samhället och på arbetsmarknaden ska öka. Utbildningsformen har således en tydlig koppling till arbetsmarknaden. Att göra ett väl övervägt studie- och yrkesval kräver en god kunskap om arbetsmarknaden, vilket kan tillgodoses genom generell vägledning och arbetsmarknadsorientering.I denna studie har vi undersökt vägledningens roll i kombinationsutbildning. En slutsats är att en fungerande och hållbar vägledning kräver organisatoriska förutsättningar och en genomtänkt styrning. Den generella vägledningen bygger på en samverkan mellan olika yrkesgrupper, men även samverkan måste få organisatoriska förutsättningar och rätt styrning. Det kan handla om att strategiska dokument formuleras av kommunledningen (SYV-plan), att yrkesvägledarna placeras tillsammans med den pedagogiska verksamheten, eller att olika yrkesgrupper får i uppdrag att tillsammans utveckla moment med inriktning arbetslivsorientering och generell vägledning.