Bystanders can affect workplace bullying by engaging in active or passive behaviours. However, there is a knowledge gapregarding how perceived work environment factors relate to bystander behaviour. The study aim was to investigate how job demands, and job resources are associated with bystander behaviour in workplace bullying. An online questionnaire wasdistributed to a sample of health care workers at two time points. Longitudinal data were obtained from 1144 respondents. Cross-lagged panel models were used to investigate associations between job demands, job resources, and bystander behaviours over time. The results showed that social support was positively related to active behaviours, whereas influence at work was negatively related to both active and passive behaviours. Perceived illegitimate tasks were negatively related to active and positively related to passive behaviours, whereas emotional demands had an unanticipated opposite pattern of relationships. The findings provide new information about how factors in the organisational and social work environment are associated with active and passive bystander behaviours in workplace bullying. Specifically, the results expand current understanding of workplace bullying by relating bystander behaviour to the organisational context.

Over the last 20 years systematic quality work has become the main tool for developing Swedish schools (Håkansson & Adolfson, 2022). According to the Education Act (2010:800), quality work – at the local educational authority level as well as in the schools themselves – should be conducted in a systematic and continuous way, with respect to planning, follow-up, analyses, and actions taken to develop education. By continuous assessments and evaluations, the goal of the systematic quality work is to identify and address issues that need improvement for students to achieve the educational goals (Swedish National Agency for Education, 2012a). A review of the literature reveals the problematic aspects of evaluation practices and quality management, such as the risk to focus on what is measurable rather than what is desirable as well as the diverse definitions of quality (Lundström, 2015). However, what the local quality systems consist of, how they have been designed, and what practices and perceptions of quality they entail is less understood.

Previous research has primarily focused on individual schools’ quality work (Håkansson, 2013; Jarl, et al., 2017) , while less attention has been paid to the way the local educational authorities conduct systematic quality work. Thus, the aim of this study is to fill this knowledge gap by investigating how the ideas of systematic quality work in the Swedish Education Act's requirements are interpreted, translated, and materialized at the local education authority level.

The following research questions will guide our study:

1. How do local educational authorities interpret and translate the systematic quality work regulations and requirements in the Education Act?

2. How do these interpretations och translations materialize in the local quality work practices?

Theoretically we approach the phenomena of systematic quality management within the Swedish school sector from an organizing (Czarniawska, 2014) and practice-oriented perspective (Gherardi, 2019; Nicolini, 2009; 2012). These theoretical perspectives provide us a framework to analyse how the institutionalized ideas (as mental images that are well spread within the society) of systematic quality management - through authorities, policies, regulations, and quality models - are translated and materialized (Czarniawska & Joerges, 1996) into the local quality work organization and practices. The latter refers to the practices of doing and saying something related to the ideas of systematic quality management in different social contexts and time (Gherardi, 2019; Nicolini, 2009; 2012). Although the national guidelines involve the entire school system, these are interpreted, translated, and materialized by actors operating in a local context, which means that quality is understood in different ways and that the systematic quality work is conducted in different ways. An organizational perspective also includes aspects related to the tensions that arise when different interests and logics collide (for example between political, administrative, and professional interests and logics; see Czarniawska, 2014).

Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedIn this project five Swedish municipalities have participated in a study of what systematic quality work means at a local education authority level and what practices materialize from the national regulations. At the heart of the study is the recognition that quality systems are locally designed to meet the national requirements, thereby allowing diverse interpretations and translations to occur.

The local education authorities can be understood as mediators, partly between state and municipal control, partly between needs and agendas at different levels in the chain of command. This understanding also characterizes the design of the study. The empirical data has been collected through three complementary methods: document studies, observations, and interviews. The document studies consist of analysing different central documents, e.g., quality reports, provided by the local education authorities covering the past two years. We have also observed meetings related to the systematic quality work (so called “quality-dialogues”). Besides the local education authorities, the key actors in these meetings were the principals, assistant principals, and teacher representatives of the school being followed up. 

The interviews were conducted with key persons in five different local Swedish education authorities individually by the authors. The duration of the interviews was approximately one hour, and they were conducted either face-to-face, via Zoom, or telephone. The interviews were based on an interview guide including questions about the participants’ role, their experiences, and activities in relation to the systematic quality work, the expected and actual effects, as well as challenges and potential for improvement of systematic quality work. The interviews were recorded with informed consent and were later transcribed verbatim.

All the research material described above is now gathered and will be analysed during the Spring 2023. As a tool for data analyses, we will apply Bacchi´s (2012) method “What is the problem represented to be?”.

Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsEqual education for all is includes three fundamental aspects: equal access to education, equal quality of education and the compensatory nature of education (Swedish National Agency for Education, 2012b). All students should receive an equivalent education, regardless of the area they live in, the socio-economic conditions they come from, or their functional variations. But study after study shows that Swedish students' schooling is not equal, and that who you are and where you live play a decisive role in the quality of the education you receive. Many of the last decade's school policy reforms and targeted initiatives have had as their overarching goal to address this lack of equality, so far with few concrete results. In order to break this trend, there has been an increasing focus on the local educational authorities’ responsibility for the individual school's shortcomings, quality, and development. Furthermore, lack of equality is a problem within rather than between different local educational authorities. Although there is paucity of research, the limited results show that schools are often isolated with their problems and that there is a lack of supportive structures and a functional systematic quality work (Jarl, et al., 2017; Swedish Schools Inspectorate, 2021).

The paper will present results from the ongoing study, results that we believe will have relevance both in the Swedish, Nordic and in a wider European context. Through our investigation we will contribute knowledge regarding how the National Educational Act's requirements for systematic quality work are interpreted, translated, and materialized at the local level, and how this in turn shapes, promotes or hinders the quality work of individual schools.

BackgroundWorkplace bullying is widespread in the healthcare sector and the negative effects are well known. However, less attention has been paid to bystanders who witness bullying in the workplace. Bystanders can affect the bullying process by engaging in active, passive, or destructive behaviors. There is a need to study work-related and organizational consequences of witnessing bullying and bystander behaviors.ObjectiveThe aim was to explore how witnessed workplace bullying and bystander behaviors are associated with work-related and organizational consequences, such as perceived quality of care, work engagement, and turnover intentions, among healthcare workers over time.DesignLongitudinal design. An online questionnaire was administered twice over the course of six months.Setting(s)Employees in the healthcare sector in Sweden, such as physicians, nurses, and assistant nurses, responded to the questionnaire.Participants1144 participants provided longitudinal data.MethodsStructural equation modeling was used to explore the associations between witnessed bullying, bystander behavior, work-related and organizational factors over time.ResultsWitnessed workplace bullying (B = − 0.18, 95 % CI [− 0.23 to − 0.12]) and the bystander outsider role (B = − 0.24, 95 % CI [− 0.29 to − 0.19]) were statistically significantly related to a decrease in perceived quality of care. Work engagement was statistically significantly predicted by all three bystander roles over time; positively by the defender role (B = 0.11, 95 % CI [0.05–0.17]), and negatively by the outsider role (B = − 0.23, 95 % CI [− 0.29 to − 0.16]), and the assistant role (B = − 0.32, 95 % CI [− 0.41 to − 0.24]). The outsider role (B = 0.12, 95 % CI [0.02–0.22]), the assistant role (B = 0.17, 95 % CI [0.03–0.30]), and witnessed workplace bullying (B = 0.18, 95 % CI [0.08–0.29]), all positively predicted increased turnover intentions at a subsequent time point.ConclusionsIn addition to the direct negative impact workplace bullying has on those targeted by it, witnessing bullying and taking different bystander roles can have work-related and organizational consequences by influencing perceived care quality, employees' work engagement, and their intention to leave the organization.

Fokus för denna presentation är arbetsrelaterad mobbning och den organisatoriska kontextens betydelse för varför åskådare till mobbning agerar eller att inte agerar. Presentationen bygger på en studie accepterad för publicering i Research in Health and Nursing 2021, (Jönsson & Muhonen).  

Arbetsrelaterad mobbning skiljer sig från den mobbning som vi ser bland barn och ungdomar. Mobbning som sker på arbetsplatsen, mellan vuxna, är ofta mer subtil och inte lika lätt att identifiera. Studier visar att exponering för mobbning på arbetsplatsen har allvarliga konsekvenser för de anställdas psykiska hälsa, till exempel depression eller utbrändhet.¹ Utöver psykiska effekter vet vi också att mobbning kan påverka den fysiska hälsan, till exempel genom muskelsmärta eller huvudvärk², samt minskat välbefinnande, såsom negativ påverkan på individers allmänna tillfredsställelse.³

Inom forskningen har det under långt tid varit fokus på enbart två aktörer: den eller de som utsätter (förövare) och den eller de som är utsatta (offer). Det är inte förrän på 2000-talet som en tredje aktör uppmärksammats, nämligen åskådaren.⁴ Att vara vittne till hur en eller flera kolleger far illa på arbetsplatsen riskerar att negativt påverka den egna hälsan. Studier har visat att bevittnandet av mobbning kan upplevas som en stressfaktor i arbetet och kan på så vis påverka många fler personer än den som direkt är utsatt. Termen åskådare används för att beskriva den individ som bevittnat mobbning men som inte enbart är att betrakta som ett passivt vittne utan som en individ med möjlighet att agera.5 Det handlar alltså om att man som åskådare har ett val, att agera eller inte agera i relation till den bevittnade situationen.⁶

Syfte

Syftet med den aktuella studien var att undersöka den organisatoriska kontextens betydelse för åskådares beteende vid bevittande av arbetsplatsmobbning inom hälso- och sjukvården.

Metod

Kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med 32 anställda (läkare, sjuksköterskor, undersköterskor och fysioterapeuter) inom en av Sveriges regioner. Data samlades in mellan mars 2019 och september 2020 och analyserades med tematisk analys.

Resultat

Vid analysen identifierades tre övergripande teman: åskådarens beteenden, organisatoriska faktorer, och sociala faktorer. Deltagarna i studien upplevde ofta att åskådarna, både kollegor och chefer, var passiva i sitt agerande. De menar också att organisatoriska faktorer såsom dysfunktionell organisationskultur och brister i ledningen påverkade hur åskådaren valde att agera i de olika mobbningssituationerna. I relation till sociala faktorer var det bland annat rädsla för negativa konsekvenser, bristande medvetenhet om vad som pågick, eller ett ursäktande av mobbingbeteendet som påverkade agerandet.

Diskussion

Studier har visat att när det gäller att förebygga och förhindra trakasserier och mobbning på arbetsplatsen är åskådares beteende och ingripanden av stor betydelse.⁷ Att fokusera på åskådares roller och agerande kan exempelvis vara fördelaktigt när man utformar olika metoder eller interventioner med syfte att minska de negativa konsekvenserna av mobbning. Att även inkludera åskådarna i en mobbningssituation innebär ett mer holistiskt angreppssätt där man slutar betrakta mobbning som en fråga på individnivå och i stället ser mobbning som en fråga för hela organisationen. Genom detta perspektivskifte möjliggörs alternativa sätt att arbeta med att förebygga förekomsten av mobbning. 

Introduction

As part of the welfare sector, Swedish schools have undergone several reforms during the past few decades resulting in increasing and often conflicting demands on principals. Additional to implementing new grading systems and curricula, the sector has been impacted by market-oriented logic (new public management), resulting in a mix of professional and bureaucratic governance structures. Many of these reforms demand daily responses because principals are the key actors in both organizing and leading pedagogical practices, being the head of business and main respondent to local political initiatives. Hence, principals’ work environments have gradually deteriorated, with many experiencing high stress levels, which has led to high turnover and difficulty recruiting and retaining principals.  

Aim

Using JD-R theory as the point of departure, the aim of this study is to examine principals’ organizational and social work environment and attempt to answer the following research question: which job demands and job resources are related to principals’ job satisfaction and their intention to leave the job, and how do these job demands and job resources relate to changes within the institutional landscape as a result of the major political reforms the Swedish school sector has undergone over the last few decades?  

Method

We use a mixed methods approach combining responses to questionnaires (466 participants) and interviews (15 participants).  Participants were principals who were members of the school leader section (Lärarförbundet Skolledare) of the Swedish Teachers Union.  

Results

The questionnaire responses indicated that job resources such as role clarity, influence, meaningfulness, and social community with senior managers were related to job satisfaction, while a lack of job resources (influence, social community with senior managers) and role conflict were associated with higher intention to leave the profession. The interviews deepened the understanding of the shift in institutional logic within the school sector that has created boundaries between principals’ professional and managerial roles in accordance with new public management thinking. The separation of their professional and managerial roles has contributed to the development of a blind spot in principals’ organizational and social work environments. This is a problem for principals and a risk factor for the organizations themselves because stress and ill-health experienced by leaders tend to affect the entire organization. 

Workplace bullying is a severe problem that affects individuals, organizations, and society. Although there is a growing research interest in bystanders of workplace bullying, the rationale underlying bystanders' behavior in healthcare settings requires further investigation. The aim of the current study is to explore factors that influence the behavior of bystanders to workplace bullying in the healthcare sector. Qualitative semistructured interviews were conducted with 32 staff members in the healthcare sector in Sweden. Data were collected between March 2019 and September 2020 and were analyzed with thematic analysis. The participants experienced that bystanders of bullying, both colleagues and managers, were in many situations acting in a passive way. Organizational factors such as dysfunctional organizational culture and deficiencies in management affected how actively the bystanders could intervene. Additionally, a fear of negative consequences, lack of awareness of what was going on, bullying behavior being excused, and the bystander not being a member of the dominant group were social factors contributing to bystanders' passive behavior. For bystander intervention to be successful, the organization must consider bullying as a serious issue, take action, and show support for both the target and the bystander.

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has severely affected workers, workplaces, and working practices. In the higher education setting, universities have shifted to distance learning, resulting in profound changes in academics' work. In this study, we aimed to describe academics' job demands and resources related to changes in working conditions during the pandemic, and to examine how these changes have affected the perceived occupational wellbeing of academics. Additionally, we aimed to investigate academics' expectations and concerns for future academic working practices following the pandemic. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 26 academics working at various universities in Sweden. A content analysis was used to identify the key themes from the transcribed interviews. The results indicated that academics experienced a lack of face-to-face communication, absence of an academic environment, work overload, and work-home interference as demanding during the pandemic. In relation to resources, online communication options, appropriate working conditions, organizational-social support, and individual factors were perceived as important. Most respondents perceived negative occupational wellbeing outcomes. However, academics who had the appropriate resources were less likely to be affected by job demands. Academics' expectations for future academic work included continuation of working online, flexibility in the choice of workspace, and strengthened digital capacity. Their concerns were related to a lack of face-to-face interaction, management actions and economic implications, and pure digital education. This paper contributes to the literature by illustrating the complexity and diversity of experiences and preferences among academics that are important for universities to consider when organizing and managing future academic work.

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has severely affected workers, workplaces, and working practices. In the higher education setting, universities have shifted to distance learning, resulting in profound changes in academics' work. In this study, we aimed to describe academics' job demands and resources related to changes in working conditions during the pandemic, and to examine how these changes have affected the perceived occupational wellbeing of academics. Additionally, we aimed to investigate academics' expectations and concerns for future academic working practices following the pandemic. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 26 academics working at various universities in Sweden. A content analysis was used to identify the key themes from the transcribed interviews. The results indicated that academics experienced a lack of face-to-face communication, absence of an academic environment, work overload, and work-home interference as demanding during the pandemic. In relation to resources, online communication options, appropriate working conditions, organizational-social support, and individual factors were perceived as important. Most respondents perceived negative occupational wellbeing outcomes. However, academics who had the appropriate resources were less likely to be affected by job demands. Academics' expectations for future academic work included continuation of working online, flexibility in the choice of workspace, and strengthened digital capacity. Their concerns were related to a lack of face-to-face interaction, management actions and economic implications, and pure digital education. This paper contributes to the literature by illustrating the complexity and diversity of experiences and preferences among academics that are important for universities to consider when organizing and managing future academic work. 

Background and Aims

Workplace bullying is a severe global problem that affect individuals, organizations and society (e.g. Salin & Notelears, 2020). Studies have indicated that workplace bullying is more prevalent in health care than in other sectors. According to a recent systematic review of bullying among health care employees, up to one in four health care professionals are exposed to bullying regularly (Lever et al., 2018).

There has been a growing interest in the area of bystanders of workplace bullying (Coyne et al. 2017), but the role of the bystander, and research focusing on understanding the rationale for bystander behavior, remains an important area of investigation (Thompson et al., 2020). Specifically, additional research is needed in order to achieve a deeper understanding of the connection between the organizational context and bystanders’ behavior. Consequently, the aim of this study is to investigate how different organizational factors relate to bystanders’ behavior in a bullying situation.

In order to analyze the organizational context in relation to workplace bullying and bystanders’ behavior, the Job Demands-Resources theory (JD-R; Bakker & Demerouti, 2017), and the theory of Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC; Dollard & Bakker, 2010) form the theoretical framework for the study.

Design/Methodology

The present study is a quantitative survey study conducted in the health care sector, with physicians, nurses and assistant nurses as participants. Longitudinal data have been collected through questionnaires at two occasions, about six months apart (N = 1144 responded at both t1 and t2). Demographic questions, as well as scales from the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ II; Pejtersen et al., 2010), and measures of bystander behavior in response to witnessed bullying (Salmivalli et al., 1996; 2011), were included in the survey at both time points. Longitudinal structural equation modelling was conducted to investigate associations between psychosocial factors and bystander behavior over time.

Results

Results indicated that PSC was positively associated with bystanders’ reports of defending the victim. Social support from coworkers, social community at work and perceived illegitimate tasks predicted constructive, passive, and destructive bystander behaviors in expected directions. Conversely, influence, as well as quantitative and emotional demands were counterintuitively related to bystander behaviors over time.

Practical Implications

It is predicted that the health care sector will have a substantial need for staff in the future, while many of the current employees, especially nurses, leave their occupation. Providing a good work environment will be one of the key issues in order to attract, recruit and retain staff in the future. The study generates knowledge that creates opportunities for managers and organizations to work preventively, and increases their ability to understand and handle different types of bullying situations from both the victim’s and witnesses’ perspective.

Originality/Value

This study adds knowledge to the area of bystander behavior in the health care sector, by relating bystander behavior to the organizational context.

Purpose - The 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/approach - Interviews were conducted with 11 university lecturers/researchers and 12 academic middle managers, that is, heads of departments or units in a Swedish university. Findings The 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/implications - The 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 implications - The 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/value- The study contributes new knowledge concerning implementation of ABW and its consequences for the academic work environment.

AIM: The aim of this study was to explore aspects that are important for the integration of preceptorship and processes for recruitment and retention of nurses.

BACKGROUND: Shortage of nurses is a global concern that has a major impact on healthcare systems around the world. However, earlier research has not considered whether preceptorship of nursing students can be an integral part of recruitment and retention of nurses.

METHOD: A descriptive design with a qualitative approach was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten preceptors and six ward managers in different healthcare specialties in Sweden.

RESULTS: Three aspects were found central for integrating preceptorship with recruitment and retention: perceptions of preceptorship, the organization of preceptorship, and the way preceptorship operates in relation to recruitment and retention strategies.

CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that preceptorship and recruitment strategies could both benefit from being integrated.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: It is central for nursing managers to develop organizational practices that enable the integration of preceptorship with recruitment and retention of nurses. This could increase the quality of both preceptorship and the work environment in general.

The aims of this qualitative grounded theory study were to explore how politicians accountable for Swedish elderly care viewed their assignment, their beliefs and knowledge regarding the psychosocial work environment for elderly care employees, the factors affecting their work environment, and how these politicians regarded elderly care during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study consisted of 41 interviews with politicians in municipalities across Sweden. Three categories emerged from the analysis: (1) interpretation of the assignment directs the focus; (2) recognizing shortfalls in the employees’ work environment; and (3) exposing deficiencies due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The strongest category was identified as interpretation of the assignment directs the focus and was described as the delivery of good and quality care. Nevertheless, this study highlights shortfalls in the delivery of care services where the employees’ work environment, especially in the home care sector, was frequently described as stressful. The COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected the work situation for staff in elderly care. In that setting, staff shortage and lack of competency were common. Nurses were particularly affected by high workload and responsibility. Further research should explore civil servant roles in the elderly care sector and how these actors view their collaboration with municipality politicians.

Bakgrund

Sedan föreskriften Organisatorisk och social arbetsmiljö (AFS 2015:4) introducerades har fokus riktats på betydelsen av organisatoriska förutsättningar för en hälsosam arbetsmiljö. Till skillnad från bedömning och mätning av fysiska arbetsmiljörisker, är de organisatoriska och psykosociala arbetsmiljörisker svårare att hantera. Ett relevant teoretiskt begrepp i sammanhanget är Psychosocial Safety Climate – PSC), som kan definieras som medarbetarnas delade uppfattningar om organisationens riktlinjer, praxis och procedurer för att skydda deras psykologiska hälsa och säkerhet. Med hjälp av PSC skalan undersöks hur medarbetarna upplever att den högsta ledningen 1) engagerar sig, 2) prioriterar, 3) kommunicerar och 4) involverar medarbetarna, i psykosociala arbetsmiljöfrågor. Forskning visar att PSC kan predicera arbetsmiljöfaktorer såsom känslomässiga och kvantitativa jobbkrav, mobbing, inflytande och utvecklingsmöjligheten, som i sin tur påverkar till exempel medarbetarnas arbetsengagemang, stress-, utmattnings- och depressionssymptom. Medan den tidigare forskningen huvudsakligen har bedrivits i Australien, bidrar den aktuella studien med att undersöka tillförlitligheten och användbarheten av den korta versionen av PSC-4 i den svenska kontexten.  

Syfte

Syftet med studien är att presentera en kort svensk version av Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC-4, Dollard, 2019) samt hur PSC-4 kan användas för att identifiera risknivåer i den organisatoriska och sociala arbetsmiljön.  

Metod

Studien är baserad på en enkätundersökning som genomfördes bland ett slumpmässigt urval av anställda i åldern 25–65 år (N = 2847) samt enkätdata från ett icke-slumpmässigt urval av 94 arbetsplatser (N = 3066). Som kriterier för utveckling av gränsvärden för PSC-4 risknivåer användes organisationers upplevda efterlevnad av arbetsmiljöföreskrifter.

Resultat

Resultaten visade att PSC-4 hade relevanta samband med andra arbetsmiljöfaktorer såsom kvantitativa krav, ledarskapskvalitet, engagemang i organisationen, arbetsengagemang, arbetstillfredsställelse samt stress och utbrändhet. Vidare framstår PSC-4 som en valid och användbar verktyg för att kunna identifiera risknivåer i relation till hur arbetsmiljöarbetet 2 praktiseras på svenska arbetsplatser. PSC-4 värden över 12 indikerar en god arbetsmiljöpraktik med låg risknivå, medan PSC-4 värden ≤ 8 indikerar bristande arbetsmiljöpraktik med hög risknivå. Värden mellan 12 och 8 indikerar otillräcklig arbetsmiljöpraktik med måttlig risknivå. Arbetsplatser med hög risk rekommenderas att sätta till åtgärder omedelbart, medan de med måttlig risknivå bör ge det systematiska arbetsmiljöarbete mer uppmärksamhet. Sammanfattningsvis, den svenska versionen av PSC4 kan betraktas som en valid och tillförlitlig instrument för både forskning och praktisk användning för riskbedömning på arbetsplatser. 

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 25–65 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 >12.0, while the proposed cutoff for poor OSH practices is a score of ≤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.

As part of society, religious organizations are exposed to contextual conditions and challenges. However, adapting to external conditions is an act of balance since too much compromising may risk having a negative effect on employees' perception of organizational authenticity and, in turn, employees' well-being and attitudes toward work. In this study, we examined how specific characteristics of the work, in terms of job demands (role conflict and emotional demands) and job resources (influence at work and social community at work), as well as employees' credence in the organization's ability to respond to change, relate to employee well-being within the Church of Sweden. In total 2,112 employees (58% participation rate) answered a web-based survey. The results of regression analyses showed that job resources and credence in the organization's ability to respond to change provided a clear contribution to the explanation of variance in work engagement and, especially, job satisfaction. However, the contribution of job demands was less clear. Moreover, to further the understanding of the association between employees' credence in the organization's ability to respond to change and employee well-being, the mediating effect of job resources was tested. The results showed that the association between credence and well-being is in part mediated by job resources. In sum, the study demonstrate that employees' credence in the organization's ability to respond to change is important to consider for understanding employee well-being within religious organizations. In conclusion, our study suggest that organizations that are built up on strong values and institutionalized beliefs, such as religious and faith-based organizations, need to tread carefully in the process of adapting to conformal pressure for change. This, since the actions and choices of the organization are important for employees' credence in the organization and, in turn, employee well-being. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Background: Globally, nurses are at high risk of exposure to workplace bullying, and there is a growing body of literature addressing bullying in the nursing profession. Yet, our understanding of cross-cultural variations in bullying among nurses is lacking. An analysis of what is currently known about bullying in different parts of the world is critical for our understanding of cross-cultural effects of bullying among nurses.

Objectives: We aimed to examine workplace bullying research among nurses with the focus on sources, antecedents, outcomes and coping responses from a cross-cultural perspective during the years 2001– 2019. Design: This is a scoping review of published literature on workplace bullying among nurses.

Data sources: A literature search was conducted using the CINAHL, PubMed, PsychINFO and Web of Sci- ence databases. A total of 166 articles provided data from the following cultural clusters: Anglo, Latin Europe, Eastern Europe, Nordic Europe, Middle East, Latin America, Confucian Asia, Southern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Procedure: Studies were identified through a database search. Relevant data were extracted using a narra- tive approach. Categories were thematically organized according to the study topics. Cultural differences regarding the variation in the perceptions of and responses to bullying were analysed in relation to the cultural dimensions: power distance, assertiveness, in-group collectivism and performance orientation. Results: Research was mostly conducted in the Anglo cluster. Antecedents and outcomes of bullying were the most often studied topics across all cultural clusters. Vertical bullying was most prevalent in higher power distance cultures, whereas horizontal bullying was either more or equally prevalent in lower power distance cultures. The risk of bullying decreased as nurses’ length of service and age increased in most of the clusters. Individual antecedents were more frequently reported in high in-group collec- tivist cultures. Organizational antecedents such as lack of bullying prevention measures, unsupportive leadership and stressful work characteristics were frequently reported across different cultural clusters. Yet, an organizational culture that tolerates bullying was most commonly addressed in Anglo, a highly performance-oriented culture. Negative outcomes of bullying were very similar across the world. Nurses used emotion-focused coping strategies more frequently almost in all clusters; yet, there were reports of problem-focused coping strategies especially in relatively higher assertiveness cultures.

Conclusions: Analysis revealed both similarities and differences in the nurses’ reports of bullying by world region. Cultural factors were found to be important for understanding the variation in the nurses’ per- ceptions of and responses to bullying.

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.

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.

Workplace bullying (WB) is a highly negative experience that has consequences and costs for the individual, the organisation and society. It is a severe and widespread problem as approximately 9% of the Swedish working population have experienced bullying. Previous research on WB has primarily focused on either the targets or the perpetrators. This implies that one important actor has been neglected, the bystander. We maintain that there is a need to shift focus from the individuals who are directly involved in a negative situation to the bystanders and the organisational setting. The aim of the study is to investigate the complex situation of WB with focus on the bystanders.   The results from a pilot-study-questionnaire, (3885 respondents, random sample of individuals between 25 and 65 years, response rate 42%) indicate that the situations for targets and witnesses are quite similar regarding the following organisational factors: support from supervisors and colleagues, social climate, well-being, work engagement, intention to quit and work ability.   In order to get a deeper understanding of the phenomena, our aim is to analyse the organisational context in relation to WB and bystanders’ behaviour using a mixed method approach. The JD-R theory, the theory of Psychosocial Safety Climate, and a gender perspective will form the theoretical framework. This study contributes with new knowledge about WB, bystanders’ behaviour and their relation to the work environment. This knowledge can be applied by managers and organisations in their preventive work. 

Projektet Möten, makt och kön som redovisas i den här rapporten har fokuserat på hur genus görs och (åter)skapas under olika möten på Malmö universitet. Att fokus kom att handla om bemötande och möteskultur baserades på en tidigare rapport om jämställdhet och akademiskt ledarskap. I tidigare rapport framkom att det fanns ett behov av att öka den kvalitativa jämställdheten i organisationen där bemötande av kvinnor är en central aspekt. Det aktuella projektet har haft två syften: 1) att öka kunskap och medvetenhet om hur genus och andra former av kategoriseringar påverkar och ges betydelse i chefskapet i vardagen, med ett särskilt fokus på möten, 2) att skapa stödjande strukturer för att utveckla nya handlingsmönster för inkludering, jämställdhet och jämlikhet. Sammanlagt femton akademiska ledare (nio kvinnor och sex män) med olika ledarskapsuppdrag vid lärosätet har deltagit i projektet. Projektet har baserats på teorier om genus och lärande samt en processmodell i tre steg: framkallning, mobilisering och förändring. För att främja deltagarnas lärande och stärka förändringsarbetet var arbetet organiserat i mindre grupper. Grupperna genomförde bland annat mötesobservationer som sedan diskuterades och analyserades tillsammans med alla deltagare och processledare. Jämfört med den tidigare jämställdhetsrapporten framkommer det i nuvarande projekt en större öppenhet att prata om genus och dess betydelse i den organisatoriska vardagen. Samtidigt kvarstår i organisationen genusrelaterade mönster och strukturer som synliggörs i form av ointresse, olika typer av motstånd, härskartekniker, brist på transparens vid beslut, talutrymme och bekräftelsemönster. Projekt visar även på att ett stort talutrymme inte automatiskt leder till inflytande och social makt. Trots att kvinnor i olika sammanhang talar mycket får de mindre bekräftelse än männen, vilket begränsar deras sociala makt och inflytande över viktiga beslut. Ett jämställdhetsintegrerat universitet förutsätter medvetenhet och kunskap om hur kön och makt görs i den dagliga verksamheten. För att öka jämställdheten i organisationen behöver vi identifiera, analysera och åtgärda negativa genusrelaterade mönster och strukturer. Genom att definiera ojämställdhet som ett organisatoriskt problem flyttas fokus från individuella insatser till organisatoriska lösningar såsom beskrivs i rapporten. Det är därför viktigt att universitet även i framtiden fortsätter att bedriva såväl kvantitativt som kvalitativt jämställdhetsarbete.

Purpose – There 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/approach – A 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. Findings – In 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 implications – The study had a two-wave cross-sectional design, which does not allow establishing causal relations. Practical implications – There 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/value – This 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.

The aim of this study is two folded: 1) to analyze the reliability and validity of a cyberbullying behaviour questionnaire (CBQ) in working life and 2) to analyze the reliability and validity of a short version of a cyberbullying behaviour questionnaire (CBQ-S) in working life. A total of 3371 working adults (MAge = 49.85 years) in Sweden, and 238 (MAge = 35.61 years) in the USA participated in the study. The results of the Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) showed that the one-factor model had an excellent fit to data, and Cronbach’s alpha indicates that both scales are reliable. In addition, the criterion validity of the scales was demonstrated by significant correlations with the following theoretically relevant concepts: wellbeing, work engagement and intention to quit. The results of the study support the use of the CBQ and CBQ-S as reliable and valid measures of cyberbullying behaviour in working life.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore health- and work-related outcomes of cyberbullying behaviour and the potential mediating role of social organisational climate, social support from colleagues and social support from superiors. Design/methodology/approach – Altogether 3,371 respondents participated in a questionnaire study. Findings – The results of this study indicate that social organisational climate can have a mediating role in the relationship between cyberbullying behaviour and health, well-being, work engagement and intention to quit. Contrary to earlier face-to-face bullying research, the current study showed that cyberbullying behaviour had stronger indirect than direct relationships to health, well-being, work engagement and intention to quit. Practical implications – Communication through digital devices in work life is becoming more prevalent, which in turn increases the risk for cyberbullying behaviour. Organisations need therefore to develop occupational health and safety policies concerning the use of digital communication and social media in order to prevent cyberbullying behaviour and its negative consequences. Originality/value – Cyberbullying behaviour among working adults is a relatively unexplored phenomenon and therefore this study makes valuable contribution to the research field.

In the Swedish context, the provisions about Organisational and Social Work Environment (AFS 2015: 4) have contributed to more attention being paid to the role of organisational conditions for a healthy work environment. From this perspective, a relevant theoretical term is Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC). PSC can be defined as the employees’ shared perceptions of the organizations’ guidelines, practices and procedures to protect the employees’ psychosocial health and safety. The PSC measures how employees perceive that the senior management 1) engages, 2) prioritizes, 3) communicates and 4) involves employees in psychosocial workplace safety issues. Several studies show that PSC predicts work environment factors such as emotional and quantitative job demands, bullying, influence and development opportunities, which in turn affect, for example, employee involvement, stress, fatigue and depression symptoms. The purpose of this report is to present the initial steps in the adaptation and validation process leading to the establishment of an official Swedish version of the international PSC scale. Initially, a translation of the original English version of PSC into Swedish was conducted including suggestions for alternative terms of key concepts such as senior management. An expert panel including researchers in the field evaluated the translated version. They identified potential problem areas and commented on which translations they considered as most relevant. This phase led to a revised version of the questionnaire that was tested and further developed based on ten cognitive interviews and evaluated psychometrically in a survey. Finally, the Swedish version of the survey was back-translated into English and the conceptual congruency with the original version was verified in collaboration with Professor Maureen Dollard, with whom we have been in continuous dialogue during the whole process. Results of the interview study revealed that while the central concept of psychological health was unproblematic, the term senior management did not result in consistent interpretations among the informants. Most often, the informants referred to their immediate manager rather than senior management. The informants perceived it as difficult to respond to the statements that concerned the whole workgroup rather than themselves as individuals. They also commented that responding to statements was more difficult than responding to questions. Informants who had trouble responding were inclined to choose the middle response option. In general, informants expressed that it was positive and relevant to study climate related to the psychosocial working environment, while some expressed doubt about the relevance of certain statements. In addition, a number of informants found some statements to be redundant regarding the 12-item version (PSC-12). The results of the psychometric analyses of the 4 item version (PSC-4) showed a low internal non-response percentage and a frequent use of the middle response option. A confirmatory factor analysis supported combining the four statements into a scale (PSC-4). The correlations between the PSC-4 and a selection of theoretically relevant concepts corroborated our expectations about the relationships between the variables. In sum, content and construct validity as well as reliability of the Swedish adapted translation of PSC-4 was supported by the findings of the initial part of the validation process described in this report.

Aktivitetsbaserade kontor är fortfarande ovanliga för forskare och lärare inom akademin, men nu verkar flera lärosäten vara igång att införa den här typen av arbetsplatser. Det finns begränsat med kunskap om vad som händer vid flyttprocesser från egna rum till aktivitetsbaserade kontor i akademin och hur personalen upplever arbetsmiljön i denna typ av kontorsmiljöer. I den här artikeln redovisas resultat från en enkätundersökning före och efter flytt till aktivitetsbaserade kontor på en svensk högskola.

The aim of this study was to analyse the reliability and validity of a cyberbullying behaviour questionnaire (CBQ) in working life. Further aim was to analyse the reliability and validity of a short version of a cyberbullying behaviour questionnaire (CBQ‐S) in working life. Altogether 3 371 working adults in Sweden, and 238 in the USA participated in the study. The results of the confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) showed that the one‐factor CFA model had an excellent fit to data, and Cronbach's alpha indicates that both scales are reliable. In addition, the convergent validity of the scales was demonstrated by significant correlations with the following theoretically relevant concepts: wellbeing, work engagement and intention to quit. The results of the study support the use of the CBQ and CBQ‐S as reliable and valid measures of cyberbullying behaviour in working life.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of gender harassment and how it is related to different organisational factors, ill-health and job satisfaction among women and men working as university teachers and researchers. Design/methodology/approach – A web questionnaire was conducted in a university college in South Sweden. The final sample consisted of 322 participants, 186 women and 136 men. Findings – The results showed that gender harassment was more prevalent among women than men, and among senior lecturers and professors than lecturers. Gender harassment was associated with high job demands, less fair leadership style of the immediate manager and job dissatisfaction for both women and men. For women, there was also an association between gender harassment, ill-health and gender of the immediate manager. For men, poorer social organisational climate was related to gender harassment, but contrary to women, gender harassment was not related to the gender of the immediate manager. Research limitations/implications – Even though the research was conducted only in one university, the results imply that gender harassment can have negative consequences for teachers and researchers. As the immediate manager’s leadership style seems to be associated with the occurrence of gender harassment, universities should take this into consideration in their leadership programs. Originality/value – The paper highlights gender harassment, a subtle form of sexual harassment, among university teachers and researchers.

The study examined the prevalence of gender harassment and it's associations to different organisational factors, ill‐health and job satisfaction among university teachers and researchers in Southern Sweden. Altogether 322 participants, 186 women and 136 men, responded to a web questionnaire. The results showed that gender harassment was more prevalent among women than men, and among senior lecturers and professors than lecturers. Gender harassment was associated with high job demands, less fair leadership style of the immediate manager, and job dissatisfaction for both women and men. For women, there was also an association between gender harassment, ill‐health and gender of the immediate manager. For men, poorer social organisational climate was related to gender harassment, but not the gender of the immediate manager. As the immediate manager's leadership style seems to be associated with the occurrence of gender harassment, universities should take this into consideration in their leadership programs.

The purpose of this article is to examine the direct effects of empowering leadership on learning and the indirect or mediating role of social climate and job control from a cross-cultural perspective. Questionnaires were distributed to two furniture retail stores in Sweden and two stores in China belonging to the same company. The final sample consisted of 483 participants from the Chinese and 254 participants from the Swedish stores. The results of the structural equation modeling showed that there was a direct relationship between empowering leadership and learning (both in the Chinese and the Swedish sample). The study also showed that social climate had a mediating effect of empowering leadership and learning (both in the Chinese and the Swedish sample). In addition, the result indicated that job control had a mediating effect (Swedish sample). The model explained 38% of the variance in learning among the Chinese sample and 62% in the Swedish. This indicates that the tested factors are highly relevant in the context of learning. Despite some methodological limitations such as the cross-sectional design and problems with acquiescence in responses, the results indicate the complexity of the role of culture in organizational behavior. Managers working in increasingly globalized contexts need to take into consideration that some organizational behaviors gradually become more universal, whereas others remain culturally contingent. This article illustrates the complex relationship between leadership behavior, social climate, job control, and learning in the same corporate culture but in different cultural settings.

Kvinnor i Sverige har fortfarande inte tillgång till maktpositioner i samma utsträckning som män. Dock finns det en tendens att kvinnor över lag förnekar att de personligen blir utsatta för diskriminering. Hur resonerar kvinnor som haft chefspositioner kring utsattheten för könsdiskriminering? Denna artikel bygger på en studie där kvinnliga chefer och specialister intervjuats om sin karriärutveckling och hur de reflekterar över eventuella upplevelser av könsdiskriminering. Analysen visar att förnekelse är den allmänna reaktionen bland de intervjuade kvinnorna, åtminstone initialt i intervjuerna. Flera av de intervjuade kvinnorna framhöll att om eller när diskriminering skett var det inte riktat mot dem som individer. Detta är i linje med tidigare studier, som visat att kvinnor erkänner att det finns könsdiskriminering på samhällsnivå, men förnekar att de själva blivit utsatta för negativ särbehandling på grund av kön. Bakomliggande orsaker till detta något paradoxala fenomen diskuteras i artikeln. Eftersom kvinnor i maktposition har möjlighet att påverka, är det angeläget att lyfta fram hur även de gör kön och därmed bidrar till reproducering av den manliga normen i samhället. Studien vill inte skuldbelägga utan bidra till förändring genom att öka medvetandet hos kvinnor i chefspositioner om förekomsten av könsdiskriminerade mönster.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss and problematise how leadership and employees, or “employeeship”, are constructed within IKEA, a global firm often associated with national identity, and connected to distinct values and a leadership ideal. From a critical management perspective, the authors' intent was to study whether there were hierarchies and polarisations in constructions of leadership and, if so, how they were manifested. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical material consists of 17 interviews with Swedish and non-Swedish managers at the senior management level and internal documents. Findings – The analysis of the empirical material supports the finding that employees are constructed in superior vs subordinate positions based on beliefs about nationality (ethnicity), wherein the construction of Swedishness is ranked above other nationalities. Based on these constructions, two different dimensions of a leader emerge. The first dimension is one of leading and supporting, which involves personal development and is regarded as something positive. The second dimension involves being a manager, which is perceived as conservative, dreary and unappealing. Originality/value – The study illustrates how leaders in a global firm construct hierarchies and polarisation in the daily work.

Artikeln baseras på en flervetenskaplig fallstudie inom Ikea, ett företag där ”svenskhet” är en del av värdegrunden och där situationsanpassat ledarskap används som modell. Företaget är en globalt snabbväxande aktör vilket innebär ett ständigt ”översättande” av verksamheten till nya kontexter. Genom en analys av seniora chefers beskrivningar av ledarskap och medarbetarskap avser vi att ifrågasätta antaganden inom det interkulturella perspektivet, som har varit dominerande inom ledarskapsforskningen.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct effects of empowering and employee-centered leadership on well-being, and the indirect or mediating role of social organizational climate between leadership behavior and well-being in a cross-cultural perspective. Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaires were distributed in two furniture retail stores in Sweden and two stores in China belonging to the same company. The final sample consisted of 483 participants from the Chinese and 254 participants from the Swedish stores. Findings – The results of the structural equation modeling showed that there was no direct effect between leadership behavior (employee-centered leadership and empowering leadership) and well-being in either the Swedish or the Chinese sample. Further, the findings of the study indicate that social climate mediates the relationship between leadership behavior and employee well-being, but this seems to be culturally contingent. The mediating effect is prevalent in a culture that has been considered as having a collective orientation and where the power distance is high. Research limitations/implications – Despite some methodological limitations such as the cross-sectional design and problems with acquiescence in responses, the results indicate the complexity of the role of culture in organizational behavior. Practical implications – Managers working in increasingly globalized contexts need to take into consideration that some organizational behaviors gradually become more universal, whereas others remain culturally contingent. Originality/value – The paper illustrates the complex relationship between leadership behavior, social climate, and employee well-being in the same corporate culture, but in different cultural settings.

The growing trend towards globalization has initiated a need for organizations and managers to understand how leadership style and organizational factors are related to employee well-being in different cultural contexts (Lok, 2004). The interest for cross-cultural organizational and managerial studies is therefore increasing among practicing managers as well as organizational researchers. Contrasting views can be discerned when it comes to what extent national cultures influence leadership style and co-worker expectations concerning leadership. Some researchers state that there is a universal leadership style that is efficient irrespective of the situation (Arvonen, 1999), whereas others maintain that effective leadership is culturally contingent (Hofstede, 1980; 2001). According to a recent review (Dickson, 2003) there is a decline in the search for simple universality, i.e. that the phenomenon is invariable all over the world, in favour of more culturally contingent view. Considering that earlier research has shown great differences in cultural values between China and Sweden (Hofstede, 2001; House, 2004) the aim of the present study was to examine which leadership styles (employee-centered, Ekvall & Arvonen, 1991; empowering and supporting leadership, Dallner et al., 2000) and organizational factors (goal clarity, Oxenstierna, Widmark et al., 2008; group work, social climate and control, QPSNordic, Dallner et al., 2000) act as predictors for well-being (GHQ-12, Goldberg, 1972) among employees and managers in a large global furniture retail company in China and in Sweden when background variables (age, gender, educational level and position) were controlled for. Questionnaires were distributed in two furniture retail stores in Sweden and altogether 282 individuals participated in the study. The same questionnaire study was also conducted in two stores belonging to the same company in China (n=595). A number of outliers were identified while analyzing the data and these were excluded from the analysis. The final sample consisted of 483 participants from the Chinese stores and 254 participants from the Swedish stores. The results of the multiple regression analyses revealed that managerial position, supporting leadership style and goal clarity were related to well-being in the Swedish sample. The results for the Chinese sample showed that managerial position, goal clarity and social climate were related to well-being, whereas none of the leadership styles acted as predictors for well-being. The findings suggest that the role of culture regarding leadership in global organizations is multifaceted rather than either universal or contingent.

Ska ledarskap betraktas som en företeelse som är flytande till sin karaktär och som ändrar form beroende på trender och sammanhang eller finns det distinkta drag i hur ledarskap och chefskap utvecklas? En del forskare hävdar att det finns en universell ledarstil som är effektiv oavsett den kulturella kontexten (Arvonen and Ekvall, 1999), medan andra påstår att ledarskap är kulturellt betingat (Hofstede, 1980; 2001). Den ökande globaliseringen har medfört ett behov för organisationer att förstå ”nationella” särdrag för att effektivt bedriva verksamhet i olika länder, vilket har lett till växande intresse för korskulturella managementstudier. Genom denna typ av studier finns det en risk att det signaleras ett statiskt förhållningssätt till begreppet ”kultur” som ofta tenderar att överordna ett västerländskt perspektiv över andra.

The aim of this follow-up study was to investigate stress and coping related both to work and to work-family interface amongst 38 female managers and profes-sionals during their careers. The participants were also asked to report the status of their health during the 11 years that had elapsed since the original study. The results showed that the stressors could be categorized in five main themes: high workload, problems with relations at work, changeability – demands for flexibil-ity, threats and other difficulties at work and problems with combining career and family. This was in line with the results from the previous study even though the rate of changeability in organizations had increased and generated higher demands regarding flexibility and continuous development. When it comes to health, about one fourth of the women did not have any health problems, whereas the rest of the participants reported different symptoms and some had been diagnosed as suffering from the burn-out syndrome. Those participants who were in good health used strategies like seeking and receiving social support at work and setting boundaries between work and private life. The results indicate that there is need for further research when it comes to the role of social support at work for professional women’s health.

Sammanfattning Malmö högskola har kommit relativt långt när det gäller den kvantitativa jämställdheten, vilket visar sig bland annat genom att könsfördelningen på den akademiska mellanchefsnivån har varit jämn sedan 2005 och även bland medarbetarna är könsfördelning jämn totalt sett. Vidare har högskolan den högsta andelen kvinnliga professorer i Sverige. Mot denna bakgrund väcktes frågan om det även rådde kvalitativ jämställdhet i organisationen. Syftet med det aktuella projektet var att undersöka hur den kvantitativa jämställdheten bland mellancheferna förhöll sig till den kvalitativa jämställdheten i organisationen. Den kvalitativa jämställdheten studerades i relation till olika aspekter av chefsarbete och utvecklingsmöjligheter samt till hur cheferna arbetade med jämställdhet gentemot sina medarbetare. I projektet undersöktes även hur medarbetarna uppfattade chefskapet och jämställdhetsarbetet samt deras upplevelse av arbetsmiljön och utvecklingsmöjligheterna ur ett jämställdhetsperspektiv. Undersökningen inleddes med fokusgruppssamtal med akademiska mellanchefer och därefter gjordes en enkätundersökning bland deras medarbetare. I samband med resultatredovisning av enkätundersökningen tog cheferna fram förslag på åtgärder för ökad jämställdhet. Genomförande av dessa åtgärdsförslag har sedan följts upp med hjälp av en enkät till mellanchefer och dekaner samt intervjuer med dekaner. En dialog om resultaten och det fortsatta arbetet har även förts med högskolans rektor. Resultaten visade att både kvinnor och män hade en ambivalent inställning till att arbeta som mellanchef eftersom de ansåg att uppdraget inskränkte på deras möjligheter att forska. Mellancheferna tonade ner betydelsen av kön och jämställdhet var för dem en fråga som enbart rörde kvinnor. Det framkom dock att kön spelade roll, även om medvetenheten om detta var låg bland cheferna. Bland medarbetare kom det fram att kvinnor i högre utsträckning än män hade både iakttagit och själva upplevt negativ särbehandling på grund av kön. Upplevelsen av sexistisk jargong hade ett samband med ohälsa för kvinnor men inte för män. Chefer som var män tolkade medarbetarnas upplevelse av negativ särbehandling som uttryck för personliga egenskaper och för att kvinnor var svagare eller mer lättkränkta än män. Det framkom även att män, både chefer och medarbetare, tog större utrymme i möten, medan däremot kvinnor ofta blev avbrutna i sina framföranden. Enligt mellancheferna fanns det en ”duktig flicka”-kultur vid högskolan, som beskrevs med att kvinnor tenderade att ställa höga krav på sig själva och ta på sig många arbetsuppgifter. Medarbetare som var kvinnor menade att männen inte hade samma krav på sig att delta i möten och utföra vissa administrativa arbetsuppgifter utan kunde istället ägna sig åt sin forskning och fick därmed större möjligheter till karriärutveckling än de ”duktiga-flickorna”. Studien visar att jämställdhetsarbetet inte har integrerats i verksamheten utan läggs vid sidan om den ordinarie verksamheten i speciella arbetsgrupper. Medan den kvantitativa jämställdheten beaktas i olika sammanhang, behövs det fortsatt arbete för att även uppnå en kvalitativ jämställdhet i organisationen. De flesta chefer gjorde ingen koppling mellan kön och makt utan gav uttryck för kulturellt präglade stereotypa föreställningar om kvinnor och män. Samtidigt betonade de att dessa var individuella egenskaper och inte handlade om kön. Förhållningssättet indikerar att det finns en förnekelse av att kön spelar roll för arbetsvillkor och karriärutveckling inom högskolan. Sist i rapporten diskuterar vi det fortsatta jämställdhetsarbetet vid Malmö högskola och återknyter till de områden som har identifierats under projektets gång som viktiga för att uppnå kvalitativ jämställdhet. De förslag som lyfts fram i rapporten förutsätter att den mångfacetterade mellanchefsrollen tydliggörs och cheferna får förutsättningar att leda på ett sätt som präglas av ett jämställt förhållningssätt. Ansvaret för att verksamheten ska uppnå kvalitativ jämställdhet ligger hos samtliga medarbetare, men cheferna har ett speciellt ansvar.

The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between coping, optimism, psychological and physical well-being. The effectiveness of the different coping strategies and the role of optimism were investigated by analyzing how they predicted psychological and physical well-being. Altogether 136 municipal employees participated in a questionnaire study. The results showed that the most adaptive or effective coping strategy concerning psychological and physical well-being was acceptance, which can be classified as engagement coping. Ineffective strategies regarding psychological well-being included disengagement coping strategies such as sub- stance use, behavioral disengagement and self-blame. An ineffective strategy regarding physiological well-being was denial, which can be classified as a disengagement strategy. Optimism correlated significantly with both psychological and physical well-being. However, when all the variables in the model were included in the regression analysis, optimism explained additional variance in physical well-being but not in psychological well-being.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine subjective health among women managers and professionals during their careers. Further, the role of work locus of control (WLC) for women managers' health is analyzed in a longitudinal perspective. Design/methodology/approach – This is a follow-up study among 38 women managers and professionals who participated in an earlier investigation in 1996. Data were collected by means of interviews and two short questionnaires. Findings – The results of the analysis showed that nine women had maintained their health during their career, whereas others had various health problems and some women had also suffered from burnout syndrome. There was no significant change in WLC between the two investigations. The healthy women were characterized by stability in their WLC beliefs, rather than externality or internality. Research limitations/implications – Even though the results are based on a limited number of participants, the study points out factors that can be crucial for women managers' and professionals' health. Further research is needed to corroborate the findings in the study. Originality/value – The paper contributes further understanding of factors that are important for professional women's health. It also suggests that the role of WLC beliefs for health might be more complex than the internal-external dimension.

Objective: The aim of the study was to examine the double locked-in phenomenon at work (i.e., being in a non-preferred occupation and non-preferred work place), and its associations to psychological health, physical health and job satisfaction. Methods: A total of 136 municipal employees who visited a career coaching center (response rate 59%) participated in the questionnaire study. Results: The results showed that 61% of the participants were double locked-in and half of them perceived rather much or very much stress. Multiple regression analyses showed that a feeling of being double locked-in predicted psychological health (GHQ-12) and job satisfaction, even after optimism and perceived stress were controlled for, whereas double locked-in did not predict physical health. Conclusions: This study suggests that the locked-in phenomenon and its underlying causes and consequences need to be studied further in future research. To counteract the negative effects of the double locked-in phenomenon it is important to facilitate employees’ mobility in different ways. Key words: Locked-in at work, health, job satisfaction, optimism, municipal employees