Living your calling: how shared and individual experiences are shaped by the work environment

About the project

The high sickness rates in human services jobs underscore the importance of identifying factors that can reduce ill health. Despite the various stresses in the work environment, many people feel called to this type of work. Being able to live out one's calling at work has been shown to be of great importance to individuals' health. The project, therefore, investigates how various work environment factors are related to the opportunity to live out one's calling at work, and how this affects work-related health.

Purpose

In collaboration with the Church of Sweden and a joint reference group, this study is being conducted with the aim of contributing knowledge and dialogue support to promote work-related health for employees and managers in human services organisations. The study focuses on how a shared workplace experience of calling and of being able to live out one's calling relates to work-related health. The study considers calling as both a health factor and a risk factor in the organisational and social work environment.

Implementation

A survey is conducted to investigate how demands and resources are related to being able to live out one's calling at work, at the group and individual level, and how this, in turn relates to work-related health. The surveys are collected at the parish level, which enables analysis of both individual experiences and shared experiences at the group level. The project also conducts focus groups with different professional groups to investigate what characterises a shared workplace calling and its practical expression.

Expected results

The study is expected to provide knowledge about the significance of the organisational and social work environment for calling at both the individual and group levels. The results of the study will thus contribute to practical work environment efforts by highlighting the factors that promote the opportunity to live out one's calling. The study also analyses any risks that a shared calling may pose. The project will also develop a dialogue support tool that can be used to promote work environment efforts in human services.

Utilisation

The results will form the basis for a digital dialogue support tool that employees and managers in human services organisations can use to promote work-related health. The dialogue support will focus on the importance of calling and of being able to live one's calling. In addition to the dialogue support, workshops will be held that are open to both professionals and researchers. The results will also be utilised through national and international conferences and through scientific publications.