Centre for Work Life Studies

The research program contributes to the field with a new concept, organisational and social safety climate. The concept is inspired from two different directions, partly psychosocial safety climate, partly the new regulations from the Swedish Work Environment Agency, organisational and social work environment. Together with the JD-R model, this forms the theoretical framework for the program.

The program is based on ongoing and planned research projects which serve as a knowledge base for the development of new projects, and contribute to creating continuity and a long-term perspective within the research area. The overall goal is to develop approaches, empirically validated and reliable tools that can be used for research, practice and interventions in order to develop a sustainable work environment in human care organisations.

This will be achieved by including the perspectives of senior management, first line managers and employees on the organizational and social safety climate within various human care organisations.

During the first three years of the program, we aim to:

• continue to develop existing methods and instruments that can be used to assess the organizational and social safety climate within various human care organisations,
• conduct studies of the work situation for employees and first-line managers,
• conduct studies on bullying in working life and abusive behaviour with a focus on victims and witnesses.

The subsequent three years of the program will be devoted to intervention-oriented studies with the aim of developing work methods that promote a healthy organisational and social safety climate within human care organisations. The results can contribute to meeting future challenges such as stress, abusive discrimination, high staff turnover and recruitment problems within these organisations.