Rapid welfare expansion is taking place in China across a range of policy fields. In the Nordic countries, intra-Nordic diversity and significant policy changes are not difficult to identify despite the notion of universal Nordic welfare regimes. This article will bridge these very different worlds of welfare in an effort to classify the Chinese unemployment-protection system with a comparative framework aimed at furthering the emerging Sino-Nordic research dialogue. This research dialogue has gained relevance in recent years with the new official Chinese goal of building a more universal welfare system. Welfare research that includes China from a comparative perspective is still extremely rare. Despite the lofty Chinese goals, many Chinese policy challenges still loom large. These are the rural-urban divide exacerbated by the Chinese household registration system, coverage of unemployment insurance and social assistance, inadequate and declining benefit levels, and, finally, funding issues. As this article will also substantiate, Denmark and Finland are something approaching best cases for illustrating intra-Nordic diversity. As regards the Chinese challenges, it is explained how they can to some extent be understood as the teething troubles of a developmental welfare state, since the Nordic counterparts have faced similar issues during their eras of welfare expansion.
{"title":"'Moderate universalism' in China and the Nordic Countries: Reviewing the Major Challenges in Unemployment Protection","authors":"Kristian Kongshøj","doi":"10.15845/NJSR.V6I0.599","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15845/NJSR.V6I0.599","url":null,"abstract":"Rapid welfare expansion is taking place in China across a range of policy fields. In the Nordic countries, intra-Nordic diversity and significant policy changes are not difficult to identify despite the notion of universal Nordic welfare regimes. This article will bridge these very different worlds of welfare in an effort to classify the Chinese unemployment-protection system with a comparative framework aimed at furthering the emerging Sino-Nordic research dialogue. This research dialogue has gained relevance in recent years with the new official Chinese goal of building a more universal welfare system. Welfare research that includes China from a comparative perspective is still extremely rare. Despite the lofty Chinese goals, many Chinese policy challenges still loom large. These are the rural-urban divide exacerbated by the Chinese household registration system, coverage of unemployment insurance and social assistance, inadequate and declining benefit levels, and, finally, funding issues. As this article will also substantiate, Denmark and Finland are something approaching best cases for illustrating intra-Nordic diversity. As regards the Chinese challenges, it is explained how they can to some extent be understood as the teething troubles of a developmental welfare state, since the Nordic counterparts have faced similar issues during their eras of welfare expansion.","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"53 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134410474","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Introduction: Phased retirement involves reducing working time in the final years before retirement. The aim of phased retirement is to extend working careers and retain older workers who would otherwise opt for full early retirement. This article investigates the effect of offering phased retirement on early-retirement behaviour in Norway. Method: The data used in the analysis covers the period between 2000 and 2010 and comprises all employees between 61 and 62 years of age (N= 18 174) who were employed in any of the 442 companies that participated in a 2010 survey carried out by the Fafo Institute for Labour and Social Research and Respons Analyse AS, a Norwegian research firm. I use a difference-in-differences approach and logistic regression, which enables the measurement of changes in the individual relative risk of retiring full-time on the contractual pension (AFP, avtalefestet pensjon, contractual early-retirement pension,) before and after the introduction of phased retirement as a retention measure. Results: The results show that working in a company that offers reduced working hours for older workers does not have an effect on the relative risk of a 61- or 62-year-old withdrawing a full contractual pension in the next two years of their employment. This result is evident both before and after controlling for a range of known individual risk factors, as well as after controlling for company characteristics. Discussion: In the search for suitable measures for retaining older workers, offering phased retirement may still be part of the answer. Though my analysis does not support the idea that more flexible working hours is a decisive factor for those who choose to opt for full early retirement, a possible next step could be to investigate the impact of offering flexible working hours on the employment duration of those who do remain in employment.
{"title":"Retaining older workers: The effect of phased retirement on delaying early retirement","authors":"Å. Hermansen","doi":"10.7577/NJSR.2082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7577/NJSR.2082","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Phased retirement involves reducing working time in the final years before retirement. The aim of phased retirement is to extend working careers and retain older workers who would otherwise opt for full early retirement. This article investigates the effect of offering phased retirement on early-retirement behaviour in Norway. Method: The data used in the analysis covers the period between 2000 and 2010 and comprises all employees between 61 and 62 years of age (N= 18 174) who were employed in any of the 442 companies that participated in a 2010 survey carried out by the Fafo Institute for Labour and Social Research and Respons Analyse AS, a Norwegian research firm. I use a difference-in-differences approach and logistic regression, which enables the measurement of changes in the individual relative risk of retiring full-time on the contractual pension (AFP, avtalefestet pensjon, contractual early-retirement pension,) before and after the introduction of phased retirement as a retention measure. Results: The results show that working in a company that offers reduced working hours for older workers does not have an effect on the relative risk of a 61- or 62-year-old withdrawing a full contractual pension in the next two years of their employment. This result is evident both before and after controlling for a range of known individual risk factors, as well as after controlling for company characteristics. Discussion: In the search for suitable measures for retaining older workers, offering phased retirement may still be part of the answer. Though my analysis does not support the idea that more flexible working hours is a decisive factor for those who choose to opt for full early retirement, a possible next step could be to investigate the impact of offering flexible working hours on the employment duration of those who do remain in employment.","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"110 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117239761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The purpose of this article is to explore through a reading of an official Swedish policy document what questions and challenges such a document poses for feminist theory by the way the ‘normal’ is (re)assembled in accordance with what others have called the risk politics of advanced liberalism. The intensified focus on risk in neoliberalism has seen responsibility move from the state to individuals, and old divisions between society and market as well as between civil society and state are being refigured. The argument put forward here is that current modes of governance tend to neglect the complexities of present-day life courses when using a gender-‘neutral’ approach to social policy that is in fact the work of a gender regime.
{"title":"(Re)assembling the ‘normal’ in neoliberal policy discourses: tracing gender regimes in the age of risk","authors":"K. Nygren, Siv Fahlgren, A. Johansson","doi":"10.15845/NJSR.V6I0.605","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15845/NJSR.V6I0.605","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this article is to explore through a reading of an official Swedish policy document what questions and challenges such a document poses for feminist theory by the way the ‘normal’ is (re)assembled in accordance with what others have called the risk politics of advanced liberalism. The intensified focus on risk in neoliberalism has seen responsibility move from the state to individuals, and old divisions between society and market as well as between civil society and state are being refigured. The argument put forward here is that current modes of governance tend to neglect the complexities of present-day life courses when using a gender-‘neutral’ approach to social policy that is in fact the work of a gender regime.","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"29 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116455890","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In this article, I ask: Is the Scandinavian citizenship regime inclusive and women-friendly in a time of diversity? I approach this question by addressing the intersection of gender and ethnicity in relation to social citizenship with the main concern being childcare. I emphasize Norway as a case but also see Norway in comparison with Sweden and Denmark. In comparative studies, the Scandinavian citizenship regime is presented as being the most ‘women-friendly’. However, faced with an increasingly multicultural population, a pertinent question is whether this citizenship model is able to accommodate diversity. I explore two tensions that are basic to the inclusiveness and women-friendliness of the Scandinavian citizenship regime in diverse societies: 1) The tension between principles of gender equality and cultural diversity, and 2) the tension between liberating and controlling aspects of the welfare state. This article discusses the Norwegian family policy ‘hybrid’, which combines dual-earner support with traditional breadwinner elements. One might say that the Norwegian family ‘hybrid’ can be a solution to the tension between, on the one hand, a specific gender-equality family norm, and, on the other hand, the respect for other family norms. However, I argue that there is a double standard with regard to minority women, and it can be understood in light of a discourse about Norwegianness. Parental choice is considered a good thing – as long as the mother in question is considered ‘fully’ Norwegian. However, assumed cultural and ethnic differences – often based on stereotypical collective categories of difference – are used as boundary-markers between the majority and minorities. I conclude that, despite variations, all the Scandinavian countries grapple with the same tensions, and that there is a Scandinavian double standard regarding minority women.
{"title":"Inclusive and Women-friendly in a time of Diversity? The Scandinavian citizenship regime – the ‘childcare lesson’","authors":"C. Thun","doi":"10.15845/NJSR.V6I0.516","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15845/NJSR.V6I0.516","url":null,"abstract":"In this article, I ask: Is the Scandinavian citizenship regime inclusive and women-friendly in a time of diversity? I approach this question by addressing the intersection of gender and ethnicity in relation to social citizenship with the main concern being childcare. I emphasize Norway as a case but also see Norway in comparison with Sweden and Denmark. In comparative studies, the Scandinavian citizenship regime is presented as being the most ‘women-friendly’. However, faced with an increasingly multicultural population, a pertinent question is whether this citizenship model is able to accommodate diversity. I explore two tensions that are basic to the inclusiveness and women-friendliness of the Scandinavian citizenship regime in diverse societies: 1) The tension between principles of gender equality and cultural diversity, and 2) the tension between liberating and controlling aspects of the welfare state. This article discusses the Norwegian family policy ‘hybrid’, which combines dual-earner support with traditional breadwinner elements. One might say that the Norwegian family ‘hybrid’ can be a solution to the tension between, on the one hand, a specific gender-equality family norm, and, on the other hand, the respect for other family norms. However, I argue that there is a double standard with regard to minority women, and it can be understood in light of a discourse about Norwegianness. Parental choice is considered a good thing – as long as the mother in question is considered ‘fully’ Norwegian. However, assumed cultural and ethnic differences – often based on stereotypical collective categories of difference – are used as boundary-markers between the majority and minorities. I conclude that, despite variations, all the Scandinavian countries grapple with the same tensions, and that there is a Scandinavian double standard regarding minority women.","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117142028","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A central finding in earlier research on work orientation is that there are substantial age-differences regarding attitudes to work. Generally, more older workers describe their jobs as intrinsically meaningful than younger workers. This result has been interpreted in three different ways, the psychological, the cultural, and the structural hypotheses, where the first emphasizes cognitive age-differences, the second sees age-differences as outcomes of generational differences, and the third regards them as expressions of labour-market inequalities. These different approaches lead to quite different hypotheses regarding recent developments, but the relevant research is limited. Drawing on data from the Swedish survey of living conditions (ULF), this study has examined attitudinal change within the Swedish workforce during 1979–2003. Three sub-periods, 1986-1987, 1994-1996, and 2001-2003 were compared with 1979, the year of reference. The results showed that a consistently smaller share of the workforce held extrinsic work values in the subsequent periods, and that this applied to all age-groups. Further, the results did not support the assumption of broader cultural differences between generations. Rather, the results provide support for the structural hypothesis. Older workers held extrinsic work values to a lesser degree than younger workers regardless of period. Most strikingly, the gap between the youngest group on the labour market (ages 16–29) and the older groups widened during the period. Furthermore, class differences in the distribution of the extrinsic attitude were intact throughout the study period; manual employees were consistently more likely to hold an extrinsic attitude than were service-class employees. This implies that differences in the probability of extrinsic work attitudes have been identifiable regardless of period, but that their prevalence has decreased as jobs involving features related to extrinsic work values have decreased since 1979.
{"title":"Ageing towards meaningful work? Age, labour-market change, and attitudes to work in the Swedish workforce, 1979-2003","authors":"Johan Örestig","doi":"10.15845/NJSR.V5I0.458","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15845/NJSR.V5I0.458","url":null,"abstract":"A central finding in earlier research on work orientation is that there are substantial age-differences regarding attitudes to work. Generally, more older workers describe their jobs as intrinsically meaningful than younger workers. This result has been interpreted in three different ways, the psychological, the cultural, and the structural hypotheses, where the first emphasizes cognitive age-differences, the second sees age-differences as outcomes of generational differences, and the third regards them as expressions of labour-market inequalities. These different approaches lead to quite different hypotheses regarding recent developments, but the relevant research is limited. Drawing on data from the Swedish survey of living conditions (ULF), this study has examined attitudinal change within the Swedish workforce during 1979–2003. Three sub-periods, 1986-1987, 1994-1996, and 2001-2003 were compared with 1979, the year of reference. The results showed that a consistently smaller share of the workforce held extrinsic work values in the subsequent periods, and that this applied to all age-groups. Further, the results did not support the assumption of broader cultural differences between generations. Rather, the results provide support for the structural hypothesis. Older workers held extrinsic work values to a lesser degree than younger workers regardless of period. Most strikingly, the gap between the youngest group on the labour market (ages 16–29) and the older groups widened during the period. Furthermore, class differences in the distribution of the extrinsic attitude were intact throughout the study period; manual employees were consistently more likely to hold an extrinsic attitude than were service-class employees. This implies that differences in the probability of extrinsic work attitudes have been identifiable regardless of period, but that their prevalence has decreased as jobs involving features related to extrinsic work values have decreased since 1979.","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116842456","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article examines the implementation of regional innovation policies by focusing on a selected group of bureaucrats and evaluating the characteristics of the doctrines of action they utilize when creating innovation. The data used in the article were collected through in-depth interviews conducted with 21 employees in the Trade and Industry Departments in two county administrations, the offices of Innovation Norway in two counties and the Agricultural Departments of two County Governors’ offices. The primary task for all the interviewed employees is to facilitate innovation within their respective counties. The analysis shows that the employees’ doctrines are characterized by being interpretations of what, according to different theories of innovation, is necessary to create innovation. The strategies used by the employees in both the Trade and Industry Departments and the Innovation Norway offices are very similar to what is prescribed by the theories of innovation, while the doctrines of the officials in the Agricultural Departments deviate from these theories.
{"title":"Implementing regional innovation policies: doctrines and factors of influence","authors":"H. Høyer","doi":"10.15845/NJSR.V5I0.272","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15845/NJSR.V5I0.272","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the implementation of regional innovation policies by focusing on a selected group of bureaucrats and evaluating the characteristics of the doctrines of action they utilize when creating innovation. The data used in the article were collected through in-depth interviews conducted with 21 employees in the Trade and Industry Departments in two county administrations, the offices of Innovation Norway in two counties and the Agricultural Departments of two County Governors’ offices. The primary task for all the interviewed employees is to facilitate innovation within their respective counties. The analysis shows that the employees’ doctrines are characterized by being interpretations of what, according to different theories of innovation, is necessary to create innovation. The strategies used by the employees in both the Trade and Industry Departments and the Innovation Norway offices are very similar to what is prescribed by the theories of innovation, while the doctrines of the officials in the Agricultural Departments deviate from these theories.","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"47 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128576115","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
While most countries are experiencing stable or declining rates of generalized trust, this has not been the case in the Nordic countries, where levels of generalized trust have continued to increase. In the Danish case, trust increased by 50 per cent in the period from 1981 to 2008. This article investigates this puzzling development by testing the dominant socialization, status, and institutional theories on trust development. Using the Danish 1990, 1999, and 2008 waves of the European Values Study Denmark, the author employs graphical modelling in analysing the drivers of generalized trust increase in Denmark. Graphical modelling allows hierarchical structures of independent variables and is robust to thin cells, thus giving a more detailed picture than conventional regression techniques. The study shows that socialization has had little impact on the increasing level of generalized trust, whereas both individual achievement and the generally increasing levels of affluence and education are important drivers of the trust increase. However, since large parts of the population reaped the benefits of increasing levels of education and employment in Denmark during this period, this is not just a case of increasing trust, but also one of a diminishing low-trust minority excluded from partaking in this development.
{"title":"And mistrust take the hindmost: generalized trust in Denmark from 1990-2008","authors":"M. Frederiksen","doi":"10.15845/NJSR.V5I0.257","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15845/NJSR.V5I0.257","url":null,"abstract":"While most countries are experiencing stable or declining rates of generalized trust, this has not been the case in the Nordic countries, where levels of generalized trust have continued to increase. In the Danish case, trust increased by 50 per cent in the period from 1981 to 2008. This article investigates this puzzling development by testing the dominant socialization, status, and institutional theories on trust development. Using the Danish 1990, 1999, and 2008 waves of the European Values Study Denmark, the author employs graphical modelling in analysing the drivers of generalized trust increase in Denmark. Graphical modelling allows hierarchical structures of independent variables and is robust to thin cells, thus giving a more detailed picture than conventional regression techniques. The study shows that socialization has had little impact on the increasing level of generalized trust, whereas both individual achievement and the generally increasing levels of affluence and education are important drivers of the trust increase. However, since large parts of the population reaped the benefits of increasing levels of education and employment in Denmark during this period, this is not just a case of increasing trust, but also one of a diminishing low-trust minority excluded from partaking in this development.","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"74 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124658770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Due to increased market orientation and deregulation, welfare services in Sweden have taken on the form of market-based services. The body of research on deregulation and privatization is quite substantial regarding the implications of this kind of development. However, studies of the actual process of how choices are made are less common. This article discusses the implications of greater freedom of choice for Swedish citizens in diverse socioeconomic situations, focusing on factors that limit opportunities for choice. Deregulation and the increasing number of alternatives affect the relationship between the citizen and the welfare state in several ways. The Swedish school system is used here as an example of an empirical field. The analytical focus of the article consists of two different kinds of restrictions on choice: structure-based and agency- based. One conclusion is that both affluent and underprivileged citizens have limited choices. Another conclusion is that social
{"title":"Navigating the market of welfare services: The choice of upper secondary school in Sweden","authors":"Torbjörn Hjort, Alexandru Panican","doi":"10.15845/NJSR.V5I0.271","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15845/NJSR.V5I0.271","url":null,"abstract":"Due to increased market orientation and deregulation, welfare services in Sweden have taken on the form of market-based services. The body of research on deregulation and privatization is quite substantial regarding the implications of this kind of development. However, studies of the actual process of how choices are made are less common. This article discusses the implications of greater freedom of choice for Swedish citizens in diverse socioeconomic situations, focusing on factors that limit opportunities for choice. Deregulation and the increasing number of alternatives affect the relationship between the citizen and the welfare state in several ways. The Swedish school system is used here as an example of an empirical field. The analytical focus of the article consists of two different kinds of restrictions on choice: structure-based and agency- based. One conclusion is that both affluent and underprivileged citizens have limited choices. Another conclusion is that social","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"389 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133467672","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mental illness is the most common diagnosis resulting in long-term sick leave in Sweden today, especially stress-related syndromes and mood disorders. The aim of this article is to analyse the relational and emotional processes in the workplace that may contribute to the understanding of long-term sick leave for mental-health reasons. We conducted interviews with twenty-six people who were on sick-leave because of diagnoses of mental ill-health. The empirical material was analysed using Classic Grounded Theory. We suggest that the risk of being afflicted with mental illness, and forced into long-term sick leave, increases when there are conflicts at work that remain unresolved and which lead to malignant shaming processes that jeopardize personal dignity. In their struggle to maintain self-esteem, the afflicted escalate their work efforts by increasing work intensity, putting in overtime, and working when ill. Eventually, this behaviour affects their health and results in sick-listing. The strengths and weaknesses of the study are discussed along with the need for further research.
{"title":"Unresolved conflicts and shaming processes: risk factors for long-term sick leave for mental-health reasons","authors":"L. Ede, B. Starrin","doi":"10.15845/NJSR.V5I0.262","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15845/NJSR.V5I0.262","url":null,"abstract":"Mental illness is the most common diagnosis resulting in long-term sick leave in Sweden today, especially stress-related syndromes and mood disorders. The aim of this article is to analyse the relational and emotional processes in the workplace that may contribute to the understanding of long-term sick leave for mental-health reasons. We conducted interviews with twenty-six people who were on sick-leave because of diagnoses of mental ill-health. The empirical material was analysed using Classic Grounded Theory. We suggest that the risk of being afflicted with mental illness, and forced into long-term sick leave, increases when there are conflicts at work that remain unresolved and which lead to malignant shaming processes that jeopardize personal dignity. In their struggle to maintain self-esteem, the afflicted escalate their work efforts by increasing work intensity, putting in overtime, and working when ill. Eventually, this behaviour affects their health and results in sick-listing. The strengths and weaknesses of the study are discussed along with the need for further research.","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128937772","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Introduction: The current focus on volunteering related to civic engagement in Norway has led to a rise in complementary private initiatives and public funding, specifically with regard to the preservation of historic ships. Volunteers for this programme are primarily men aged over 50 years who spend significant amounts of leisure time in municipalities along the coast, fjords, and lakes of Norway. Despite the historical significance of this kind of volunteering, the social capital that is gained and the substantial funding that the Directorate for Cultural Heritage provides, no study has mapped the impact or outcome of these efforts over the past 20 years. Objective: The primary objective has been to study the scope of formal voluntary ship-preservation work in Norway. This article aims to map the volunteers in associations in this programme, the breadth of their efforts, and their motivations. Design: All ships (n = 90) that were funded by the Directorate in 2009 were included in the case study. A qualitative survey of telephone interviews with 82 key informants (100% response rate) was conducted, and questionnaires were mailed to gather descriptive statistics. Results: Age, gender and a robust relationship with the region and the specific ships appear to be relevant to voluntary ship preservation activities. The reasons for commitment and effort were companionship, unity, and memories of and relationship to the specific ships. The strong socio-political aspect of the volunteers’ efforts was reflected in an aggregate of approximately 5.5 million euros in unpaid work. Conclusion: Volunteering in this context is an important component of social capital among elderly men in Norway. The group dynamics and strong collective aspect of these voluntary associations maintain internal cohesion and the members only leave when forced by increasing age, poor health, or insufficient financial resources.
{"title":"Civic engagement and social capital in ship-preservation work in Norway: The scope, impact, and demographics of formal volunteering and publicly funded engagements","authors":"U. Goth, Erik G. Småland","doi":"10.15845/NJSR.V4I0.259","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15845/NJSR.V4I0.259","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: The current focus on volunteering related to civic engagement in Norway has led to a rise in complementary private initiatives and public funding, specifically with regard to the preservation of historic ships. Volunteers for this programme are primarily men aged over 50 years who spend significant amounts of leisure time in municipalities along the coast, fjords, and lakes of Norway. Despite the historical significance of this kind of volunteering, the social capital that is gained and the substantial funding that the Directorate for Cultural Heritage provides, no study has mapped the impact or outcome of these efforts over the past 20 years. Objective: The primary objective has been to study the scope of formal voluntary ship-preservation work in Norway. This article aims to map the volunteers in associations in this programme, the breadth of their efforts, and their motivations. Design: All ships (n = 90) that were funded by the Directorate in 2009 were included in the case study. A qualitative survey of telephone interviews with 82 key informants (100% response rate) was conducted, and questionnaires were mailed to gather descriptive statistics. Results: Age, gender and a robust relationship with the region and the specific ships appear to be relevant to voluntary ship preservation activities. The reasons for commitment and effort were companionship, unity, and memories of and relationship to the specific ships. The strong socio-political aspect of the volunteers’ efforts was reflected in an aggregate of approximately 5.5 million euros in unpaid work. Conclusion: Volunteering in this context is an important component of social capital among elderly men in Norway. The group dynamics and strong collective aspect of these voluntary associations maintain internal cohesion and the members only leave when forced by increasing age, poor health, or insufficient financial resources.","PeriodicalId":207067,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Social Research","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124226882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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