This study addresses the retention challenges of Nordic eldercare by investigating how care workers’ work-time arrangements are associated with consideration to quit the job. Particular attention is paid to the mediating role of economic distress and work-life conflict. Based on a Nordic cross-sectional survey (Nordcare II), we investigate how different modes of shift work scheduling and involuntary part-time employment are directly and indirectly associated with consideration to quit the job. Parallel analyses from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden reveal that work-time arrangements are indirectly associated with consideration to quit the job in all countries. Perceived work-life conflict increases with the number of different shifts included in a shift schedule. Danish care workers, who more often work fixed shifts, report the lowest level of work-life conflict. Involuntary part-time employment, which is most widespread in Norway, is directly associated with financial distress in all countries, but with work-life conflict in Norway only.
{"title":"A Cross-sectional Study of Sustainable Employment in Nordic Eldercare","authors":"Ida Drange, Mia Vabø","doi":"10.18291/njwls.128595","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18291/njwls.128595","url":null,"abstract":"This study addresses the retention challenges of Nordic eldercare by investigating how care workers’ work-time arrangements are associated with consideration to quit the job. Particular attention is paid to the mediating role of economic distress and work-life conflict. Based on a Nordic cross-sectional survey (Nordcare II), we investigate how different modes of shift work scheduling and involuntary part-time employment are directly and indirectly associated with consideration to quit the job. Parallel analyses from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden reveal that work-time arrangements are indirectly associated with consideration to quit the job in all countries. Perceived work-life conflict increases with the number of different shifts included in a shift schedule. Danish care workers, who more often work fixed shifts, report the lowest level of work-life conflict. Involuntary part-time employment, which is most widespread in Norway, is directly associated with financial distress in all countries, but with work-life conflict in Norway only.","PeriodicalId":45048,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42211823","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, we address how skilled migrant women experience job search processes in Finland, and the expectations and emotions that arise from these workforce encounters, which we explore through unique qualitative data. Although Finland relies strongly on principles of equality and inclusion, highly educated migrant women face major difficulties in job application processes. The employment level of migrant women in Finland is low compared to other Nordic countries, and even though migrant women are more educated than migrant men and their Finnish language skills are better, they encounter many hurdles in employment. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the situation is getting more difficult for many women with non-Finnish background.There are multiple hurdles in highly educated women workers’ employment, which relate to structural and cultural aspects and which end up in discrimination in recruitment processes.
{"title":"Skilled Migrant Women’s Experiences of the Job Search Process","authors":"Heidi Lehtovaara, M. Jyrkinen","doi":"10.18291/njwls.128588","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18291/njwls.128588","url":null,"abstract":"In this article, we address how skilled migrant women experience job search processes in Finland, and the expectations and emotions that arise from these workforce encounters, which we explore through unique qualitative data. Although Finland relies strongly on principles of equality and inclusion, highly educated migrant women face major difficulties in job application processes. The employment level of migrant women in Finland is low compared to other Nordic countries, and even though migrant women are more educated than migrant men and their Finnish language skills are better, they encounter many hurdles in employment. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the situation is getting more difficult for many women with non-Finnish background.There are multiple hurdles in highly educated women workers’ employment, which relate to structural and cultural aspects and which end up in discrimination in recruitment processes.","PeriodicalId":45048,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48147891","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 study analyzes the emotional and aesthetic labor of Finnish military officers. It examines the kinds of valuations officers attach to the notion of an ideal soldier. The meanings that officers give to these ideals are explored within the wider framework of post-Fordist new work. The ideal soldier is traditionally considered to be physically capable and strong, rational, and in control—features culturally coded as masculine. An analysis of 108 military officers’ writings and 12 interviews showed that while the traditional masculine ideal still exists, a vast variety of valuations are related to new work. The notion of the new ideal worker includes attributes, such as empathy, emotional intelligence, and social skills, which are culturally coded as feminine qualities. These feminine valuations may work to female officers’ advantage. However, despite fractures in traditional masculine ideals, there are still some deeply rooted gender stereotypes that work to female officers’ disadvantage.
{"title":"Emotional and Aesthetic Labor of Finnish Military Officers","authors":"Suvi Kouri","doi":"10.18291/njwls.128596","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18291/njwls.128596","url":null,"abstract":"This study analyzes the emotional and aesthetic labor of Finnish military officers. It examines the kinds of valuations officers attach to the notion of an ideal soldier. The meanings that officers give to these ideals are explored within the wider framework of post-Fordist new work. The ideal soldier is traditionally considered to be physically capable and strong, rational, and in control—features culturally coded as masculine. An analysis of 108 military officers’ writings and 12 interviews showed that while the traditional masculine ideal still exists, a vast variety of valuations are related to new work. The notion of the new ideal worker includes attributes, such as empathy, emotional intelligence, and social skills, which are culturally coded as feminine qualities. These feminine valuations may work to female officers’ advantage. However, despite fractures in traditional masculine ideals, there are still some deeply rooted gender stereotypes that work to female officers’ disadvantage.","PeriodicalId":45048,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41921988","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}
Despite increasing gender-equality in many areas, corporate power is still strongly male-dominated. Prevailing research often relies on the cognitive, demand-side mechanism of in-group favoritism based on single-country studies to produce generalized explanations of men’s dominance in top management and to recommend remedies, such as gender quotas on boards. However, existing research findings are mixed. We contribute to the research field by analyzing original data from 457 large companies in Norway and the US, examining associations of the gender-composition on boards and in the actual Executive Committees. The predictions of in-group favoritism are partly supported in the US, but largely not supported for Norwegian companies with gender-balanced boards due to quotas. We argue that in-group favoritism is an incomplete explanation. We call for research examining the organizational and societal processes curtailing the supply of qualified women for top-executive positions, across national and regulatory contexts and organizational levels.
{"title":"Women’s Underrepresentation in Corporate Power in Norway and US: Beyond In-group Favoritism","authors":"Sigtona Halrynjo, Mary Blair-Loy","doi":"10.18291/njwls.128592","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18291/njwls.128592","url":null,"abstract":"Despite increasing gender-equality in many areas, corporate power is still strongly male-dominated. Prevailing research often relies on the cognitive, demand-side mechanism of in-group favoritism based on single-country studies to produce generalized explanations of men’s dominance in top management and to recommend remedies, such as gender quotas on boards. However, existing research findings are mixed. We contribute to the research field by analyzing original data from 457 large companies in Norway and the US, examining associations of the gender-composition on boards and in the actual Executive Committees. The predictions of in-group favoritism are partly supported in the US, but largely not supported for Norwegian companies with gender-balanced boards due to quotas. We argue that in-group favoritism is an incomplete explanation. We call for research examining the organizational and societal processes curtailing the supply of qualified women for top-executive positions, across national and regulatory contexts and organizational levels.","PeriodicalId":45048,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46461296","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 boundaries between the work and non-work spheres have been challenged through the rapid development of information and communication technology (ICT). Individuals may easily engage in non-work (family and private) matters at work and during working hours. Prior research on emotions at work tends to understand all emotions at work as work related. By studying non-work matters managed through ICT in a diary study, we suggest that emotions at work are triggered both by work and non-work matters. Our research shows that these emotions can be both positive and negative and may come from actual engagement in private matters, or as a response to a need or a demand to address a private matter. Since emotions affect work performance, for example, we suggest that HR and managers take the causes of workplace emotions into consideration when addressing issues related to emotions at work.
{"title":"Private ICT-Activities and Emotions at Work – A Swedish Diary Study","authors":"Kristin Palm, A. Bergman, Calle Rosengren","doi":"10.18291/njwls.128552","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18291/njwls.128552","url":null,"abstract":"The boundaries between the work and non-work spheres have been challenged through the rapid development of information and communication technology (ICT). Individuals may easily engage in non-work (family and private) matters at work and during working hours. Prior research on emotions at work tends to understand all emotions at work as work related. By studying non-work matters managed through ICT in a diary study, we suggest that emotions at work are triggered both by work and non-work matters. Our research shows that these emotions can be both positive and negative and may come from actual engagement in private matters, or as a response to a need or a demand to address a private matter. Since emotions affect work performance, for example, we suggest that HR and managers take the causes of workplace emotions into consideration when addressing issues related to emotions at work.","PeriodicalId":45048,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45014234","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}
Existing active labor market policy (ALMP) measures have been unsuccessful in establishing long- term employment for vulnerable groups.This paper contributes to further development of the role of the employer engagement perspective in ALMP. We introduce the term workplace inclusion competence and explore its association to two distinct work-organizational categories: participa tion- and control-oriented management. We operationalize workplace inclusion competence as inclusion opportunity and inclusion capability. We argue that such competence is dynamic and processual, and find that organizational management-orientation, as well as work pace, employees’ developmental opportunities, financial situation and OSH, have an impact on workplace inclusion competence. Survey data among a sample of managers is analyzed regarding workplaces’ capabilities and opportunities in work inclusion processes. We present two sets of indexes to measure organizational management-orientation and inclusion skills competence. As such, we contribute to the research field by providing new and more specific concepts with adherent question indexes, and by connecting them to a work-organizational perspective.
{"title":"Workplace Inclusion Competence and Employer Engagement","authors":"Heidi Enehaug,Øystein Spjelkavik,Eivind Falkum,Kjetil Frøyland","doi":"10.18291/njwls.128260","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18291/njwls.128260","url":null,"abstract":"Existing active labor market policy (ALMP) measures have been unsuccessful in establishing long- term employment for vulnerable groups.This paper contributes to further development of the role of the employer engagement perspective in ALMP. We introduce the term workplace inclusion competence and explore its association to two distinct work-organizational categories: participa tion- and control-oriented management. We operationalize workplace inclusion competence as inclusion opportunity and inclusion capability. We argue that such competence is dynamic and processual, and find that organizational management-orientation, as well as work pace, employees’ developmental opportunities, financial situation and OSH, have an impact on workplace inclusion competence. Survey data among a sample of managers is analyzed regarding workplaces’ capabilities and opportunities in work inclusion processes. We present two sets of indexes to measure organizational management-orientation and inclusion skills competence. As such, we contribute to the research field by providing new and more specific concepts with adherent question indexes, and by connecting them to a work-organizational perspective.","PeriodicalId":45048,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies","volume":"94 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138541734","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}
Using longitudinal register data, we examined gender patterns in the long-term labor market establishment of refugees (n ≈ 11,700) and Swedish-born individuals (n ≈ 109,000). The main question was whether refugee women face greater difficulties than men and if gender differences can be attributed to care responsibilities. With multinomial logistic regression, cox regressions, and individual fixed effects models, refugees were observed at age 29–30 in 1997, then followed to age 50. Results show that both among refugees and Swedish-born, establishment was a protracted and insecure process for women. Over time, women caught up with men but in terms of stable employment, gender gaps prevailed throughout the fertile period and parenthood was negatively related to long-term establishment prospects. Future research should move beyond the focus on labor market entry to capture the mechanisms behind long term insecurities. The timing of parenthood and the importance of adult education are of particular interest.
{"title":"A Maternal Wall for Refugees? Gender and Labor Market Establishment in Sweden","authors":"Anne Grönlund, Madelene Nordlund","doi":"10.18291/NJWLS.128041","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18291/NJWLS.128041","url":null,"abstract":"Using longitudinal register data, we examined gender patterns in the long-term labor market establishment of refugees (n ≈ 11,700) and Swedish-born individuals (n ≈ 109,000). The main question was whether refugee women face greater difficulties than men and if gender differences can be attributed to care responsibilities. With multinomial logistic regression, cox regressions, and individual fixed effects models, refugees were observed at age 29–30 in 1997, then followed to age 50. Results show that both among refugees and Swedish-born, establishment was a protracted and insecure process for women. Over time, women caught up with men but in terms of stable employment, gender gaps prevailed throughout the fertile period and parenthood was negatively related to long-term establishment prospects. Future research should move beyond the focus on labor market entry to capture the mechanisms behind long term insecurities. The timing of parenthood and the importance of adult education are of particular interest.","PeriodicalId":45048,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43147983","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 Norwegian pension system has provided unprecedented flexibility to combine work and pension drawing from the age of 62, and this has become a popular option. Using qualitative interviews with 28 older workers, we explore their information strategies and motivations. We find that many informants struggle to understand the various options and their consequences and use different strategies to shield themselves from insecurity: they downplay the issue or point to factors beyond their control. Two key motives for early pension take-up are the desire to secure the money for one’s family in the event of early death and to get the money while still vigorous. Informants typically imagine life after 80 as quiet and with fewer material demands. In conclusion, the analysis shows how adaptations to the flexible pension system are embedded in notions of ageing, institutional trust, and a newfound sense of ownership regarding one’s retirement savings.
{"title":"Combining Work and Pension in Norway: Gathering Information and Imagining the Future","authors":"Anne Skevik Grødem, Ragni Hege Kitterød","doi":"10.18291/NJWLS.127972","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18291/NJWLS.127972","url":null,"abstract":"The Norwegian pension system has provided unprecedented flexibility to combine work and pension drawing from the age of 62, and this has become a popular option. Using qualitative interviews with 28 older workers, we explore their information strategies and motivations. We find that many informants struggle to understand the various options and their consequences and use different strategies to shield themselves from insecurity: they downplay the issue or point to factors beyond their control. Two key motives for early pension take-up are the desire to secure the money for one’s family in the event of early death and to get the money while still vigorous. Informants typically imagine life after 80 as quiet and with fewer material demands. In conclusion, the analysis shows how adaptations to the flexible pension system are embedded in notions of ageing, institutional trust, and a newfound sense of ownership regarding one’s retirement savings.","PeriodicalId":45048,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48726630","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}
Although professional agency has become an increasingly crucial issue in work organizations, investigators lack a brief instrument to measure it. This paper introduces a short measure to explore professional agency at work. Our aim was to shorten the original 17-item Professional Agency Measure, while also exploring its usability for cross-validating questionnaire datasets, and investigating the relationship between professional agency and work engagement. Three dimensions of professional agency emerged, with three items per dimension, across the domains of healthcare, real estate services, and information technology (all within Finland). All the dimensions (Influencing at work, Participation at work, and Negotiating professional identity) showed good reliability. The results further revealed that these dimensions of agency are distinct from, but closely and positively linked to work engagement. In particular, our research offers a reliable, short measure of professional agency that is relevant across professional domains in the Nordic context.
{"title":"Acting Agentically at Work: Developing a Short Measure of Professional Agency","authors":"Katja Vähäsantanen, Eija Räikkönen, Susanna Paloniemi, Päivi Hökkä","doi":"10.18291/NJWLS.127869","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18291/NJWLS.127869","url":null,"abstract":"Although professional agency has become an increasingly crucial issue in work organizations, investigators lack a brief instrument to measure it. This paper introduces a short measure to explore professional agency at work. Our aim was to shorten the original 17-item Professional Agency Measure, while also exploring its usability for cross-validating questionnaire datasets, and investigating the relationship between professional agency and work engagement. Three dimensions of professional agency emerged, with three items per dimension, across the domains of healthcare, real estate services, and information technology (all within Finland). All the dimensions (Influencing at work, Participation at work, and Negotiating professional identity) showed good reliability. The results further revealed that these dimensions of agency are distinct from, but closely and positively linked to work engagement. In particular, our research offers a reliable, short measure of professional agency that is relevant across professional domains in the Nordic context.","PeriodicalId":45048,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45865134","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}
Cæcilie Sloth Laursen, Mette Lykke Nielsen, Johnny Dyreborg
Drawing on interviews with 12 young adults in the Danish digital labor market, this article investigates how young workers on digital labor platforms experience the tension between ‘algorithmic management’ and autonomy. Digital labor platforms promise autonomy to workers, but the study shows that the platforms in varying degrees exert control over the labor process in different stages of the work. The inherent non-transparency of the algorithmic management systems makes it difficult for the young workers to understand the underlying mechanisms of the platforms. While the young workers’ autonomy in some important ways is restricted by the algorithmic management systems, the young workers have all chosen the platform work because they feel that it allows them to control where and when they work. We propose the conceptualization ‘the double autonomy paradox of young workers’ to describe this phenomenon.
{"title":"Young Workers on Digital Labor Platforms: Uncovering the Double Autonomy Paradox","authors":"Cæcilie Sloth Laursen, Mette Lykke Nielsen, Johnny Dyreborg","doi":"10.18291/NJWLS.127867","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18291/NJWLS.127867","url":null,"abstract":"Drawing on interviews with 12 young adults in the Danish digital labor market, this article investigates how young workers on digital labor platforms experience the tension between ‘algorithmic management’ and autonomy. Digital labor platforms promise autonomy to workers, but the study shows that the platforms in varying degrees exert control over the labor process in different stages of the work. The inherent non-transparency of the algorithmic management systems makes it difficult for the young workers to understand the underlying mechanisms of the platforms. While the young workers’ autonomy in some important ways is restricted by the algorithmic management systems, the young workers have all chosen the platform work because they feel that it allows them to control where and when they work. We propose the conceptualization ‘the double autonomy paradox of young workers’ to describe this phenomenon.","PeriodicalId":45048,"journal":{"name":"Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43660310","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}