Carl Åborg

Work environment and computer systems development

Work environment and occupational health problems of different nature are constantly increasing in computer supported work. Most efforts to improve the work environment are focused primarily on physical aspects, and to some extent on psychosocial aspects. Mental workload and cognitive problems are of a more complex nature, more difficult to measure and provide efficient solutions to, and are more seldom studied or solved. Solutions to work environment problems are usually applied to already existing work situations through improved equipment and work place design, health programmes, education, reorganizations, etc. The problems are seldom prevented by means of applying relevant methods early in the systems development process, before the artefacts have been designed and implemented. This paper, and the following papers of this special issue, will focus on the need to integrate different interdisciplinary methods at different phases in the development process of computerized support systems, with the ultimate goal to prevent work environment problems and decrease the health risks to the users.

Integrating work environment considerations into usability evaluation methods—the ADA approach

The ADA-method is an attempt to integrate work environment issues into a usability evaluation method. The intention is to provide a method that can be used for the analysis of computer systems that ...

Health effects of ‘the Paperless Office’ – evaluations of the introduction of electronic document handling systems

Electronic document handling (EDH) systems can result in increased risks of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and stress-related mental and somatic symptoms. The effects of introducing an EDH system on the physical and psychosocial work environment, and on self-reported health, were studied in two studies at eight Swedish work places. In the first study data were collected on three occasions: before and 6 and 18 months after the introduction of the EDH system. In the second study data were collected 5 months after the introduction. The methods used were interviews, observations, questionnaires, video recordings, technical measurements and expert observation and examination. The results showed an important increase in time spent at a computer after introduction of the EDH system. The findings indicated (a) an increase in workload, (b) participants felt more constrained and controlled, (c) a higher frequency in static work postures, (d) frequent problems with handling the computer system and (e) an increase in health symptoms.

Organizational factors related to low levels of sickness absence in a representative set of Swedish companies.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this qualitative study was to identify manageable organizational factors that could explain why some companies have low levels of sickness absence. There may be factors at company level that can be managed to influence levels of sickness absence, and promote health and a prosperous organization. PARTICIPANTS 38 representative Swedish companies. METHODS The study included a total of 204 semi-structured interviews at 38 representative Swedish companies. Qualitative thematic analysis was applied to the interviews, primarily with managers, to indicate the organizational factors that characterize companies with low levels of sickness absence. RESULTS The factors that were found to characterize companies with low levels of sickness absence concerned strategies and procedures for managing leadership, employee development, communication, employee participation and involvement, corporate values and visions, and employee health. CONCLUSIONS The results may be useful in finding strategies and procedures to reduce levels of sickness absence and promote health. There is research at individual level on the reasons for sickness absence. This study tries to elevate the issue to an organizational level. The findings suggest that explicit strategies for managing certain organizational factors can reduce sickness absence and help companies to develop more health-promoting strategies.

Addressing Users' Health Issues in Software Development : An Exploratory Study

In this paper we argue that occupational health expertise should be directly involved in the software design process, and describe an exploratory study where health experts and users participated in the analysis, design and evaluation of a prototype. We addressed the problem of poor overview and control in electronic case handling. We used methods primarily from the participatory design field in combination with a framework describing some of the main risk factors for stress-related disorders in VDU work. We conducted observation interviews where the questions were based on the risk factors of high demand, low control and poor support. The interviews were the main lever for addressing these factors and making them ‘visible’ in the process. They could then be turned into requirements, design criteria and scenarios that we used as a basis for our design.

Do job demands and job control affect problem-solving?

OBJECTIVE The Job Demand Control model presents combinations of working conditions that may facilitate learning, the active learning hypothesis, or have detrimental effects on health, the strain hypothesis. To test the active learning hypothesis, this study analysed the effects of job demands and job control on general problem-solving strategies. PARTICIPANTS A population-based sample of 4,636 individuals (55% women, 45% men) with the same job characteristics measured at two times with a three year time lag was used. METHODS Main effects of demands, skill discretion, task authority and control, and the combined effects of demands and control were analysed in logistic regressions, on four outcomes representing general problem-solving strategies. RESULTS Those reporting high on skill discretion, task authority and control, as well as those reporting high demand/high control and low demand/high control job characteristics were more likely to state using problem solving strategies. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that working conditions including high levels of control may affect how individuals cope with problems and that workplace characteristics may affect behaviour in the non-work domain.

Promoting occupational health interventions in early return to work by implementing financial subsidies: a Swedish case study.

BackgroundIn 2010, the Swedish government introduced a system of subsidies for occupational health (OH) service interventions, as a part in a general policy promoting early return to work. The aim of this study was to analyse the implementation of these subsidies, regarding how they were used and perceived.MethodsThe study was carried out using a mixed-methods approach, and comprises material from six sub-studies: a register study of the use of the subsidies, one survey to OH service providers, one survey to employers, one document analysis of the documentation from interventions, interviews with stakeholders, and case interviews with actors involved in coordinated interventions.ResultsThe subsidized services were generally perceived as positive but were modestly used. The most extensive subsidy – for coordinated interventions – was rarely used. Employers and OH service providers reported few or no effects on services and contracts. OH service providers explained the modest use in terms of already having less bureaucratic routines in place, where applying for subsidies would involve additional costs. Information about the subsidies was primarily communicated to OH service providers, while employers were not informed.ConclusionsThe study highlights the complexity of promoting interventions through financial incentives, since their implementation requires that they are perceived by the stakeholders involved as purposeful, manageable and cost-effective. There are inherent political challenges in influencing stakeholders who act on a free market, in that the impact of policies may be limited, unless they are enforced by law.

Organization, relational justice and absenteeism.

BACKGROUND There is a need for more knowledge on how to manage companies towards healthier and more prosperous organizations with low levels of absenteeism. Relational Justice can be a useful concept when managing such organizations. OBJECTIVE Organizational factors can help to explain why some companies have relatively low absenteeism rates, even though they are equal to other companies in many other aspects. Previous studies suggest that management may be one important factor. Efficient management may depend on good relations between the leaders and the employees. The concept of Relational Justice is designed to capture these relations. Consequently, a Relational Justice framework may be used to understand why some companies have a low incidence of absenteeism. PARTICIPANTS Managers from a representative body of Swedish companies. METHODS Interviews were analyzed to explore whether the items representing the concept of Relational Justice can be used to further understand the strategies, procedures and structures that characterize organizations and management in companies with a low incidence of absenteeism. RESULTS Strategies, procedures or principles related to Relational Justice were common and highlighted in companies with an incidence of absenteeism. The most frequently occurring factors were; to be treated with kindness and consideration, personal viewpoint considered and to be treated impartially. CONCLUSIONS The results suggested that a Relational Justice framework could be used to increase understanding of the organizational and managerial factors typical for companies with a low incidence of absenteeism. A Relational Justice approach to organizational management may be used to successfully lower absenteeism, change organizations and promote healthy and prosperous companies.

The influence of social capital on employers’ use of occupational health services: a qualitative study

BackgroundOccupational health services may have a strategic role in the prevention of sickness absence, as well as in rehabilitation and return to work after sick leave, because of their medical expertise in combination with a close connection to workplaces. The purpose of this study was to explore how employers and occupational health service providers describe their business relations and the use of occupational health services in rehabilitation in relation to the organization of such services. The study uses a theoretical framework based on social capital to analyse the findings.MethodsInterviews and focus groups with managers with Swedish public employers (n = 60), and interviews with occupational health services professionals (n = 25).ResultsEmployers emphasized trustful relationships, local workplace knowledge, long-term contracts and dialogue about services for good relationships with occupational health providers. Occupational health providers strove to be strategic partners to employers, promoting preventive work, which was more easily achieved in situations where the services were organized in-house. Employers with outsourced occupational health services expressed less trust in their providers than employers with internal occupational health provision.ConclusionsSocial capital emerges as central to understanding the conditions for cooperation and collective action in the use of occupational health services, with reference to structural (e.g. contracts), relational (e.g. trust) as well as cognitive (e.g. shared vision) dimensions. The study suggests that attention to the quality of relationships is imperative for developing purposeful occupational health service delivery in rehabilitation and return to work.