Helena Falkenberg

How are employees at different levels affected by privatization? : A longitudinal study of two Swedish hospitals

Despite the amount of privatizations around the world in recent decades, only limited research attention has been paid to how privatization affects the employees. The effects are likely to vary dep ...

Short- and long-term effects of major organisational change on minor psychiatric disorder and self-rated health: results from the Whitehall II study

Objective To investigate short- and long-term effects of major organisational change on minor psychiatric disorder and self-rated health for women and men in different employment grades. Methods Minor psychiatric disorder and self-rated health among 6710 British civil servants (1993 women and 4717 men) in three employment grades from the Whitehall II study were examined from 1985 to 1988 under stable employment conditions. The short-term effects of organisational change were investigated in 1991–1993 after a time of major restructuring aiming at increasing the influence of market forces in the civil service and the long-term effects were investigated in 1997–1999. Results Those who had experienced organisational change and those who anticipated organisational change reported more negative short-term health effects (minor psychiatric disorder and poor self-rated health) compared with those who reported no change. No major differences were found depending on employment grade or gender. The negative health effects had diminished during 1997–1999 for those who reported that a major change had happened before 1991–1993. Those who anticipated an organisational change in 1991–1993 still reported more ill-health in 1997–1999 (both minor psychiatric disorder and self-reported health) than those in the comparison group. Conclusions The results indicate that organisational change affects employees’ health negatively in the short term but also that it is possible to recover from such negative effects. As it was not possible to discern any definite difference between the gender and grades, the results point at the importance of working proactively to implement organisational change for women and men at all levels.

Do gender and socioeconomic status matter when combining work and family: Could control at work and at home help? Results from the Whitehall II study

Work and family are sources of both satisfaction and conflicting demands. A challenge is to identify individuals at risk for conflict and factors that potentially reduce conflict. This study investigated how gender and socioeconomic status (SES) were associated with work–family interference (WFI) and family–work interference (FWI) and how control at work and at home related to WFI and FWI. Data from 1991–1993 and 1997–1999 of the Whitehall II study of British civil servants, including 3484 (827 women and 2657 men) employees in three SES-levels, were analysed. Women reported a higher risk for WFI and FWI. High SES employees reported higher WFI. Less control at home increased risks for WFI and FWI as did low control at work but only for WFI. This suggests that high SES women are especially at risk for conflict and that aspects from the spheres of both work and home should be considered in further research and practice.