Change search
Link to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Publications (10 of 15) Show all publications
Wallo, A., Martin, J., Elg, M., Harlin, U., Gremyr, I., Bozic, N., . . . Williamsson, A. (2024). Charting the path to a sustainable, competitive and green industry in an era of rapid change: proposing a research agenda. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), Article ID 2344189.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Charting the path to a sustainable, competitive and green industry in an era of rapid change: proposing a research agenda
Show others...
2024 (English)In: Cogent Business & Management, E-ISSN 2331-1975, Vol. 11, no 1, article id 2344189Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Global labor market shifts have spurred the need for innovations and adaptations in workplace norms. This evolution demands a workforce with technical and soft skills to meet sustainability and industry advancements. The paper aims to elucidate the complex challenges related to the ambition to develop a socially sustainable, competitive, and green industry subjected to an accelerating pace of change. It outlines the findings of a Delphi study conducted in Sweden, which integrated workshops, interviews, and surveys with experts from various sectors to identify 14 key challenges. These challenges were synthesized into five themes: innovative competence supply management practices, resilient organizations and production systems, analytics for improvement and learning, socially sustainable work, and green transformation practices. The study provides a set of propositions within these themes, offering a strategic roadmap for future research to foster the growth of industries that are socially responsible, competitive, and committed to environmental sustainability. A practical implication of the study is the recognition of the larger competence ecosystem of which industrial companies are a part. This community must work together to create the knowledge needed to manage the shift to a green, sustainable, and digital working life. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Cogent OA, 2024
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-73232 (URN)10.1080/23311975.2024.2344189 (DOI)2-s2.0-85191089216 (Scopus ID)
Note

This research was funded by Vinnova, Sweden\u2019s innovation agency with additional funding from the XPRES (Initiative for Excellence in Production Research).

 

Available from: 2024-05-24 Created: 2024-05-24 Last updated: 2025-02-17Bibliographically approved
Frennert, S., Skagert, K. & Williamsson, A. (2024). It is a matter of convenience: why welfare technologies have become domesticated in Swedish eldercare. BMC Health Services Research, 24(1), Article ID 1558.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>It is a matter of convenience: why welfare technologies have become domesticated in Swedish eldercare
2024 (English)In: BMC Health Services Research, E-ISSN 1472-6963, Vol. 24, no 1, article id 1558Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Background: The use of welfare technology is gaining ground in municipal eldercare and is increasingly being integrated into everyday routines. However, the meanings that eldercare personnel attach to welfare technology in the care of older recipients, and thus the domestication of welfare technology, remain largely underexplored. This study explores how eldercare personnel understand and ascribe meanings to welfare technologies in their daily work, with the aim of understanding their domestication. Methods: The empirical material comprised 181 photographs, each paired with corresponding text, from 61 participants across four municipalities in southern Sweden. The empirical material was thematically analysed, focusing on different categories of welfare technologies and their ascribed meanings. In our coding “convenience” and at times “inconvenience” were interpreted as recurrent patterns. Their repeated presence across various contexts and the meanings ascribed to different welfare technologies prompted deeper interpretive engagement, leading us to adopt it as a key theme. In the final step, the codes were synthesised through the lens of “convenience” to better understand the meanings participants attached to welfare technology in eldercare work. Results: The participants ascribed meanings to welfare technology that resonate with broader societal and cultural understandings of technological solutionism, while aligning with national policies promoting welfare technology as a means of supporting safety, activity and independence for older adults. Welfare technology was often understood as both convenient and an act of care. Our analysis uncovered different dimensions of “convenience”, which we labelled as: “remote surveillance convenience”, “logistics convenience”, “communication convenience”, “safety convenience”, “comforting convenience” and “activation convenience”. Yet, in some cases, welfare technology was also seen as a hindrance to care, being inconvenient due to its inflexibility, technical difficulties and the tendency to create duplicate tasks. Conclusion: This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the domestication of welfare technology in eldercare. Our study found that eldercare personnel engage with and interpret welfare technologies by ascribing meanings related to perceived convenience — a concept not widely explored in this context. Welfare technologies were often seen as convenient substitutes for physical proximity and relational care, such as “remote surveillance convenience” through cameras and “comforting convenience” via robotic pets. However, convenience, while central to the participants’ experiences, should not be understood as inherently “good” or positive but as part of the domestication process, shaped by socio-technical contexts and the political economy of eldercare, which prioritises effectiveness and efficiency. By shedding light on these dynamics, our study examines how the domestication of welfare technology is shaped by and reinforces broader discourses of technological solutionism, raising questions about its long-term impact on care practices.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
BioMed Central Ltd, 2024
National Category
Social and Economic Geography
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-76305 (URN)10.1186/s12913-024-11924-x (DOI)2-s2.0-85211473546 (Scopus ID)
Note

 This research was co-funded by the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working life and Welfare (grant agreement ID 2023−00174). 

Available from: 2025-01-03 Created: 2025-01-03 Last updated: 2025-01-03Bibliographically approved
Dellve, L. & Skagert, K. (2024). Organisational conditions for safety management practice in homecare and nursing homes, pre-pandemic and in pandemic. Safety Science, 174, Article ID 106488.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Organisational conditions for safety management practice in homecare and nursing homes, pre-pandemic and in pandemic
2024 (English)In: Safety Science, ISSN 0925-7535, E-ISSN 1879-1042, Vol. 174, article id 106488Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic was a major challenge for health care and eldercare service all over the world, regarding prevention of spread of contagion to both the elderly and care workers. This study used a mix method design, aiming to identify important conditions for Occupational Health and Safety Management (OHSM) in practice in home care and nursing homes, in general and regarding the prevention of spread of contagion. The result show how conditions for OHSM differed according to eldercare setting and had stronger importance in homecare, both pre-pandemic and in pandemic. Routines and standardized procedures of OHSM was introduced and improved during the pandemic. The routines and standardized procedures had importance for OHSM and COVID-specific OHSM, especially in homecare (r2: 0,86) but also in nursing homes (r2: 0,39). Team communication of risks, work adjustments and equality climate were also of importance. The OHSM work in homecare was understood as Rooms for re-constructing standardized guidelines to un-standardized settings. The practice of safety work was formed by room for elders’ independent decisions of forming their homes and by room for groupthink shaped by employees’ earlier knowledge experiences and norms. Supportive conditions with equal climate, explicable routines, visual instructions and reflections of OHSM have stronger importance where work environments are unstandardized and work and organizational conditions underdeveloped (i.e. homecare). To better bridge the gap between work as imagine and done in unstandardized contexts, conditions in general and specifically the opportunities to reflect and adapt routines together need to be improved. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier B.V., 2024
Keywords
COVID-19; Employment; Hospitals; Human engineering; Industrial hygiene; Condition; Eldercare; Equality climate; Health management; Norm; Occupational health and safety; Operational procedures; Safety management; Standard operational procedure; Work environments; Article; climate; clinical practice; controlled study; decision making; experience; female; geriatric care; health equity; home care; human; knowledge; knowledge gap; major clinical study; male; nursing home; occupational health service; organizational policy; pandemic; practice guideline; safety; standardization; work environment; Nursing
National Category
Work Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-72778 (URN)10.1016/j.ssci.2024.106488 (DOI)2-s2.0-85187228307 (Scopus ID)
Note

We are grateful to the Swedish Social and Working Life Foundation (Reg. no. 2020-00357) and AFA Insurance (Dnr 200157) for financial support.

Available from: 2024-05-16 Created: 2024-05-16 Last updated: 2024-05-16Bibliographically approved
Williamsson, A., Skagert, K., Dellve, L. & Eriksson, A. (2024). Sensemaking in Radical Transition to Work from Home. Arbetsliv i omvandling (3)
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Sensemaking in Radical Transition to Work from Home
2024 (English)In: Arbetsliv i omvandling, ISSN 1404-8426, no 3Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The COVID-19 pandemic forced a radical transition to work from home. Recent studies have focused on the individual employee’s cognitive, physical, and mental resources, lacking the interactions between human, technology, and organization (HTO), and teams handling of the radical transition. This study explored the sensemaking processes of the narratives of teams’ radical transitions to work from home. Chronicle workshops with seven teams and 13 semi-structured interviews with managers were thematically analysed in narratives and through HTO interactions. The narratives showed how crisis boosted development of efficient human - technology interactions and increased possibilities for individuals’ work-life balance and flexibility. Organizational priorities and strategies were not adapted in time to support sensemaking processes of the teams. Thus, the study indicates that interactions between human and organization could have been accelerated during COVID-19 to support sensemaking and development of remote leadership practices for a sustainable post-pandemic work-life.   

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Lund University Press, 2024
National Category
Occupational Health and Environmental Health Work Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-76204 (URN)
Funder
AFA Insurance, 200364
Note

Funding:AFA Försäkring 200364

Available from: 2024-11-21 Created: 2024-11-21 Last updated: 2024-11-22Bibliographically approved
Eriksson, Y., Skagert, K. & Ekwall, P.-E. (2023). Design process of live-action video instructions. In: : . Paper presented at 13th Design Thinking Research Symposium. Haifa, Israel. March 22-24, 2022. (pp. 329). Routledge
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Design process of live-action video instructions
2023 (English)Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

The aim of this design project is to explore ways of co-designing instructional videos, together with representatives from the elderly care sector, that show how to use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) related to the Covid-19 pandemic and how to follow basic hygiene routines. We have used Design Thinking (DT) and Research through design (RtD) methodology. The results show that the main improvements derived from using a co-design process were input on the details needed to make the video more realistic and reflective of real-world scenarios.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2023
National Category
Information Systems, Social aspects
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-67724 (URN)10.1201/b22630-23 (DOI)2-s2.0-85173444865 (Scopus ID)978-965-599-948-8 (ISBN)
Conference
13th Design Thinking Research Symposium. Haifa, Israel. March 22-24, 2022.
Note

The authors would like to thank Afa Insurance.

Available from: 2023-11-06 Created: 2023-11-06 Last updated: 2025-02-17Bibliographically approved
Mattsson, S., Kurdve, M., Almström, P. & Skagert, K. (2023). Framework for universal design of digital support and workplace design in industry. international journal of manufacturing research, 18(4), 392
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Framework for universal design of digital support and workplace design in industry
2023 (English)In: international journal of manufacturing research, Vol. 18, no 4, p. 392-Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The aim of this paper is to propose a framework for universal design of manual assembly workplaces. Workplaces that are adapted to different individuals, regardless of gender, language, background and functional variations, also support the fundamental goals of the Industry 5.0 concept and an accessible, safer, productive and error-proof work environment. The study included: 1) a qualitative study on key factors for universal design and comparison with universal design theory; 2) improvement suggestions to the company based on observations, interviews and theory; 3) a framework for universal design. The framework included the following areas: personalisation and context, activities/tasks and output, and methods/standards and factors were suggested so that companies could start their analysis work for the design. The study resulted in new insights and empirics regarding universal workplace design.

National Category
Mechanical Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-68622 (URN)
Available from: 2023-12-19 Created: 2023-12-19 Last updated: 2024-06-11Bibliographically approved
Wallo, A., Martin, J., Elg, M., Harlin, U., Bozic, N., Skagert, K., . . . Gremyr, I. (2023). Mapping the challenges of a socially sustainable, competitive, and green industry in the age of rapid change: A Delphi study. Linköping University, Education and Sociology
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Mapping the challenges of a socially sustainable, competitive, and green industry in the age of rapid change: A Delphi study
Show others...
2023 (English)Report (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

This report presents the findings of a Delphi study coordinated by Linköping University (LiU) in collaboration with RISE Research Institutes of Sweden and the Chalmers University of Technology. The study was carried out in 2022 as part of a Vinnova-funded planning project aimed at establishing an interdisciplinary research environment to prepare an application for a new competence centre focused on building a long-term, sustainable Swedish industry. The Delphi study aimed to identify key challenges related to the ambition to develop a socially sustainable, competitive, and green industry subjected to an accelerating pace of change. The Delphi study was based on an interactive research approach to facilitate the cocreation of knowledge for the dual purpose of advancing long-term theory development and innovation processes. The consortium and its reference groups consist of industrial companies (such as AstraZeneca, Ericsson IndustryLab, Rimaster, Saab Aeronautics, Scania, Volvo GTO and Volvo Cars), intermediaries and educational actors (such as Skill, IUC Sverige and Linköping Science Park), labour market organisations (including IF Metall, Industriarbetsgivarna, Unionen, and Teknikföretagen), governmental agencies (the Office for Sustainable Working life), and researchers from LiU, Chalmers, and RISE. There are key industrial targets forming the starting point for the Delphi study that also guide policies and investments in strategic agendas for the industrial stakeholders. For the Swedish industry to be resilient and sustainable, new competence and organisational abilities are required to decrease the dependency on fossil energy in production. Transformation towards electrification, circular economy, and digitalisation are key enablers, and these transitions are ongoing and accelerating at a fast pace. Furthermore, new and constantly emerging targets require organisational resilience, like managing new requirements and targets within energy consumption and supply of competence. The findings of this report include a total of 14 identified challenges. To organise and create conditions for flexible work for all To successfully manage crises and drastic external events To successfully drive and contribute to the green industrial transformation To facilitate employee-driven innovation and organisational learning To attract, develop and retain employees with the right skills To take advantage of and exploit the opportunities of digitalisation To create inclusive workplaces and utilise diversity To organise competence development To collaborate with external parties to ensure the availability of competence To design for socially sustainable work considering efficiency and good health in a dynamic environment To organise the creation of added value for and together with customers and suppliers To systematically drive continuous improvement work in parallel with long-term development work To develop leadership that creates better opportunities both for a climate-neutral footprint and a competitive industry with good working conditions To transform research- and policy-based knowledge into practice The 14 challenges were further analysed according to perceived importance and ability and presented in a priority matrix. According to the priority matrix, the 14 challenges were then synthesised into six main research themes: A. Innovative competence supply practice, B. Resilient organisations & production systems, C. Analytics for improvement & learning, D. Socially sustainable work, E. Green transformation practices, and an open and undefined research theme labelled as Future challenges. The research themes are also presented together with six main analytical and theoretical perspectives in a matrix that can be used to intersect and interweave the research themes to guide the research agenda in a potential future research program.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Linköping University, Education and Sociology, 2023. p. 88
Series
HELIX rapport 23:001
National Category
Health Care Service and Management, Health Policy and Services and Health Economy
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-64376 (URN)
Available from: 2023-04-26 Created: 2023-04-26 Last updated: 2024-04-09Bibliographically approved
Williamsson, A. & Skagert, K. (2023). Trygghet i professionen: En vetenskaplig omvärldsanalys av socialsekreterares arbetssituation.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Trygghet i professionen: En vetenskaplig omvärldsanalys av socialsekreterares arbetssituation
2023 (Swedish)Report (Other academic)
Abstract [sv]

Syftet med litteraturgranskningen var att kartlägga; kunskapsläget kring socialsekreterares arbetsmiljö i allmänhet, samt identifiera interventioner och aktiviteter för att stärka socialsekreterares möjlighet att i trygghet utöva sitt uppdrag korrekt utan påverkan i synnerhet. Via de svenska databaserna Swepub och GU supersök identifierades 15 publikationer, varav 5 inkluderades i analysen. För engelskspråkiga publikationer gjordes sökningar i Scopus, där 69 lästes i sin fulltext. Efter genomläsning inkluderas 44 stycken. Av de inkluderade publikationerna dominerade kvantitativa studier baserade på enkätdata. Förhållandevis få studier redogjorde för någon form av insats för att stärka tryggheten. Teoretiska referensramar som användes bland publikationerna var teorin om Exit- Voice och krav- och resursmodellen relaterat till olika hälsoutfall där samband mellan arbetsförhållanden och tankar på att sluta, arbetstillfredsställelse, utmattning samt upplevelsen av förändring av ens egna medkänsla med klienter kunde fastslås. De vetenskapliga artiklarna beskriver problem och faktorer som påverkar tryggheten i professionen på olika systemnivåer. Dels finns resultat på individuell medarbetarnivå, på arbetsgrupp- och yrkesprofessionsnivå, i relation till andra myndigheter samt på övergripande samhällsnivå som relaterar både till påverkan, hantering och konsekvenser för tryggheten i yrkesprofessionen. De krav som uppstår kan påverka i en nedåtgående spiral men det finns också stöd och resurser som kan stärka tryggheten för att balansera krav och grundläggande förutsättningar i yrket. Det traditionella arbetsmiljöarbetet kan behöva kompletteras med proaktivt arbete för att stärka förmågan att hantera oförutsedda händelser. Här tycks öppenhet i organisationen och professionsstärkande åtgärder vara viktigt både för individens, professionsteamets och organisationens hållbarhet.

Publisher
p. 29
Series
RISE Rapport ; 2023:51
National Category
Work Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-64920 (URN)978-91-89821-03-3 (ISBN)
Available from: 2023-06-05 Created: 2023-06-05 Last updated: 2023-10-31Bibliographically approved
Eriksson, A., Dellve, L., Williamsson, A. & Skagert, K. (2022). How Conditions and Resources Connected to Digital Management Systems and Remote Work Are Associated with Sustainable Work. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(23), Article ID 15731.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>How Conditions and Resources Connected to Digital Management Systems and Remote Work Are Associated with Sustainable Work
2022 (English)In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, ISSN 1661-7827, E-ISSN 1660-4601, Vol. 19, no 23, article id 15731Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The current state of work–life transformation will see more white-collar work being performed remotely using digital management systems. There is, however, a lack of research on factors and resources contributing to sustainable work when working remotely using digital management systems. The aim of this study was to study the conditions and resources connected to digital management systems and remote work, and their associations with sustainable work, in terms of process quality, trust, and sense of coherence, when working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. An analytical cross-sectional study was performed. Questionnaire data from white-collar employees (n = 484) in two private companies were analyzed with regression models, focusing on the importance of the conditions and resources connected to digital management systems and remote work, stratified by working from home or at the office. The results showed digital conditions and resources being associated with indicators of sustainable work. Furthermore, the results showed that social work relations were additional important explanatory factors for sustainable remote work. This study contributes to the development of a new post-pandemic work–life balance by concluding that sustainable remote work needs to be ensured by functional digital management systems and adequate leadership supporting the development of a positive team and learning climate. © 2022 by the authors.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MDPI, 2022
Keywords
digital management systems, digital working conditions, remote work, sustainable work
National Category
Work Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-61714 (URN)10.3390/ijerph192315731 (DOI)2-s2.0-85143721903 (Scopus ID)
Note

Funding details: AFA Försäkring, 200364; Funding text 1: This research was funded by AFA Insurance, Sweden, grant number 200364.

Available from: 2022-12-29 Created: 2022-12-29 Last updated: 2023-05-23Bibliographically approved
Harlin, U., Berglund, M., Skagert, K., Wallo, A. & Elg, M. (2022). Samverkans betydelse vid kris och radikal förändring: Strategisk, taktisk och operativ samverkan i arbetet under covid-19 pandemin. In: Book of abstracts FALF 2022: . Paper presented at FALF 2022 - Framtidens arbete – arbetets framtid, 13–15 juni, Kiruna (pp. 67).
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Samverkans betydelse vid kris och radikal förändring: Strategisk, taktisk och operativ samverkan i arbetet under covid-19 pandemin
Show others...
2022 (English)In: Book of abstracts FALF 2022, 2022, p. 67-Conference paper, Oral presentation with published abstract (Refereed)
National Category
Engineering and Technology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-64086 (URN)
Conference
FALF 2022 - Framtidens arbete – arbetets framtid, 13–15 juni, Kiruna
Available from: 2023-02-23 Created: 2023-02-23 Last updated: 2023-06-08Bibliographically approved
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0002-6583-7763

Search in DiVA

Show all publications