Utmaningar i den psykosociala arbetsmiljön - en studie av HR-arbete i ideell sektor

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to conduce to the understanding of what challenges the HRdepartment faces in the work with the psychosocial work environment in nonprofit organizations in Sweden. A particular focus in the study is on how the certain features of the nonprofit sector affect and tend to contribute to these challenges. In both Swedish and International research there appears to be a lack of studies that deal with the psychosocial work environment in the nonprofit sector, which is one of the main reasons for this study. International research show, among other things, that employees in this sector have a higher degree of work satisfaction than in other sectors. Especially, they value the sense of making a contribution to the society, to get feedback on their work performance as well as they expect a high level of co-determination. A Swedish study that looks at the psychosocial work environment in the Swedish Church shows a frequent lack of feedback on work performance. It also shows that goals and expectations on work performance tend to be vaguely expressed and that conflicts are becoming increasingly complicated because of the employees’ expectations that conflicts should not take place at all in the organization. In this study six semi-structured interviews were conducted with HR-managers in six nonprofit organizations. The organizations widely differ in the type of work that they perform, from sports and environmental issues to trade unions and religious interests. The interviews were transcribed, coded and analyzed through the use of two theoretical models, Antonovskys (1987) Sense of Coherence and the demand-control-support model created by Karasek and Theorell (2006). The results of the analysis show that HR faces five main challenges in the work with the psychosocial work environment. The first of these challenges is to make sure that the workload of the employees in the nonprofit sector doesn’t get too high and that necessary time for recovery is provided. The second one is to clarify information on goals and guidelines for the employees work. The third challenge is to improve the managers’ skills on giving feedback on work performance. The fourth challenge found is to restrain the employees’ involvement and to make sure that the employees keep a holistic perspective in their work, which will improve their sense of coherence. The last challenge for HR in the nonprofit sector is to make sure that their organizations correspond to the employees’ high expectations on the employer. Finally, through using prior research, these challenges are related to the fact that the organizations are a part of the nonprofit sector.