Psykosocial arbetsmiljö på distans - Psykosocial arbetsmiljö vid arbete och ledarskap på distans

Abstract

Teleworking has become a more prevalent way of working for many organizations. As technology evolves employees are provided with more advanced ways of working physically separated from the workplace while still being able to do their work. While giving employees more flexibility in their work, it may also affect their ability to get support from other employees or managers. In light of the recent Covid-19 outbreak some organizations have to resort to more teleworking among their employees. This provides an ample opportunity to study how teleworking is conducted within organizations. Previous research have presented inconclusive data regarding the effects of teleworking on the employees wellbeing. With some presenting positive results in that it provides a greater degree of freedom and ability to decide for yourself. While others have seen that the ability to get support from their peers in the workplace is hindered. This study aims to examine in what ways teleworking affect employees ability to cope with their psychosocial work environment. But also, in what ways managers can help contribute to a positive psychosocial work environment, when work more and more moves out of the traditional workplace to one more focused on different ways and degrees of teleworking. In the case of this study a nationwide, state owned organization has been examined. The organization in question is in the process of establishing Activity based workplace (ABW) which in turn also contribute to a distance between managers and employees. The study draws on data from eight interviews with both managers and employees regarding their experiences with teleworking and ABW, focusing on how they relate to Karasek and Theorells (1990) framework regarding demand, control and social support. This was then analyzed with this framework in mind to get a better understanding of what dimensions affect the psychosocial work environment of the employees. The results show that while teleworking give the employees a greater degree of freedom in deciding when and how their work is conducted it might disrupt the everyday communication that can provide support regarding both work related questions as well as emotional support. The managers also have a harder time catching on to potential problems that may arise when employees are not present at the workplace. These factors combined puts more pressure on the employee to take care of their own work environment.