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Vilken betydelse har digitaliseringen för anställdas arbetskvalitet? I denna studie av två tillverkningsföretag inom svensk flygindustri visas hur detta är beroende av ledningens val av innovationsstrategi. I det ena företaget var strategin att genom digital teknik involvera flera kategorier av anställda i gemensamt beslutsfattande om konstruktioner och arbetsinstruktioner, vilket samtidigt både begränsade deras möjligheter att fatta beslut om det egna arbetet och ökade arbetstakten. I det andra företaget var strategin att genom digital teknik endast involvera en viss kategori av anställda i mer övergripande frågor, varvid en annan kategori av anställda inte bara uteslöts, utan också fick mindre beslutsutrymme när det gällde det egna arbetet.

The purpose of this article is to investigate how and why the truck manufacturer Scania adapted to the economic downturn between 2008 and 2010 in the manner it did. First, Scania signed a crisis agreement on fewer working hours and lower wages, and, later, it signed an agreement stipulating fewer working hours, but without wage reductions. Both of these agreements were combined with investments in competence development and education as well as with the decision not to give notice to the employees, which was uncommon among Swedish companies. It is claimed that the company wanted to strengthen the competitiveness by integrating the unions and the employees even more in the business. An important prerequisite was the company’s Flexibility Agreement, which allowed the company not to give temporary employees new contracts and to let temporary employees leave the company as soon as their maximum employment period of six months expired.

The present article analyses why and how Ericsson Telecom assumed a greater responsibility than was legally required when it dismissed more than 23,000 employees in Sweden at the beginning of the 21st century. The analysis starts from neoinstitutional theory and is based on case studies of the company’s closures in Norrköping and Linköping. The article focuses, in particular, on the interaction between Ericsson, the trade unions, the County Administrative Board, the County Labour Board, the Public Employment Service, the Swedish Employment Security Council, the government and the respective municipalities. It is shown that the greater responsibility taken by Ericsson was based on its desire to maintain legitimacy by taking into consideration prevailing societal expectations regarding the company’s behaviour.

Existing research has found heterogeneity in the implementation of Lean and its outcomes in terms of employee involvement across countries. This article explores the potential role of labour–management relations. It relies on in-depth company case studies carried out in the aerospace industry in France and Sweden. The study finds significant variations in employee involvement – higher in the Swedish than in the French cases. Managerial orientations did play a role, as the ‘technocratic’ form of Lean in France echoed a more unilateral top-down conception of management, while Swedish managers appeared more receptive to the ‘involvement-enhancing’ paradigm. But the attitudes and behaviours of unions were also a crucial factor, as Swedish unions were very effective in impinging on the implementation of Lean at workplace level, while their French counterparts, often divided, adopted a more defensive stance, lacking expertise and implication in the promotion of high-involvement work organisations.

The paper focuses on the interactions between innovations (of all kinds) and job quality (in a wide sense, covering work and employment conditions, including job status, compensation, training and career opportunities) in the aeronautic industry. It draws on empirical evidence – industry survey and company case studies – from France, Sweden and the UK. Aeronautics has introduced important innovations in the past decade. For example, computer assisted devices (from computer aided engineering and design, Model Based Definition (MBD), i.e. the use of 3D drawings, to computer numeric control machines) have impacted the work of both engineers, technicians and operators. The new generation of process innovations (i.e. digitalization) include, among others, the introduction of cobots and robots, and virtual augmented reality devices. Aeronautics is indeed a front runner of the “factory of the future” or “industry 4.0”, which may have important consequences in terms of both job quantity and quality – notably in terms of education requirements, competence development, and individual task discretion/autonomy. Organisational innovations have also played an important role, such as the implementation of lean manufacturing and its derivatives, introduced more recently than in the automotive industry, with some specificities. Increasing pressure on all the segments of the supply chain has been witnessed in many firms and their subcontractors, in connection with some of the technical devices mentioned previously, and in a context of increasing competition, and in some cases to important changes in the governance of firms. But the reverse causality – i.e. from JQ to innovation – is also a key issue. Some firms are innovating by introducing new forms of organisations to improve some dimensions of job quality as a mean to foster the innovation capacity of the firm “from the bottom up”, with experiments such as “liberated company”. As in other industries, some big companies are trying to emulate the “start-up spirit”.

This paper compares responses to crises through analysis of labour market policy in Sweden and the UK between the Global Financial Crises to the COVID-19 pandemic. In drawing on 'restructuring regimes' we offer insights into the dynamics of change in the two countries, focussing on the development of short-time working schemes. We argue that Sweden learned lessons from the GFC that helped prepare for future crises, whereas the UK's muted response left it ill-prepared for the COVID-19 crisis. The paper contributes to debates around restructuring regimes through an analysis of the journey between two crises in which we characterise Sweden's approach as proactive and pre-emptive and the UK's as reactive and ad hoc. By locating analysis in traditions of self-regulation and voluntarism in Sweden and the UK, respectively, we expand upon the role that industrial relations play in maintaining the stability, or not, of national restructuring regimes. 

The aim of this paper was to review the research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in connection with business closures and downsizing to identify gaps in our knowledge. The study consisted of a systematic review of 24 refereed articles. The review identified four themes in the literature on CSR in connection with business closure and downsizing, namely CSR, transition programs and the local community; CSR and business strategy; CSR, power and reputation; and lastly, other articles on CSR in connection with business closures and downsizing. The review revealed a lack of understanding of the reasons, outcomes and methodology of CSR development in connection with business closures and downsizing.

Denna studie fokuserar på de lokala partsrelationernas betydelse för utvecklingen av den organisatoriska flexibiliteten under en större hotellkoncerns omställningar under covid-19-krisen 2020–2021. Studien bygger på 26 semistrukturerade intervjuer med representanter för arbetsgivarorganisationer och fackliga organisationer på branschnivå, samt chefer och fackliga företrädare på koncern- och hotellnivå. Intervjuerna transkriberades och tematiserades med hjälp av NVivo 12. I ljuset av en dramatisk nedgång i kundunderlaget mer än halverades antalet anställda: tillsvidareanställda sades upp och kontrakten för tillfälligt anställda blev inte förlängda. Vid sidan av ”tillfälligt anställda” tillkom en ny form av numerisk flexibilitet, korttidspermitterade, baserad på lagen om stöd vid korttidsarbete från 2013. Samtidigt genomfördes omfattande organisationsförändringar: avdelningar slogs samman, antalet chefer reducerades och i stort sett samtliga yrkestitlar förändrades. Anställda skulle arbeta i ”service team”, chefer skulle vara ”service lead” och andra, t ex receptionister, kockar, bartenders och städare, skulle tituleras ”hosts”. De fackliga organisationerna menade att denna form av funktionell flexibilitet, att ”alla skulle kunna allt”, ledde till ett allt stressigare jobb och var ett hot mot yrkesstoltheten. 

I syfte att analysera de lokala partsrelationernas betydelse för utvecklingen av den organisatoriska flexibiliteten tar vi avstamp i tidigare forskning om lokala partsrelationer. Den tidigare forskningen har till stor del handlat om parternas förhållningssätt till varandra när de arbetat för att nå lösningar och resultat i olika avseenden, hur intressen och maktresurser mobiliseras, förhandlingsstrategier och den fackliga organiseringens betydelse för den fackliga styrkan. Det finns begränsat med forskning om de lokala partsrelationers roll när det gäller organisationsförändringar med bäring på organisatorisk flexibilitet. I den här artikeln fokuserar vi på de lokala parternas betydelse för utvecklingen av den organisatoriska flexibiliteten med hänsyn tagen till de institutionella förutsättningar som rådde under pandemin

The aim of the paper is to raise questions about loyalty, whistleblowing and transparency in public organisations. In the first part we present the picture of a new form of loyalty in working life. A so called rational loyalty is replacing the traditional autocratic loyalty due to development in society and the legal framework, as presented by Wim Vandekerckhove (2006: 124-134). This development is supporting acts of whistleblowing. However, in the paper we argue that the picture is much more complex and whistleblowing is often hindered in practise in spite of developments in organisational policies and law. Therefore, we would also like to discuss if increased organisational transparency can promote more ethical behaviour and whistleblowing in public organisations. In the second part of the paper we discuss the prerequisites for rational loyalty in the Swedish public sector. We present different kinds of loyalty forms, which can be seen as counterforces to rational loyalty, whistleblowing and transparency at workplaces in the public sector.

To cope with fierce competition in an increasing globalized context, many companies tend to reduce wage costs and intensify work, adopting what could be labelled as social dumping strategies, with negative effects on job quality (JQ) - this term encompassing compensation, employment status, work conditions, but also training and promotion opportunities. Innovation - defined here as any significative and valuable change in product, process, marketing or organisation -is often presented as the solution to break this potential vicious circle. Still, this positive view must be assessed. To do so, we need to open the "black box" of firms, to analyse more precisely the nature, the motivation, the modes of implementation, and the outcomes of innovation, by scrutinizing all the mechanisms at play. The paper focuses here on the interplay between innovation and JQ, in a specific industry, Aerospace, which is an innovation leader, with numerous spill-over effects on other manufacturing industry. Our study relies on qualitative empirical evidence from in-depth firm case studies, carried out in two countries that are good illustrations of different varieties of capitalism, France and Sweden. The firms under study have introduced a wide range of technological process innovations, such as 3D Computer-Aided-Design and different forms of Computer Aided Manufacturing and automated processes - from Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines to robots. If there were some common features concerning the impacts in terms of JQ, there were also differences related to organizational and managerial choices across firms - whether because organization mediated the impact of technological changes, or because these changes were highly interlinked with organisational ones. There were indeed important organizational changes in the firms of our sample, recent or still going on at the time of our study. These changes were sometimes considered even more important than technological innovations. One important change was the introduction of "lean" principles. But the way "lean" was implemented was in fact quite different across the different cases, with different consequences in terms of JQ. A quite rigid top-down "lean", dominant in France, contrasted with a more flexible form, more compatible with the "learning" type of organization witnessed in Sweden. One interesting difference between the two types of organization was the role of trade-unions in the "innovation-JQ" nexus. Still, in France, a growing concern about the limits of existing organisation was arising, as (better) work organisation was more and more identified as a key determinant of an innovative workplace - defined as a work environment that provides a fertile ground for innovations of any kind. Some organizational innovations (sometimes quite radical) were put in place to improve JQ, in particular in terms of worker's autonomy and involvement, to move from a "lean" to a more "learning" type of organization. Overall, our contribution highlights some key mechanisms of the interplay between work organization, JQ and innovation, and sheds light on some hotly debated issues concerning the impact of new technologies on the quality of jobs.

The paper examines the implementation of hybrid work arrangements (HWAs) in response to the covid-19 pandemic. It reflects upon the hybrid work phenomenon across various organisational and sectoral contexts and identifies areas for future research through a literature review and two pilot studies in Sweden. HWAs offer job quality benefits such as increased autonomy in terms of flexibility (i.e. in how, when, and where work is done) and improved work-life balance. However, hybrid workers also experience higher workloads and challenges in maintaining work-life boundaries. In the case of non-hybrid workers (i.e. workers who work exclusively on-site), previous research and our interviews point to almost exclusively negative effects: for instance, increased workloads due to difficulties in collaborating with hybrid colleagues, reduced autonomy, and worsened work-life balance. 

The purpose of the paper is to discuss hybrid work arrangements in relation to job quality across various sectors and organisational contexts. Moreover, as part of the process of designing an interdisciplinary HWA-research project in Sweden, between business administration and work science at Dalarna University, the paper also wants to discuss identified areas for future research and also the research project outlined in this paper.

This article examines different orientations to planning in the context of the post-redundancy transition of workers in the Swedish steel industry. The aim of the article is to extend our understanding of the role of planning in careers transitions. Drawing on careers transitions theories, the article explores the qualitative experience of the journey between a redundancy event and the employment situation several years later. Within the careers literature planning is regarded as important to transitions, yet there is a tendency to present planning as an ongoing and lifelong process. By going beyond the prevalent focus within the career literature on managerial, professional or creative industries workers, the article raises the question of whether highly agential, ongoing, lifelong approaches to planning apply to everyone. Data are based on working-life biographical interviews conducted several years after redundancy. The findings show that although some participants resembled assumptions within the careers literature, there are key variations relating to ongoing planning, reflecting differences in the expectations of agency and perceptions of structural constraint. The analysis identifies three orientations to planning – strategic, episodic and truncated – and explores these in relation to both post-redundancy transition outcomes and, crucially, the experience of the transition journey.