Psychosocial work environment - a collective task at the workplace

Master thesis by Anna Ilsøe

Psychosocial problems at the workplace are common in Denmark yet are difficultly regulated at the central level. As a consequence, the social partners and the state show a growing interest in enlarging and improving workplace level collaborative regulation.

This thesis argues that the local representatives at DJØF-workplaces in the public sector often experience problems managing the regulation locally, but also that it is feasible to institutionalise a local type of joint regulation under the correct conditions. The argument is based on a case study, which includes eleven interviews with leaders and representatives at four DJØF-workplaces and five interviews with consultants in relevant employer- and employee organisations at the central level in the public sector.

The theory of structuration by A. Giddens and the institutional IR-theory represented by H. A. Clegg and A. Flanders form the theoretical basis for the thesis. The institutionalisation of the management of psychosocial problems at the local level is found to be determined by the six following factors: The legislation on working environment, the quality of and influence potential of the collaboration in the works council, the placement of the management (works council/security council), the condition of the psycho-social work environment, the qualifications and resources of the representatives and finally the top managers will to change. Interestingly, the first three factors are found to be most important during the early stages of institutionalisation, whereas the last three have the highest impact on the further development. Most of the factors are not subject to legislative regulation but to regulation via collective agreements, which calls for consideration of their importance in future collective agreements.

Master thesis, Department of Sociology, University of Copenhagen, January 2005.