Workplace development in Sweden: Some preliminary findings from the Work Life Fund

Abstract

Sweden has traditionally been seen as one of the leading societies in work life reform. The most recent reform program, The Work Life Fund, set up with clear instructions to improve the work environment and at the same time raise productivity, was launched in 1990 and came to an end early in 1994. More than 10000 so called workplace development programmes have been carried through. A summary of the results is being executed and a close investigation of more than 100 cases in different settings has been carried out. Three different development processes thereby become visible. The analysis shows that the Fund quite often has initiated a transition from relatively simple, technically oriented, traditional health and safety projects, towards concept driven change. The most successful cases seem to be projects comprising a development organisation with the building blocks: top management committed to, and involved in, the change process; project organisation; participatory structure; heavy investments in training.