Workers In Norway Research Articles

Fathers' involvement with the Child Welfare Service

Abstract Despite an increased focus on fathers' importance for children's development and the Nordic countries' focus on gender equality, a number of studies claim that the Child Welfare Service (CWS) fails to involve fathers. However, few studies have taken the perspective of CWS workers. The aim of the article is to identify central discourses on fathers among CWS workers in Norway. Two central questions are: How do CWS workers understand fathers? And from their perspectives: What promotes and inhibits the involvement of fathers? To explore these themes, four focus group interviews were conducted, with 14 CWS workers. Four central discourses on fathers were identified: Mothers and fathers as gender neutral, fathers as little involved, fathers as (more) involved, and mothers and fathers as different. Factors that promote the involvement of fathers were society's increased focus on gender equality, society's and fathers' own changed perception of fathers' role, and increased focus on children's networks. Factors identified as inhibiting involvement were lack of resources, fear of conflicts, negative descriptions of fathers, and uncertainty regarding legislation. Explanations for fathers' own lack of involvement were fear of confrontations, prioritisation of a new family, and a lack of understanding of their importance for the child. Different discourses on fathers lead to different practices regarding the involvement of fathers. By failing to involve fathers, an incomplete picture of the family's resources and challenges is provided. This hampers targeted measures to ensure the best outcome for the child.

Perceived skills mobilisation: a theoretical framework and case study among polish workers in Norway

This article discusses the use of Polish workers in Norway. The focus will be on how and to what extent the overall skills set of Polish workers is used and whether mobilising a greater part of this skills base is regarded as a competitive advantage. I will present two case studies in order to illustrate and discuss some of the points in the theoretical framework, and the findings that have been made by others in relation to Polish workers in Norway. One finding is that by viewing Polish workers primarily as (cheap) labour, companies are missing out on many skills that they could have used to improve routines and products.

The Stages of Migration. From Going Abroad to Settling Down: Post-Accession Polish Migrant Workers in Norway

This article discusses the temporal dynamics of labour migration from Poland to Norway since the 2004 EU enlargement. Analysing quantitative survey and registry data as well as qualitative migration histories of Polish migrants in Norway and of return migrants in Poland, I argue that there is a strong potential for a substantial proportion of these migrants to settle permanently or at least long-term in Norway. With borders open, migrants' decisions about settlement and return are shaped by their opportunities within segmented labour markets, and their embeddedness in transnational families and social networks. I posit that the migration process from departure to settlement can be constructed in three stages, from an initial stage of temporary work abroad, through open-ended transnational commuting, to permanent settlement. Not everyone goes through these stages, and individuals may return at any point, but their reasons for doing so—and the contexts in which they do so—differ depending on the stage they have reached in the migration process.

Social Interaction Effects in Disability Pension Participation: Evidence from Plant Downsizing*

AbstractWe estimate the magnitude of social interaction effects in disability pension participation among older workers in Norway. The problem of omitted variable bias is addressed using the exposure of an individual's neighbors to plant‐downsizing events as an instrument for the disability entry rate among the individual's previously employed neighbors. Our instrumental variable (IV) estimates suggest that an increase of one percentage point in the participation rate of previously employed neighbors increased the subsequent four‐year entry rate of older workers by about 0.4 percentage points. Numerous robustness and specification tests appear to support the validity of the identifying assumption in our IV strategy.

Testing the role of comparative advantage and learning in wage and promotion dynamics

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate empirically whether job assignment, based on comparative advantage and learning about workers’ abilities, can explain wage and promotion dynamics within firms.Design/methodology/approachThe Gibbons and Waldman model is estimated in a generalized method of moments (GMM) framework using a unique data set on white‐collar workers in Norway, for the years 1987‐1997. The estimation is carried out on two occupational groups: technical and administrative white‐collar workers.FindingsThe placing of workers in a given position within a firm's hierarchy is based on comparative advantage. Both measurable and unmeasurable skills are important. This holds in both occupations that were studied in this investigation. When it comes to firms’ learning about their workers, the results are not so clear; however, overall, the results on learning seem to have stronger support than found in previous studies. In general, there is more evidence for learning about administrative white‐collar workers than learning about technical white‐collar workers.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to a very small thread of empirical literature concerning wage and promotion dynamics within firms using linked employer‐employee data that contain detailed information on firm hierarchies.

The development of knowledge for somatic hospital social workers in Norway: Implementation of a knowledge tool

Research from a number of countries reveals that social workers have problems articulating and justifying the content of their own professional actions. This study evaluates a knowledge tool entitled ‘The book of methods for the everyday practice of social work in somatic hospitals’. The purpose of this knowledge tool is to strengthen the skills of articulation and justification for social workers who practice in somatic hospitals. The findings build upon responses from a questionnaire study and from focus interviews before and after educational seminars led by the project director and project co-worker where the content of the method book was treated and discussed, as well as findings from implementation of the book. The educational seminars made possible face to face interaction focusing upon methods and contents of the book, and could be seen as consequential intervention. The findings show that the book, the educational seminars and implementation of the book together have the impact upon updating the knowledge of social workers. Furthermore, it has increased the respondent's awareness of the interventions they make with patients, improved their ability to articulate the content of their interventions, and increased their competence.

Challenges in handling elder abuse in community care. An exploratory study among nurses and care coordinators in Norway and Australia

The aim of this study was to explore how nurses and care coordinators in community care in Norway and Australia experienced and handled cases of abused older clients, including the support they received in clinical interventions. Norway and Australia base their approaches to elder abuse problems on similar philosophies. The Australian Government, however, has taken a more active position on this issue by focusing on structures and policies that might influence professionals' handling of abuse cases. The organisation and funding of community care services in the two countries are different, although common concerns are client-centeredness, equal access to services and enabling the client to live at home as long as possible. Explorative design with a qualitative hermeneutic approach. Twenty participants, nurses, auxiliary nurses and care workers in Norway and Australia, were recruited by purposeful sampling. They participated in in-depth interviews. The similarity of the information given in the two countries was striking. The interventions differed based on the type and seriousness of the abuse and the client's cognitive capacity. Financial abuse was a more prominent issue in Australia than in Norway. The handling of neglect cases in both countries followed much the same pathway and the intervention usually involved long-lasting processes. The managers' support and the elder protective services were of great importance to the nurses. Community care agencies in both countries struggle with similar problems in handling cases of abuse. The participants' concerns were securing and supporting the older victim by individualising the intervention. Community care agencies in both countries need to be aware of the huge impact of the managers' involvement and the services' responsibility and capacity to support professionals in the handling of elder abuse.

Tales from the sequestered room: Client experiences of social work in Norway and Sweden

• Summary: This article focuses on accounts made by clients and social workers about their encounters with one another at social welfare agencies in Norway and Sweden. These are drawn from interviews conducted with 24 women and men asked about their experiences of being social welfare clients. Additional data drawn from interviews conducted with 14 social workers in Norway about their experiences with clients are also explored. In interviewing clients, a main concern was with discussing their recollections of these meetings. Interviews with social workers, too, focused on their recollections, both positive and negative, of encounters with clients.• Findings: The main patterns revealed by analyses of transcribed accounts show that social work is experienced by clients as being extremely beneficial when it provides them with space and opportunities to bring forth aspects of their lives and life stories often not properly acknowledged in other arenas. Conversely, social work is experienced as least beneficial by clients when they feel their concerns are being belittled, redefined and/or ignored. Both social workers and clients agree that good social work involves empathy, sensitivity and opportunities allowing clients to voice their own concerns.• Applications: This study’s findings indicate that one rich source of knowledge about the possibilities as well as limitations of social work practice at welfare agencies is represented by what can be gained by listening attentively to and recording exactly what clients and social workers tell of their encounters in these special sequestered arenas.

'Knowing Our Society' and 'Fighting Against Prejudices': How Child Welfare Workers in Norway and England Perceive the Challenges of Minority Parents

'Knowing Our Society' and 'Fighting Against Prejudices': How Child Welfare Workers in Norway and England Perceive the Challenges of Minority Parents

‘We have very different positions on some issues’: how child welfare workers in Norway and England bridge cultural differences when communicating with ethnic minority families

This article compares how child welfare workers in Norway and England experience and cope with communication problems resulting from cultural differences. This study is based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 53 front-line child welfare workers and draws on social theories that understand communication as a social act. We show cross-country variations in child welfare workers' perceptions of the communicative problems and coping mechanisms. In Norway, social workers think that minority parents' perceptions on children's needs and child-rearing and parents' lack of understanding of the child welfare system were challenging. Social workers in England perceive the physical abuse of minority children as problematic. They are also concerned about carers' fears of social workers forcing majority cultural values on minority families. While social workers in both countries spend more time with minority families, their approaches dealing with communication challenges correspond to their different problem perceptions. Social workers in Norway act as cultural instructors: they focus on the needs of the minority child and instruct parents about Norwegian values and the Norwegian welfare system. Social workers in England are cultural learners: they focus on practising in anti-oppressive ways, while protecting ethnic minority children from physical abuse. Both approaches avoid going into real communication about perceived problems and what a child might need. We also discuss the implications of these findings on social work practice.

Hearing the child

ABSTRACTGiven that in our view the child has a fundamental right to be heard in all collective deliberative processes determining his or her future, we set out, firstly, what is required of such processes to respect this right – namely that the child's authentic voice is heard and makes a difference – and, secondly, the distance between this ideal and practice exemplified in the work of child welfare and child protection workers in Norway and the UK, chiefly in their display of an instrumental attitude to children's views.

Lost in Translation: How Child Welfare Workers in Norway and England Experience Language Difficulties when Working with Minority Ethnic Families

This article explores the challenges that social workers in child welfare agencies in Norway and England experience when working with minority ethnic families who are not proficient in the country's language. This study is based on fifty-three interviews in which social workers reflected on an open-ended question that addresses the differences between working with minority ethnic children and their families and white children and their families, provided they believed that there were any differences at all. This study shows that social workers encounter several challenges when using interpreters in their work with minority ethnic families: social workers lose information and they lose time and trust. In addition, the lack of a common language pre-empts the types of interactions that are necessary to establish a good relationship with minority ethnic families. We found that there are hardly any differences between the two countries, even though England has historically had more extensive experience with ethnic minority families and more stringent anti-discrimination laws. The findings also suggest that minority ethnic families may lose out on accurate assessments and access to services due to problems arising from the use of interpreters. We discuss four sets of implications for practice, including strong ethical guidelines for and testing of interpreters, training of social workers in working with interpreters, affirmative strategies on the part of local authorities to eliminate language-related barriers for ethnic minorities and pro-active child welfare systems that address the challenges language differences pose to the child welfare work.

The relationship between burnout and musculoskeletal pain in seven Norwegian occupational groups

Occupational and gender differences were investigated in the relationship between burnout and musculoskeletal pain in the head, neck, shoulders, and back. Representative samples of lawyers, physicians, nurses, teachers, church ministers, bus drivers, and information technology workers in Norway (N=4507) were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The exhaustion dimension of burnout was positively associated with musculoskeletal pain in all groups, and the strength of the relationship ranged from moderate to strong. The disengagement dimension of burnout was negatively associated with musculoskeletal pain in five groups and only ranged from -0.15 to -0.42. Professional efficacy was slightly weaker, and inconsistently (i.e., both positively and negatively) associated with musculoskeletal pain in four of the groups. There were larger differences in the strength of the relationships between the seven occupational groups than between males and females within the same profession. Results suggest that burnout and musculoskeletal pain are related, but the strength of the associations varies according to gender and occupation. Overall, occupational factors appear to be stronger predictors of the co-occurrence of burnout and musculoskeletal pain than gender.

Factors explaining return to work for long-term sick workers in Norway

Purpose. This study investigates factors that will affect the chances of long-term sick workers returning to work.Method. The study is based on a representative sample of persons with mental illnesses and musculoskeletal disorders who received a rehabilitation allowance in Norway in 2002. Their occupational status in 2005 and experiences from the rehabilitation process were charted through their responses to a questionnaire in combination with national register data. Our analytical framework is based on three domains: the medical domain, the domain of authoritative bodies and the production domain (working life), as described by Lindqvist (Att sätta gränser: organisationer och reformer i arbetsrehabiliteringen. Umeå: Boréa; 2000).Results. Our main findings are that earlier work experience, age and other members in household, in addition, to influence over one's own rehabilitation process explains whether workers on long-term sick leave return to work. Furthermore, individual factors such as gender and diagnosis (i.e. musculoskeletal disorder and mental illness) do not explain the probability to return to work. Experience and contact with representatives of the medical, the authoritative bodies and the production domain only explain to a small extent the probability to return to work. It is even interesting to note that regular contact with the social insurance office (SIO) has a negative effect on the probability to return to work. This may indicate that contact with the SIO subjects sick workers to a risk of developing a ‘social insurance career’ to secure their income.Conclusions. The findings show that the medical, the authoritative bodies and the production domain might represent different logics that can pull a sick worker in different directions during the rehabilitation process. However, these different logics do not fully explain, which outcome a rehabilitation process takes. It is important to extend the analysis to include how the individuals respond to these logics during the rehabilitation process.

Religion and spirituality in social work practice and education in a cross-cultural context: findings from a Norwegian and UK study

As service populations have changed, social workers in Norway and the UK have responded to the needs of diverse cultures, which often include issues of religion and spirituality. Members of the Norwegian Union of Social Educators and Social Workers (FO) and the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) were sampled to explore attitudes regarding the placement of religion and spirituality in practice and education. UK workers were generally more accepting of religion and spirituality than their Norwegian colleagues. Factors such as secularism, differences in the educational systems, and different historical trajectories in the profession's development may contribute to differences between the UK and Norway. The authors recommend additional research in each country regarding the role of religion and spirituality in social work education and practice, the general culture, the bureaucratic delivery of social services, client and social worker interactions, and in the stratification of social class.

Challenges in Disability Management of Long-Term Sick Workers

AbstractIn Norway various welfare state authorities assist in disability management (DM) of long-term sick workers. This study provides empirical-based knowledge about the Norwegian DM process. The data are based on focus-group interviews with health care providers and case-workers in welfare state authorities. A key issue outlined in this article is that long-term sick workers can easily become ‘stuck’ in the rehabilitation system. The focus is on topics that can explain difficulties of re-employing long-term sick workers. Furthermore, we look at what challenges are typical for DM of these workers in Norway, with respect to re-employment issues.

An International Analysis of the Role of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work Practice

As service populations have changed, social workers in Norway and the United States have attempted to respond to the needs of diverse cultures, which often include issues of religion and spirituality. Members of the Norwegian Union of Social Educators and Social Workers (FO) and the U.S. National Association of Social Workers (NASW) were sampled to explore attitudes and perceptions of social workers regarding the placement of religion and spirituality in practice. In general, U.S. social workers were more accepting of religion and spirituality than their Norwegian colleagues. Factors such as secularism, functional differences of church and state relations, and different historical trajectories in the social work profession's development in both countries may contribute to differences between the U.S. and Norway.

Testing the Role of Comparative Advantage and Learning in Wage and Promotion Dynamics

Can job assignment based on comparative advantage and learning about workers’ ability explain wage and promotion dynamics within firms? In order to answer this question the Gibbons and Waldman (1999b) model is estimated in a Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) framework using a unique data set on white collar workers in Norway for the years 1987-1997. he estimation is carried out on two different occupational groups: technical and administrative white collar workers. The selection of workers into a given position within a firm hierarchy is based on comparative advantage. Both measurable and unmeasurable skills are important. This holds in both occupations studied. When it comes to firms’ learning about their workers the results are not so clear. But overall the results on learning seem to have stronger support than what previous studies have found. In general, there is more evidence for learning about administrative white collar workers than about technical white collar workers.

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders in Norway's offshore petroleum industry

Since 1992, physicians have reported work-related diseases among workers in Norway's offshore petroleum industry to the Petroleum Safety Authority, as required by law. To analyse the number of reported work-related musculoskeletal disorders and risk factors (occupation and reported exposure) from 1992 to 2003. Data from the Petroleum Safety Authority's registry of work-related diseases were analysed. During the 12 years, 3131 new work-related musculoskeletal disorders were reported and this was the category of work-related disease most frequently reported (47%). The number of work-related musculoskeletal disorders varied substantially from year to year. Disorders of the upper limb accounted for 53% and back disorders for 20% of all work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Lower limb disorders accounted for 16%, of which knee disorders dominated (12% of all cases). The dominant occupational categories were maintenance work (40%) and catering (21%). Frequently reported types of exposure were high physical workload, repetitive work and walking on hard surfaces/climbing stairs and ladders. Strategies for preventing musculoskeletal disorders should be carried out to reduce the burden of high physical workload and repetitive work, especially in maintenance work and catering. Further research is recommended on the association between walking on hard surfaces/climbing stairs and ladders and knee disorders. Reporting routines need to be improved to monitor trends over time and to assess the effects of interventions.

Mortality from non-malignant diseases in a cohort of female pulp and paper workers in Norway

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to investigate the risk of death from non-malignant diseases in female pulp and paper workers in Norway. Methods: A total of 3143...