University of Gothenburg
University of Gothenburg
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  4. Annika Härenstam

Annika Härenstam

Professor Emerita

Department of Sociology and Work
Science
Telephone
+46 707-81 17 43
Mail
annika.harenstam@socav.gu.se

About Annika Härenstam

Background MA in Psychology Göteborg 1980. Ph D Medical Science, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 1989. Specialist training in the Psychology of Working Life, 1995. Associate professor in i Psychology, Karolinska Institutet, 2004. Professor in Work Organisation, National Institute of Working Life 2006 and in Work Science at the University of Gothenburg 2007 Member of the Board, Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research

Research The research during the past years has focused on organizational changes, and changed working conditions for women and men. I was the initiator and director of the MOA project (Moderna arbets-och livsvillkor för kvinnor och män - Modern work and life conditions for women and men) which aimed at identifying typical situations in contemporary working life, testing, and developing methods for working life research, and to integrate studies of organisations, working conditions, and individual health. Method development and gender perspective in working life research are important issues in my research. A recent project dealt with social interaction in working life. I was also responsible for the Swedish part of a EU-project: MEADOW (Measuring the dynamics of organisation and work http://www.meadow-project.eu/ . This project aims at guidelines for measuring organizational change and the social and economic consequences in comparative studies.

Current research Since some years back I have bene the leader of a research program on organisational prerequisites and managers’ and employees’ strategies for the creation of ”good jobs”. It was a survey –feedback intervention project in 28 authorities in Swedish municipalities with differently gendered operations. The project was based on our earlier research where a model showing the main characteristics of management and organizing in successful workplaces was developed. Several spin-off projects of CHEFiOS followed, focusing different aspects of managerial work in male- and female predominant operations in the public sector. I am also active in a research network LOK (Leadership and Organizational complexity) where we write an anthology. I am also involved in building a network in Sweden and India on research in power relations, gender, equality, management, work environment and health in working life. One ongoing research project is studying organizational values and attractive work for leaders in four differently gendered industries, a comparative study of 40 organizations in India as well as in Sweden.

Teaching Lecturers for doctoral students and at the program of Work Science and courses on organization and management

Cooperation Lectures for managers and HR experts on organizing and management particularly in the public sector.

Supervision for doctoral degree Malin Josephson, behavioral scientist, Dissertation 1999 at the Department for Public Health, Karolinska Institute ”Work factors and musculoskeletal disorders - An epidemiological approach on female nursing personnel”.

Gunnel Ahlberg-Hultén, behavioral scientist. Dissertation 1999 at the Department of Psychology, Stockholm university.”Demand-control within health care work”.

Ola Leijon, physiotherapist. Dissertation 2006 at the Department for Public Health, Karolinska Institute”Exposure assessment - gender and context, and target groups for prevention of neck/shoulder and low back pain”.

Per Wiklund, psychologist. Dissertation 2007 at the Department for Public Health, Karolinska Institutet. ”Kampen om människovärdet. Om identitet och självbild i ett föränderligt arbetsliv”.

Chatrine Höckertin, sociologist. Dissertation 2007 at the Department of Sociology, Umeå university. ”Organisational characteristics and psychosocial working conditions in different forms of ownership”.

Gun Johansson, sociologist. Dissertation 2007 at the Department for Public Health, Karolinska Institutet ”The illness flexibility model and sickness absence”.

Kerstin Waldenström, behavioral scientist. Dissertation 2007 at the Department for Public Health, Karolinska Institutet ”Externally assessed psychosocial work characteristics . – A methodological approach to explore how work characteristics are created, related to self-reports and to mental illness”.

John Ylander, Dissertation 2009. School of Business, Economy and Law, University of Gothenburg. “Constructive Management. Synchronizing relations in change“

Malin Bolin, Dissertation 2009 at the Department of Sociology, Umeå university. ”The importance of organizational characteristics for psychosocial working conditions and health”.

Jennie Haraldson, Dissertation 2010 at the Department of Work Science, University of Gothenburg. “ Det ska ju var lite äventyr”. Styrning av svensk forskarutbildning utifrån reformen 1998”.

Sara Thomée, Dissertation 2012 at the Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of Gothenburg. Information and communication technology use and symptoms of depressions, sleep disturbances and stress among young adults.

Lisa Björk, Dissertation 2013 at the Department of Sociology and Work Science, University of Gothenburg. Contextualizing managerial work in local government organizations.

Mia Söderberg, Dissertation 2014 the Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of Gothenburg. Psychosocial work conditions - cardiovascular disease, perceptions and reactive behavior

On-going supervision of doctoral students Linda Corin, doctoral student at the Department of Work Science, University of Gothenburg. Public sector managers´ working conditions – consequences for health and mobility.

Annette Nylund, doctoral student at the Department of Industrial Economics and Management, INDEK, Division of Work Science, School of Industrial Engineering and Management at the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH. “Hur tillväxt teori respektive managementteori mäter arbetsorganisation som stödjer lärande och utveckling i företag. ”

Publications