Health — Nordic Labour Journal

Sexual harassment: new knowledge needed

(Apr 29, 2021) Sexual harassment in the care sector has had less attention than harassment in other sectors. Patients behaving inappropriately is often seen as part of the job. “High tolerance levels represent a problem,” says Bryndis Elfa Valdemarsdottir, who has been heading the Icelandic part of a Nordic project looking at this problem.

Who pays for Corona in the end?

(May 15, 2020) We all benefit from measures to prevent transmission, but the economic consequences are not equally divided. The contamination risk must therefore be measured against the economic consequences, now that the Nordic countries are entering a phase of reopening their societies.

The Nordics must pull together to emerge from the epidemic

(May 15, 2020) The Nordic countries will take historically huge steps to limit the economic and social consequences of the Corona epidemic. The governments sometimes chose different measures to fight contamination, with different economic consequences. To get out of the crisis, greater cooperation is needed.

Interim Norwegian study of the corona epidemic’s effect on workers

(May 15, 2020) Many Norwegian workers have become pessimistic about the future since the corona epidemic broke out. Those with the lowest levels of education and lowest pay have been the hardest hit. People between 30 and 44 are exposed shows a study from the Norwegian Work Research Institute WRI.

Freedom of movement sacrified to protect Finnish population

(Apr 15, 2020) Rapid measures and tough restrictions characterised the first Finnish reactions to the corona pandemic. As the only Nordic country it locked down an entire region, which included the capital city, from the rest of Finland.

Hospital wants to double the number of healthcare assistants

(Mar 26, 2020) Will hiring more health care assistants make hospitals more efficient? Nurses at St. Olavs Hospital in Trondheim, Norway, welcome the hospital management’s aim to increase the number of healthcare assistants. They are happy to leave certain working tasks to the assistants, but several conditions must be in place before this can happen.

Nordic visions of more children and fewer suicides

(Feb 16, 2020) The Nordic cooperation's symbol is a swan. But black swans also symbolise the unexpected. This newsletter is about both birth and death. Assistant nurses play an important role in what happens between those two events.

Swedish assistant nurses want higher status through legal recognition

(Feb 16, 2020) Assistant nurse is one of the most common professions in Sweden. 180 000 out of a total of 200 000 workers in elderly care are assistant nurses, but unlike their other Nordic colleagues, their profession is not regulated. Making this happen has long been a trade union demand and right now legislation is being prepared which might give them a protected title.

Patient-focused care improved staff’s work environment

(Nov 12, 2014) When staff at the surgical ward number 6 at the Karlstad Central Hospital were allowed to spend more time on patients and less on administration, their work environment improved too. They recently won a major work environment award worth 50,000 Swedish kronor (€5,400) for their impressive efforts to improve their work environment.

Healthy organisations don’t emerge by accident

(Nov 12, 2014) New Swedish research shows more than one in four young people believe their jobs will have a negative impact on their health. At the same time we are becoming increasingly interested in what makes us healthy at work.

Ignorance of nano particles a growing risk in the workplace

(Nov 12, 2014) More and more people are exposed to nano particles at work, but few know which types of particles are present or how to handle them. The Nordic Labour Journal visited a Finnish company where safety is everything.

“I've become more independent"

(Apr 11, 2014) Aarhus Municipality is paving the way in introducing welfare technology. For 67 year old Svend Erik Christensen this means he can manage much more on his own — including going to the toilet.

Editorial: a Vision Zero for workplace accidents

(Oct 09, 2013) Lets get a Vision Zero for workplace accidents! That’s the conclusion in the report ‘Young workers’ working environment in the Nordic countries’, which forms the basis for this month’s theme.

Dagfinn Høybråten’s new Nordic project: health cooperation

(Oct 08, 2013) Much tighter cooperation between Nordic health services is in the pipeline and if it succeeds the cooperation model can easily be expanded to include other policy areas which would help develop the Nordic welfare model. That’s the vision of the project’s chief architect, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers Dagfinn Høybråten.

Avoiding change-induced stress in the workplace

(May 22, 2013) Changes are common in Nordic workplaces, and the social partners in Denmark are now joining forces to prevent this from causing stress.

Iceland: Banking staff face health problems after crash

(Apr 16, 2013) The health of banking staff has deteriorated since the 2008 Icelandic banking crash. Those who lost their jobs and found new ones are doing better than those who stayed in their original jobs. The number of bank workers visiting health clinics doubled between 2008 and 2012.

OECD: Norway’s welfare system needs reform to keep people with mental issues in work

(Mar 08, 2013) Norway’s sickness benefit system allowing 100 percent compensation from day one is too generous. Financial incentives for all parties - employees and employers, unions, municipalities, schools and mental health care services - should help them take responsibility. That is the OECD’s message to Norway.

Norway renegotiates tri-partite inclusive workplace agreement

(Nov 15, 2012) ‘Everyone’ was there when Norway’s Ministry of Labour staged its annual conference on the inclusive workplace agreement. It was also the first public meeting between the new Director General at the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise and the President of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions.

Nordic seniors want longer working lives

(Oct 13, 2012) Nordic women and men work for longer than their European colleagues, and the retirement age is increasing. But there are also differences between the Nordic countries. In later years Denmark has considered Sweden and Norway to be good examples when it comes to employment among the older generation. So why the differences, and why do more people want to work for longer?

How about a personal trainer - for your brain?

(Apr 15, 2012) The Nordic Labour Journal can now add another job to the list of new occupations: ‘personal brainer’. The title holder is Finnish Reidar Wasenius. He recently made a 20 years old dream come true and opened a training centre for brains - BRIIM Center - in Helsinki.