In Focus
Job boredom – a taboo subject
There is a lot of talk about burnout in the workplace. But there is not much serious debate about being bored at work. Yet these repetitive, grey days can dramatically influence work capacity and efficiency.
Sick leave down by 40 percent after focus on attendance
The Norwegian municipality of Songdalen went against the grain in order to cut the level of sick leave. They concentrated on attendance instead of absence, and used the staff’s own knowledge about their working environment with great success.
Refugees can become an engine of growth
Many types of voluntary organisations played an important role when Sweden received a record number of refugees last autumn. There are many challenges, but with successful integration many municipalities consider refugees to be the solution to the future need of labour.
Can Nordic refugee policies be coordinated?
The large number of refugees arriving in the Nordic countries is having consequences for Nordic cooperation. This is the theme for the Nordic Council’s session in Oslo. New border obstacles have emerged, and if the refugee situation is handled very differently in the different Nordic countries it could have grave consequences.
Danish businesses to train refugees for jobs
Less than one in three refugees in Denmark finds work after three years. Now the government and the social partners want to change this by introducing a two year integration education programme in the workplace.
Defining Sweden's feminist foreign policy
Sweden’s feminist government wants to use its foreign policy to promote women’s and girl's rights, representation and resources based on the reality in which they live. What exactly a feminist foreign policy means is hard to define, but the perspective should permeate everything the foreign ministry and the diplomatic missions to.
A slight dip in gender equality in Nordic positions of power
Since last year’s barometer there has been a change of government in Finland and in Denmark. Both resulted in governments with fewer female ministers. As a result Nordic gender equality falls by three points to 64 points. Behind the seemingly slight loss, women particularly in Denmark are facing a real setback in the fight for power.
Sustainability must be based on democracy and has a hefty price tag
Nordic countries are leading the way in sustainable development and welfare, built on solid democratic foundations. That was one of the central themes when Finland organised its first conference after taking on the 2016 Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
When the diversity diversifies
“Immigration to the Nordic region does not only mean more diversity. What we’re seeing now is that the diversity is diversifying. We get super-diversity,” says Tuomas Martikainen, Director of the Finnish Institute of Migration.
Iceland's Welfare Watch cushioned the crisis and led to stronger Nordic cooperation
The Finnish programme for Nordic cooperation aims to secure welfare by extending cooperation between different government departments and organisations. But can it be done? Iceland’s Welfare Watch is one of the best examples of an innovative way to cooperate.
Kick off for "How are you doing in the Nordic countries?"
Kick off in Turku/Åbo for the Finnish Presidency and a great drive for Nordic cross-sector cooperation. How can work, welfare and culture be combined?
Art, culture and wellbeing
What if we turned the pyramide upside down and allowed the ministry of culture, rather than the ministry of finance, to be in charge of social development? What would happen if that ministry, which is usually bottom of the hierarchy, could prioritise measures to promote sustainable development? Would it make a difference?
What happens when the refugee stream has been stemmed?
“It’s like on a plane when the oxygen masks have been activated. When you’re told to put on your own mask before helping people sitting next to you. If we are to help the world, we must look after our own country first,” says Jøran Kallmyr, State Secretary at the Norwegian Ministry of Justice.
Researcher: ”Lowering the minimum wage creates a new underclass”
There is agreement on one thing when it comes to refugees — the many newly arrived must be integrated into their new societies. They need accommodation, language skills and jobs. The Nordic cooperation could do with sharing experiences for how to achieve that.
Entrepreneurs with a clear message about refugees
Finland has been caught unprepared by a flow of refugees the size of which the country has not experienced since World War II and the evacuation of Finnish Karelia. Many private individuals have been willing to help look after the new arrivals by offering food, clothes and accommodation. And now entrepreneurs are starting to turn up at refugee centres.
Why are working life researchers so reluctant to talk about the future?
This summer Ann Bergman really managed to ignite the debate on working life research. In an article in the Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies she asked why working life researchers are so uninterested in the future.
New challenges for working life research
Big Data is the new buzzword for the enormous increase in stored information across the world. But how will this information stream influence working life and working life research?
Do we have a true image of the new working life?
For many years there has been talk about the new working life, where work is more about doing something meaningful than about making money. But are we really seeing the emergence of a new type of independent worker who feels collective agreements and permanent contracts are nothing but obstacles?
Fewer Swedes want to buy or perform undeclared work
Today nearly three times as many Swedes are negative towards undeclared work compared to six years ago. One explanation to this change in attitudes are the household tax breaks introduced in 2007 and 2008. Now the government is reducing the size of the deduction and critics warn against an increase in undeclared labour.
Coordinated controls in fight against Norway’s shadow economy
In Norway staff from six different authorities have gathered in joint offices in Oslo, Bergen and Stavanger to fight the shadow economy. Building sites and other workplaces have been targeted in coordinated operations by 120 investigators. The results have been good so far. The operations run alongside campaigns against undeclared work and have had broad media coverage.
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