Tag: work safety

Is nursing not for boys? Gender stereotypes in preschool surprise researchers

Children believe it is primarily women who can become nurses and preschool teachers. “A nurse is unbelievably many different things,” says nurse Remi Trygve Pedersen.

What do boys want to be when they grow up?

ASK A RESEARCHER: Do boys really want to become firefighters and football players?

In Norway, four out of ten people on welfare lose out by working

According to Labour Minister Tonje Brenna, work has to be financially rewarding. But research shows that 40 per cent of those on benefits end up worse off if they start working.

Norwegians and Americans have different views on tipping

Americans often leave a 15 to 20 per cent tip. In Norway, it is common for people to tip little or nothing at all.

Is it worth pursuing employment if you can live off social security benefits?

Researchers have examined the finances of people in Norway who receive almost all of their income from the welfare state.

Young people with minority backgrounds emphasise their Norwegian identity to have a chance in the job market

Exaggerating their dialect and emphasising typically Norwegian leisure interests were among the strategies used by young Norwegians with a minority background to land an interview, and perhaps a job.

The pay gap in Norway is getting bigger and bigger

The gap between the highest-paid jobs and the lowest-paid jobs has significantly increased over 25 years. Bonuses are one of the drivers of the pay differences.

Employees are using ChatGPT for advice, but is this a good thing?

OPINION: Recent data on people’s habits in the workplace are giving us reason to look into whether the use of artificial intelligence (AI) may be hampering collaboration and knowledge sharing.

How the office estranged and empowered queer women

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: Historically, the office was both a heterosexual straitjacket and a space where queer women could support themselves and become independent.

It can be physically painful to earn less than your neighbour

Earning less than others can physically hurt, according to a recent study. Those with above average incomes experience less physical pain than others, regardless of whether they live in a wealthy or poor country.

Journalists, researchers and finance professionals are among those who work from home the most

In total, 44 per cent of all employed individuals stated that they could work from home at least one working day in 2022.

If you have a summer job or part-time job when you're young, you often earn higher wages as an adult

The difference can be more than 9,000 USD a year.

Working from home inhibits innovation. But researchers know how to fix it

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: When you work from home, you tend to communicate more with the members of your own team. This is good for implementing ideas. On the other hand, you also communicate less with other groups, which does not encourage the creation of new ideas. But all this can be fixed.

Report: Midwives can suffer hearing damage from the screams of women giving birth

The average noise level during childbirth can pose a risk to those working in the delivery ward. Paediatric nurses and midwives are particularly vulnerable, a report shows.

These are the European countries with the most labour strikes

Why is Norway one of the tops in Europe when it comes to strikes?

Over 55 and looking for a job? Here are one researcher's tips for succeeding

Researcher Anne Grethe Solberg has interviewed mature job seekers. She clearly sees what works and what doesn't work in getting a new job.

The media almost never write about age discrimination

Older workers are very rarely mentioned in the press. To the extent that they do appear, they are most often about happy outcomes. Very few articles are about negative events or bad attitudes towards the elderly.

The average Norwegian employee costs 85,000 USD

An average Norwegian employee costs his employer well over 50 USD an hour, when all costs are taken into account.

The number of sex offenders serving time in Norwegian prisons has doubled

The road back to society is difficult: “I can't get a job and I feel like I'll never finish serving time”, says a former convicted sex offender.

Who is best at getting refugees into the workforce — Norway, Sweden or Denmark?

Wail Kadem, a refugee, an employee at the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, and a student from Iraq, has a clear answer as to which country is best.

What time of day is the best time to exercise?

Working out during the morning or in the evening can have quite different benefits, a new study shows.

Many immigrants in Norway are overqualified for their jobs

Around 40 per cent work in occupations with lower competency requirements than their education dictates.

Negative attitudes towards the elderly have a profound effect on society

International research shows that age has become the most widespread basis for discrimination in working life.

Tired employees are more exposed to bullying

Employees who were tired more often stated that they were bullied in the workplace more often than those who were well-rested and alert. It's important for management to have routines for handling such conflicts, a Norwegian researcher says.

Norwegian researchers work on average 46 hours per week

Researchers with foreign citizenships work the most – and thus contribute to increasing this average.

The less a manager interferes in idea development, the better

OPINION: Only very few companies succeed consistently in developing new ideas. But those that do have one factor in common. The boss doesn’t interfere.

Eldercare workers feel invisible and underappreciated

More than 40 per cent of health professionals who work in the eldercare sector in the Nordic countries have seriously considered quitting their jobs. Lack of recognition is an important reason.

More than twice as dangerous as Norwegian professional drivers

Western and southern Europeans are the most dangerous. Truckers from other countries have up to two-and-a-half times more accidents with injuries than their Norwegian peers.

Older employees are not given as advanced work tasks as their younger colleagues

Employees aged between 50 and 59 have lower potential than their younger colleagues, a new Norwegian study reveals. Age researcher Per Erik Solem disagrees. When you have experience, you can work more efficiently, he believes.

Foreign trade certificates are no help against social dumping

Getting a foreign trade certificate approved in Norway doesn’t do much to help foreign workers, when it comes to pay, working conditions and social dumping.

How are Polish and Lithuanian workers actually doing in Norway?

Researchers believe it’s time to talk about the lack of integration of working immigrants.

Almost half of us belong to the working class. But workers have become more invisible, researchers say

Norwegian social scientists have given the workers a voice.

Polish people with PhDs work as cleaners and builders in Norway

Even if they eventually learn the language, some jobs are simply not available to Eastern Europeans in Norway, according to one researcher.

Skipping lunch break can be bad to your health

Skipping your lunch break at work increases the risk of physical and mental exhaustion, according to a new study from the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences.

Kindergartens in the olden days

A lot has changed since childcare centres in the 19th century. But the reason children went to them was the same as today: parents needed to go to work.

Why are Norwegian trade unions opposed to the EU's minimum wage proposal?

The EU is proposing to introduce a system of statutory minimum wages in EU and EEA member states. But in Norway, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) adamantly opposes the EU Directive.

Having a foreign name decreased chances of being called for a job interview by 25 per cent

Using identical fictitious applications, researchers in Norway were in 2012 able to track who was and who wasn’t called for an interview - those with a Norwegian or those with a Pakistani name. But the study raised some ethical issues.

More people are getting permanent jobs in Norway

The share of permanent jobs have increased in the last 25 years. There are no signs of an increased use of temporary employees, according to a new report.

Taxi drivers and health workers are among the most exposed to the coronavirus

Bartenders, waiters, drivers, nurses and dentists. People with occupations that require contact with customers and patients are more exposed to the coronavirus.

The hidden threat of the home office

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: Working from home has given many people the opportunity to arrange their working hours more freely than usual. But has it really given us more freedom?

Fewer people in Norway are getting permanent jobs these days

More immigrants, “bike messenger jobs,” and what researchers call gig economics. Put together, these trends challenge traditional working life.

Employees at Norwegian kindergartens really enjoy their work

On average, these employees stay at the same workplace for nine years.

The tiny island of Hitra was home to a large-scale cannery — without electricity or running water

As many as 18 canneries were in operation on the islands of Hitra and Frøya at the mouth of Trondheim fjord from the 1890s until 2011.

Young social welfare users: Mandatory activities are ok, but benefit sanctions can feel unfair

Young people under the age of 30 who receive social assistance in Norway are now required to participate in work-related activities. Young people find the attendance requirement reasonable, but many find benefit sanctions unpredictable, according to a new study.

Low levels of competence among those who work with the intellectually disabled

Just one in 10 employees who work with the intellectually disabled in Norway has trained as a social educator. This percentage has been at a near standstill since the early 1980s, according to a new report.

The police lack systematic plans to increase expertise, according to new research

Gang crime, digital fraud and transnational crime are increasing. But the police lack systems to increase agency competence, according to senior managers in the Norwegian Police Sverice.

Why are fewer Norwegians working than before?

The lower employment rate is not only due to the ageing of the population or the fact that more immigrants have come to Norway, according to a new study.

Fewer educators want to become school principals

Has the principal's job become so burdensome that no one wants it?

Older workers feel welcome at work, but their managers are more lukewarm

Managers are happy with the older workers that they have - but they don't necessarily want more of them.

5 tips for how to keep your team connected while working from home during the coronavirus pandemic

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: The idea of home office usually sounds tempting for most of us, but the corona virus puts working from home to an extreme test. Establishing a good communication norm and re-clarifying roles are keys to success.

Women are not formally discriminated against in Norwegian academia – but they still don’t become professors

As long as their CVs are equal to that of the men, women in academia in Norway appear not to be discriminated against. Systematic differences however persist, to the detriment of the women’s careers.

People who work in open-plan or shared offices get sick more often

Employees in open-plan workspaces take more sick leave than those with their own offices. If you share an office with one or more colleagues, your risk of taking sick leave increases significantly, a new Norwegian study shows.

How fair are today’s pensions?

“We clearly see from this research that people’s self-interest plays a role when they tell us what they think is a fair retirement pension,” says one researcher.

Managers need to be good with emotions – or they risk damaging their employee’s health and ability to perform at work

OPINION: At worst, managers who lack emotional intelligence can be playing Russian roulette with their colleagues’ health.

Equality hasn’t reached entrepreneurs

Only 20 per cent of entrepreneurs who start limited companies are women, and they own only 4 per cent of new technology companies.

Older workers feel less tired than their younger colleagues

Many Norwegian managers believe their older employees are tired. But they are wrong. Older employees feel much more energetic than their younger colleagues, according to new research.

Managers believe they motivate employees more than they actually do

Most Norwegian business leaders believe they are good at motivating and engaging their employees. But fewer than half of their employees agree. Older workers are least satisfied with their bosses.

Academics hide, play dumb, don't care or over-perform. Everything to oppose the system and administration.

“You can get away with a lot if you just pretend you haven't heard about the rules,” one professor said.

We don't need special measures to keep older people working longer, says researcher

Lifelong learning is important for employment. But we’re totally missing the mark if we think of it as a senior initiative, says economist Simen Markussen.

Discrimination: Thirty-five per cent of Muslim immigrants say they did not get a job they were qualified for

Non-religious immigrants experience discrimination in Norway to the same extent as their more religious counterparts. Muslims seeking work are the exception.

Older Norwegians have almost doubled income in 20 years

Women and people with the lowest incomes have experienced strong income growth in Norway over the last 20 years. But wealthier older people have had the strongest increase during that period.

Who chooses to work past age 67?

Not only people with higher education choose to work longer. A recent research project on seniors in working life reveals several surprising findings.

When a flood of immigrant workers becomes a trickle

When Poland joined the EU in 2004, unemployment was at 20 per cent, and a flood of workers left the country for higher wage lands such as Norway. Now the tide has turned, and Norway faces labour shortages as Poles stay home.

Men are stricter than women when it comes to sick leave

More men than women find it unacceptable to stay home when work is stressful or they’ve just had a breakup, a new study shows. Other studies suggest the opposite.

Here’s why you dread brainstorming at work

Brain storming and group think meetings could be killing off the very creativity that they intend to promote. Here’s how to make it work for everyone.

Norwegian academics face serious work-family life conflicts

Norwegian academics say that their jobs demand such a huge commitment that they don’t have time for their families, a study of workers at three major Norwegian universities has shown.

5 reasons why a holiday can boost your workplace creativity

OPINION: Emerging research suggests that taking some time off could be just what you need to boost your creativity at work.

People over 60 prefer to work with 30-year-olds

A minority prefer people of their own age as work colleagues.

Poker players aren’t like other gamers

Poker is a game played primarily by boys who get good grades in school. It’s an intellectual martial art, according to a researcher.

It is tiring to be gay in the workplace

Young people from the LGBT community feel their sexual orientation puts limits on the types of jobs they can comfortably pursue.

No one can "shrug off" bullying at work

A new study punctures the myth that certain people have strong enough mental armour to emerge unscathed from bullying on the job.

Firms hiring more persons over 55

Norway’s national pension reform in 2011 has made it easier for private businesses to “rid themselves of” older employees. But a new study shows it has also made it easier to hire older workers.

"There needs to be higher rewards for working"

Society should be doing more to motivate young people to work. The future economy of Norway depends on this. Mandatory activities for persons on welfare could be instrumental, thinks a University of Oslo professor.

How to get young adults into jobs

Paying wage subsidies to employers is the best way of getting unemployed young people into jobs. Job-training initiatives and close follow-ups of young people are other ways.

Increasingly harder for teens to find employment

Or don’t Norwegian kids want to bother with work because their parents have become filthy rich?

Ambiguous bosses cause recruits to quit

Newly hired employees are often unclear about what is expected of them, according to a new study.

Women choose family-friendly public sector jobs when they have kids

The more children a woman has, the higher the probability is that she will chose a public sector job. But a high percentage of women without children also prefer public sector jobs.

Finding tomorrow’s military leaders

Psychologists are studying how the Norwegian military selects tomorrow’s officers. Here, hopeful candidates have to crawl through the mud, help the injured and avoid mines. But is that the best way to identify good leaders?