Response to interpellation 2023/24:454 on stress at work
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
L believes that healthy workplaces are crucial for equality and that women in the public sector are particularly vulnerable to stress-related ill health. L argues that the government is taking concrete measures by commissioning Arbetsmiljöverket to increase the number of physical and unannounced inspections as well as carry out regulatory renewal work. L argues that the government has entered into agreements with SKR to improve the working environment and the supply of skills within health and medical care. L emphasizes that the supply of skills is an important part of reducing stress and that the government has proposed increased state grants to municipalities and regions. L underlines that employers must take responsibility for a robust work environment effort 1. S argues that stress is a major problem caused by a poor working environment and an imbalance between demands and resources 2. S believes that the government does not answer questions about concrete reforms or interventions 2. S argues that the current funds are insufficient and that the government must present concrete proposals to meet the needs 3 4. S suggests that sanction fees should be considered to tighten the requirements on employers 5. S believes that the announced resources are insufficient to stop cuts and layoffs within healthcare 6. S advocates for greater weight on preventive work environment efforts, sanction fees for employers who break rules, as well as reforms to increase knowledge among employers 6.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Statsrådet Paulina Brandberg (L)
Madam Speaker! Johanna Haraldsson has asked me what measures I am prepared to take to counteract increased stress in the wake of an increased number of warnings. Johanna Haraldsson has also asked me what initiatives the government plans to increase knowledge among employers regarding stress and how to counteract it among their employees. Johanna Haraldsson has further asked me what reforms I believe would get more employers to take greater responsibility for and better prevent stress at work.
I would like to thank Johanna Haraldsson for raising an important issue regarding the working environment. Healthy workplaces are crucial for people to be able to work and contribute to their full potential. A good working environment is also an equality issue. Today, most working women in Sweden are in the public sector. These welfare jobs are overrepresented in sick leaves due to stress-related ill health.
In the government's work environment strategy for 2021-2025 (skr. 2020/21:92), it is stated, among other things, that work-related stress is a major work environment problem. Effective cooperation, both between the work environment authorities and the labor market parties and locally at the workplaces, is crucial for good work environment work. Arbetsmiljöverket and the Agency for Work Environment Knowledge have been tasked to annually develop action plans for the work environment strategy.
The issue of unhealthy stress in working life is important for the government, and I will continue to follow the work in this area.
Johanna Haraldsson (S)
Madam Speaker! Across the country and in several industries, staff reductions are now taking place. People are losing their jobs, and those who manage to keep them often face a more pressured work situation.
Stress is a major problem in the Swedish labor market within both the private and public sectors. Never before have so many been on sick leave due to stress, and as was highlighted in the previous debate, women in welfare professions are particularly vulnerable.
It is well established that it is primarily poor working environment and an imbalance between demands and resources that makes people sick from work. High workload is a common problem and an important explanation for high sickness absence within healthcare, school, and care. In the wake of notices of layoffs within several sectors, the problems risk increasing. Reorganizations are always stressful for the employees, and at the same time, the demands on the individual are raised when one gets fewer colleagues and the breadth of competence at the workplace decreases.
High workload and stress are not only a problem here and now but also endanger people's long-term health. Over 3,000 people die prematurely due to work, and the largest proportion of the cases are caused by stress-related ill health. Arbetsmiljöverket also assesses that the number will increase in the future.
In view of this, I posed a number of questions in my interpellation to Paulina Brandberg, who is the minister responsible for precisely the issues of the work environment in the government. There were three different questions, and the minister has had ample time to answer all these questions. She, however, content herself in her answer here in the chamber by stating a number of things and completely refraining from answering my questions.
The Minister does not say anything about what measures she is prepared to take. Nor does she mention any reforms at all, that is to say, concrete proposals for measures that she could imagine presenting to better prevent stress in the workplaces. I therefore did not ask the Minister whether it is a problem with stress in working life or which groups are particularly vulnerable, but I wondered what the government and Minister Paulina Brandberg are prepared to do about the problem of stress in working life.
I hope that the Minister, in her upcoming contribution, can provide fewer descriptions of reality and instead come up with some answers to my questions about unhealthy stress – something she herself describes as an important issue for the government.
Sofia Amloh (S)
Madam Speaker! Just as we heard during the earlier interpellation debate and just as my colleague Johanna Haraldsson has described, we are currently seeing all around our country that women's working environment, in particular, is vulnerable. Not least LO's equality barometer and Kommunal have described that there are many women - incredibly many of their members - who cannot even take a short break during their work shift. We also see what is happening within healthcare and the regions, that is, the cuts that come at the expense of specifically women's working environment.
I have said it several times in this speaker's chair, and I intend to continue saying it as long as it is that way out in reality. In my own region, we have emergency departments at hospitals where unit managers abdicate responsibility for the work environment because it is so acute.
I know that this government added money after much pressure in this chamber and after reality caught up with the government, but the money is still not enough. As the Minister stated earlier, they are now allocating as much money as we did in our shadow budget. I want to point out that our shadow budget applied to the situation that existed previously. Both in the budget for 2023 and in the budget for 2024, we had more money. This must be taken into account. I therefore oppose that it should be as much money, because the situation is completely different.
We see the reality. There is an agreement in this chamber and far outside of it. There are many who are aware of this reality; there are many who live in it and see it. We in this chamber do not need to state once again what this reality is. I truly appreciate that the Minister knows it, but there is only one person who is ultimately politically responsible for these issues: the Minister for Equality and Deputy Minister for Employment. It is the Minister who can do something in this matter. It is she who holds the power and she who sits in the government. It is Minister Paulina Brandberg who can do something. She can put proposals on the table today, tomorrow, or next week – it is entirely up to her. She possesses that power.
Madam Speaker! I think it is time for this government and the responsible minister to come forward with concrete proposals and do something about this reality. The minister has many times spoken about how terrible it is, and many of us agree with that description. But if one wants this mandate, to sit in the government and govern the country, one must also do it. Just as my colleagues did earlier, I ask Paulina Brandberg: Where are the concrete proposals?
Statsrådet Paulina Brandberg (L)
Madam Speaker! Just as I said in the previous debate, it is precisely the issues regarding the working environment that we must look at if we are to address this problem.
In the debate, examples of concrete measures have been requested. I can mention the government's mandate to Arbetsmiljöverket to see how more people can want to engage as safety representatives. Safety representatives do not only have responsibility for looking at the physical work environment but also have responsibility for looking at a poor psychosocial work environment. They also play a very important role in the systematic work environment process. That is an example of a concrete measure.
In addition to this, the government has Arbetsmiljöverket as one of the absolutely most important tools in the work to achieve a good working environment in workplaces in Sweden. Arbetsmiljöverket has regulations on, among other things, organizational and social working environment, which is central when it comes to this issue.
Within the framework of the government's work environment strategy, the Swedish Work Environment Authority is carrying out a regulatory renewal work. The authority decided in September 2023 on the reworked regulations that will enter into force in January 2025. This is something that the Swedish Work Environment Authority is working on to renew itself and ensure that the regulatory framework becomes more adapted to the conditions that prevail today. The government will, of course, closely monitor that this has the intended effect.
In addition to this, the government has tasked the Swedish Work Environment Authority with increasing the number of physical and unannounced inspections at workplaces in Sweden. During the pandemic, very many inspections became digital. From the government's side, we believe that the inspections will become better if they are physical to a greater extent. We also believe that they will be more representative if they are unannounced.
All this is examples of concrete measures.
Mynak is currently working on an assignment to gather and compile knowledge on the connection between certain groups' vulnerability and work-related stress.
In the coming days, the investigation Sjukförsäkringen i förändring will submit an evaluation that can also provide a valuable knowledge base for future measures.
The government is therefore taking a number of measures in this area, simply because this is a priority issue for the government. It is an important issue both from a work environment perspective and from an equality perspective.
Johanna Haraldsson (S)
Madam Speaker! I intended to highlight healthcare and health and medical care a little bit.
The Tidö Agreement, which forms the basis for the government cooperation, is quite detailed in a number of areas, but when it comes to the work environment, it is rather thin. Regarding health and medical care, the same wording recurs, where the work environment is mentioned. It is spoken of that political reforms shall be developed and implemented to cut waiting lists, increase accessibility, improve efficiency and equality in health and medical care, as well as improve the work environment and the supply of skills for employees within healthcare.
I believe, just as the text in the Tidö Agreement expresses, that an improved working environment in health and medical care is crucial for improving care and the supply of competence. Stress is a widespread problem within healthcare, and many who work there are exposed to high workloads. The title of Vårdförbundet's report from 2023, I cannot work more than part-time, actually speaks for itself. The report shows that half of those among Vårdförbundet's members who work part-time do so to allow space for rest and recovery. A quarter work part-time due to high workload, and an additional 23 percent do so due to stress and ill health.
The Swedish Work Environment Authority has taken the initiative for targeted inspection efforts at the country's emergency hospitals after receiving over 150 reports from safety representatives regarding excessively high workloads, staff shortages, and overcrowding.
At the same time, another healthcare crisis is currently occurring. In 17 of 21 regions, cuts are being planned, and a number of regions have signaled layoffs of staff.
Given the obviously major problems with the working environment within healthcare, and given that the government and the Sweden Democrats themselves address exactly this in their Tidö Agreement, I wonder in what way the government has so far worked to improve the working environment for employees within healthcare. What political reforms have been, as stated in the Tidö Agreement, developed to improve the working environment specifically in healthcare? What measures is the minister prepared to take to counteract increased stress in the wake of an increased number of warnings? This is what I also asked in my interpellation.
I requested concrete measures, but the Deputy Minister for Employment answered with things that are more general. There are regulations for organizational and social work environment that must be followed by the employers. This is, as we have discussed previously, an issue that was taken up in the work environment strategy. One needs to carefully consider whether one should ensure that it is possible to impose sanction fees linked to the organizational and social work environment regulations, so that the requirements on the employers are tightened.
I asked if measures would be taken to increase knowledge in the workplaces on how stress and unhealthy workloads are prevented, but I received no answers. I would like the Minister to provide answers to the questions I asked.
Sofia Amloh (S)
Madam Speaker! There are several of us here today describing the massive stress in the workplaces and how it affects the employees. We see how incredibly many working women do everything they can around the clock to cope, but perhaps still do not manage because of an incredibly tough work situation with a poor work environment and poor working conditions.
What we hear from the responsible minister here in the chamber is not at all in proportion to this. During the unannounced inspections, organizational problems are identified, and there must be resources to change that. It is not possible to change the situation through will, ambition, and good intentions; instead, it requires adapted cars in home care, enough employees per unit manager, and so on. Resources are required here, but I see nothing in the government's budget, proposals, or political ambitions that is proportionally sufficient to meet the actual needs. If Paulina Brandberg thinks this is both serious and important, it is time to submit proposals to the Riksdag, and to do so immediately.
Statsrådet Paulina Brandberg (L)
Madam Speaker! As I said in my previous contribution, this is not only an important occupational environment issue but also an important equality issue, because we see that women are affected by work-related stress and sick leave linked to it to a higher extent than men. In such a situation, it is obviously essential that we look at precisely the female-dominated sectors, and I share the view that healthcare is a sector that we need to focus on. It is a female-dominated industry, and here there are challenges in both the psychosocial and the physical work environment. I therefore share the view that we need to look specifically at healthcare.
When I hear the interpellator and the other member participating in the debate, it becomes apparent that they have some ignorance regarding what the government is doing, so I would like to bring some clarity to that. As I mentioned in the previous debate, we have just added an additional 6 billion to healthcare beyond the 6 billion that are in the budget for 2024, which corresponds to the Social Democrats' shadow budget. Obviously, we would have liked to allocate even more money, but there is much that needs to be prioritized.
I can also mention the government's agreement with SKR regarding maternity care and women's health. That agreement covers 1.6 billion SEK for 2024. The agreement includes, among other things, measures for strengthened competence supply, development of relevant competence, and development of new ways of working. I believe these are important funds to be able to contribute to a good working environment for the healthcare's employees.
The government has also reached an agreement with SKR regarding increased accessibility in health and medical care. New for the 2024 agreement is that measures for competence supply are more clearly linked to the work of improving accessibility. The agreement states that a health-promoting and sustainable work environment is central to securing the competence supply. This agreement for 2024 covers a total of 2.3 billion kronor.
Just healthcare, where a majority of the employees are women, is one of the government's priorities. I mean that it is visible both in our budget and in our active measures. We must, of course, work with the issues regarding the work environment, but also the supply of skills is an important part to reduce stress.
In order to reduce the need for short-term cuts in welfare and tax increases, the government has proposed in the budget bill for 2024 that the general state grants to municipalities and regions be increased by 10 billion kronor from 2024.
As has been said, there are both funds and active measures from the government, and we share the problem picture that the interpellor and several others see. Therefore, we are actively working to address this issue.
Johanna Haraldsson (S)
Madam Speaker! The Minister brings up the supplementary budget that was announced yesterday in the debate. But yesterday's announcement will not solve the problem of stress and high workload. The resources are insufficient to stop the cuts and layoffs within healthcare that have been announced. When the regions have a total deficit of 24 billion, a quarter of that obviously will not be able to stop the savings in healthcare.
The question of social and organizational work environment is perceived as difficult many times, and despite many employers having good intentions to create healthy workplaces, they do not succeed – sometimes because knowledge is lacking among employers and managers on how to prevent and manage unhealthy workload, other times because not enough time and resources are allocated to the work. In some workplaces, it is simply ignored.
The systematic, preventive work environment work in our workplaces needs to be given greater weight, and it must have consequences if an employer violates basic work environment rules and ignores the employees' workload. That is why we commissioned an investigation which also came up with proposals that one should be able to impose sanction fees linked to the psychosocial work environment and to the organizational and social work environment regulations.
In my interpellation, I requested measures to increase knowledge among employers. I also requested reforms that ensure more focus is placed on these issues in the workplaces. I truly hope that we can return to this in a debate here in the chamber and that the government has then taken the initiative for active and concrete measures that also strengthen the preventive work against stress in the workplaces.
Statsrådet Paulina Brandberg (L)
Madam Speaker! I thank the interpellator for the debate. The interpellator and I have had several debates in recent months regarding fatal accidents in working life, and it is important that we do not forget the stress in working life. Just as the interpellator points out, there are far too many in Sweden who die from work-related diseases, and we must not forget them.
I am particularly pleased that we are debating this during the same week as International Women's Day, because this is one of the issues I would like to focus on as an important equality issue ahead of Friday.
As I have previously pointed out in this debate, the government is undertaking a large number of measures in this area, but it is also important to point out the employers' responsibility in this work. If we are to move the needle, many must take their responsibility, and the employers must, of course, ensure that they have a solid work environment effort even within this area.
The interpellator raised the issue of the sanctions system. Mynak presented an evaluation of the sanctions system in recent days, and I share the view that this is something we must look at. It is not a voluntarily chosen activity for the employers, but one must have a solid work environment effort regarding both the physical work environment and the organizational and social work environment.
We will, of course, carefully analyze what Mynak reports and see if any adjustments need to be made.
I would therefore like to thank you for today's debate.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.