Roland Paulsen – författare

Roland Paulsen skriver in sig på Arbetsförmedlingen och hamnar snabbt i gräl med sin handläggare om åtgärdernas meningslöshet. När han återvänder är det för att genomföra en sociologisk studie om funktionell dumhet. Snart sitter han, som en i gänget, med en kopp kallnat kaffe på arbetsförmedlingskontoret i en mellanstor svensk stad. Vad han gör där är det ingen som riktigt vet. Han lyssnar till samtalen som förs i mötesrum, på handläggarkonferenser och jobbcoachträffar. Vi bara lyder är en intelligent, humoristisk och radikal genomlysning av Sveriges minst omtyckta myndighet. Det är också en undersökning av byråkratiska ekorrhjul, och vad som får tjänstemän att nitiskt följa absurda regelverk de själva inte tror på. Resultatet är en personlig uppgörelse med hela idén om lönearbetets nödvändighet.

Här är en grundbok om arbetslivet, en bok om arbete, organisation, personal och ledning. Den ger en gedigen baskunskap och samtidigt självständiga perspektiv att diskutera i seminarier och bland samhällsintresserade. I grunden finns frågan: Hur ser dagens tendenser i arbetsliv och ekonomi ut, och vad betyder de för arbetets kvalitet och mening, för hälsa, inflytande, och maktrelationer på arbetsmarknaden?Tjugosju forskare från en rad universitet och högskolor och från olika ämnen har samarbetat för att skapa en helhetsbild, som är både perspektivrik och sammanhängande. Teman som produktiv välfärd och solidarisk individualism lyfts fram, liksom demokrati och utvecklande arbeten. Arbete & välfärd ger en empiriskt och teoretiskt grundad bild av det svenska arbetslivet, med historiska och internationella utblickar. Managementstrategier presenteras, och framför allt vad de betyder i människors arbete och liv. Boken är förankrad i såväl arbetsorganisation och arbetsplatser, som i ekonomi och arbetsmarknad i stort. Den svenska modell, som sökt förena värdighet i arbetslivet med välfärd och konkurrenskraft, har ifrågasatts och transformerats. Vi frågar oss nu: Hur robust är denna ”svenska modell” under tryck av globalisering och digitalisering?Bokens föregångare Ledning för alla? var under årtionden kurslitteratur i universitetsutbildningar om personal, organisation och ledarskap i ämnen som sociologi, företagsekonomi, arbetsvetenskap, psykologi och pedagogik, liksom i personalutbildning, facklig utbildning och studiecirklar. Vi räknar med bred användning och hög hållbarhet även för denna helt nyskrivna bok.

This book argues that we are currently witnessing not merely a decline in the quality of social science research, but the proliferation of meaningless research, of no value to society, and modest value to its authors - apart from securing employment and promotion. The explosion of published outputs, at least in social science, creates a noisy, cluttered environment which makes meaningful research difficult, as different voices compete to capture the limelight even briefly. Older, more significant contributions are easily neglected, as the premium is to write and publish, not read and learn. The result is a widespread cynicism among academics on the value of academic research, sometimes including their own. Publishing comes to be seen as a game of hits and misses, devoid of intrinsic meaning and value, and of no wider social uses whatsoever. Academics do research in order to get published, not to say something socially meaningful. This is what we view as the rise of nonsense in academic research, which represents a serious social problem. It undermines the very point of social science. This problem is far from 'academic'. It affects many areas of social and political life entailing extensive waste of resources and inflated student fees as well as costs to tax-payers. Part two of the book offers a range of proposals aimed at restoring meaning at the heart of social research and drawing social science back address the major problems and issues that face our societies.

Something must have changed in society. We weren’t always this worried. Not always caught up in disastrous scenarios in our minds. What is this nagging voice in our head? Why won’t it stop, and why are we so fixated on it?In Why We Worry, Roland Paulsen paints a broad picture of the cultural variations and historical evolution of anxiety. Through this lens, he invites readers to explore the paradox of how material wealth has enriched our lives in every aspect except one: our mental well-being.This book offers empirically grounded insights into the sociological underpinnings of issues relating to worry. As such, it is suitable for undergraduate students in psychology, sociology, and medicine – and anyone who has ever been trapped in rumination.The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Something must have changed in society. We weren’t always this worried. Not always caught up in disastrous scenarios in our minds. What is this nagging voice in our head? Why won’t it stop, and why are we so fixated on it?In Why We Worry, Roland Paulsen paints a broad picture of the cultural variations and historical evolution of anxiety. Through this lens, he invites readers to explore the paradox of how material wealth has enriched our lives in every aspect except one: our mental well-being.This book offers empirically grounded insights into the sociological underpinnings of issues relating to worry. As such, it is suitable for undergraduate students in psychology, sociology, and medicine – and anyone who has ever been trapped in rumination.The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

While most people work ever-longer hours, international statistics suggest that the average time spent on non-work activities per employee is around two hours a day. How is this possible, and what are the reasons behind employees withdrawing from work? In this thought-provoking book, Roland Paulsen examines organizational misbehavior, specifically the phenomenon of 'empty labor', defined as the time during which employees engage in private activities during the working day. This study explores a variety of explanations, from under-employment to workplace resistance. Building on a rich selection of interview material and extensive empirical research, it uses both qualitative and quantitative data to present a concrete analysis of the different ways empty labor unfolds in the modern workplace. This book offers new perspectives on subjectivity, rationality and work simulation and will be of particular interest to academic researchers and graduate students in organizational sociology, organization studies, and human resource management.

While most people work ever-longer hours, international statistics suggest that the average time spent on non-work activities per employee is around two hours a day. How is this possible, and what are the reasons behind employees withdrawing from work? In this thought-provoking book, Roland Paulsen examines organizational misbehavior, specifically the phenomenon of 'empty labor', defined as the time during which employees engage in private activities during the working day. This study explores a variety of explanations, from under-employment to workplace resistance. Building on a rich selection of interview material and extensive empirical research, it uses both qualitative and quantitative data to present a concrete analysis of the different ways empty labor unfolds in the modern workplace. This book offers new perspectives on subjectivity, rationality and work simulation and will be of particular interest to academic researchers and graduate students in organizational sociology, organization studies, and human resource management.