Background: Research indicates that there is a higher degree of mental health problems, family/work conflicts and sleep-related problems among workers in creative occupations than in other professions. Research also reveals that musicians have to deal with a relatively high degree of occupational stress. There is, however, a lack of research investigating the qualities of freelance musicians' psychosocial work environment, as well as possible protective factors for maintaining good mental health. Methods: Based on 12 in-depth interviews, we used a template analysis to examine the unique characteristics of the professional life of freelance pop and rock musicians. Results: Using the job demands-resources model as a conceptual framework, we found that an unpredictable future, threats to the family/work balance and significant amounts of external pressure were three broad contextual demands facing freelance musicians. Social support from family, fellow band members, audiences and their professional network, as well as having adequate personal resources such as entrepreneurial skills, value-anchored flexibility, tolerance for ambiguity and dedication to music making were described as important for managing life as a freelance musician. Conclusions: Musicians' psychosocial work environment and health seem to be related to the three overarching protective factors also described in resilience research: namely personal dispositions, family coherence and social resources.

BackgroundRecurrent reports from national and international studies show a persistent high prevalence of sickness presence among hospital physicians. Despite the negative consequences reported, we do not know a lot about the reasons why physicians choose to work when ill, and whether there may be some positive correlates of this behaviour that in turn may lead to the design of appropriate interventions. The aim of this study is to explore the perception and experience with sickness presenteeism among hospital physicians, and to explore possible positive and negative foundations and consequences associated with sickness presence.MethodsSemi-structured interviews of 21 Norwegian university hospital physicians.ResultsPositive and negative dimensions associated with 1) evaluation of illness, 2) organizational structure, 3) organizational culture, and 4) individual factors simultaneously contributed to presenteeism.ConclusionsThe study underlines the inherent complexity of the causal chain of events affecting sickness presenteeism, something that also inhibits intervention. It appears that sufficient staffing, predictability in employment, adequate communication of formal policies and senior physicians adopting the position of a positive role model are particularly important.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-016-1802-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Purpose -There is a lack of qualitative longitudinal studies in the literature exploring the complexity and dynamism of affective experience during phases of organizational change. This article therefore explores the nature and intensity of emotional reactions to change and the contextual triggers that made them vary.Design/methodology/approach -Eleven nurses in a Norwegian public hospital were interviewed at three points in time about a change in technology, one month prior to implementation, three months after implementation and one year after implementation. They were asked to reflect "forwards" and "backwards" about their emotional experiences to the technical change in particular and to other changes occurring at work. Findings -The informants reported mixed emotional experiences to change at all three interviews. Emotion terms such as "uncertainty", "joy" and "resignation" were reported at all times, "anxiety and "excitement" were only reported at Times 1 and 2 whereas "frustration" and "cynicism" were only reported at Times 2 and 3.Research limitations -A larger group of informants would have produced greater insight into the evolving emotional change experiences. Further research could explore other contexts and a wider range of data collection methods.Originality/value -This is a rare qualitative study of emotional change experiences where the informants were interviewed three times.

This study aims to explore the negative experiences of employees following organizational change through adopting a contextual emotions perspective. Previous studies have tended to examine negative change experiences through the lens of general concepts such as resistance, where it is often assumed that negative experiences are due to internal and intra-psychic processes, ignoring the role played by external events, situations and social relationships; hence negative change experiences are seen as irrational and misconceived. We therefore have limited knowledge about what kinds of specific negative emotions are actually experienced by individuals undergoing organizational change, and the ways in which these experiences relate to the surrounding context in which they emerged. A qualitative study was conducted to explore the negative emotional experiences of a selected group of nursing staff following the introduction of a new electronic care planning system at their ward. A range of different and quite specific negative emotional experiences were identified, and these revolved around two themes in particular: managerial planning and actions; and the quality of professional work. None of the negative emotional experiences seemed to reflect a general unwillingness to change.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to seek a deeper understanding of presenteeism by utilising the perspective of job crafting to explore how a selected group of physicians make sense of their decision to attend work while ill and of their experience of doing so. Job crafting implies that employees not only respond to their job description, but also proactively change tasks, relationships and perceptions in order to experience work in meaningful ways. Design/methodology/approach A narrative methodological framework involving interviews was adopted to explore the ways in which a selected group of 20 Norwegian hospital physicians engaged in job crafting during presenteeism. The resulting data were analysed using theory-led thematic analysis utilizing the theoretical perspective of job crafting. Findings It was evident that physicians were indecisive and insecure when evaluating their own illness, and that, via task, relational and cognitive crafting, they trivialised, endured and showcased their illness, and engaged in presenteeism in various ways. Furthermore, physicians to some extent found themselves caught in dysfunctional circles by contributing to the creation of a work environment where presenteeism was maintained and seen as expected. Research limitations/implications Future research should address a wider range of contexts, and use longitudinal methods to explore the multifaceted, context-specific and evolving nature of presenteeism and job crafting in more depth. Interventions aimed at countering the negative implications of presenteeism should address the issue from both a social and a systemic point of view. Originality/value The findings extend the current understanding of presenteeism by demonstrating the multifaceted and evolving nature of the ways in which personal illness and presenteeism are perceived and enacted over time.