Abstract
Title: Change in nurses’ psychosocial work environment - A thesis concerning how nurses
experience imbalance between demand and control can be reduced.
Background: Nurses are exposed to many work environment risks with the psychosocial risks
being the most significant in Denmark. The nurses’ psychosocial work environment has undergone
a negative development from 2012-2015. It is estimated that there is a risk of further deterioration
due to increasing pressure on healthcare. A poor psychosocial work environment can have negative
consequences for the individual nurse's health and wellbeing as well as for patient safety.
Objective: The aim of this thesis is to develop an intervention, which aims to reduce nurses’
experience imbalance between demand and control in order to improve their psychosocial work
environment.
Method: Various methods are included, in order to answer the research question. The thesis used a
literature study and two qualitative semi-structured interviews. Using a deductive approach, Robert
Karasek and Töres Theorells demand-control model and John Kotter's theory leading change is
included.
Results: The thesis results show that elements such as participation, social support from the
employees, social support from the management, skills development and predictability, all have an
impact on how nurses experience the imbalance between demand and control. Improving nurses'
psychosocial work environment can be done through initiatives such as mix-meetings, joint breaks,
shift planning, board-staff meetings, improving blackboard, morning board meetings, social and
professional events, visible and appreciative leadership, skills development during the work day as
well as planning and coordination in the form of priorities triangle. These are all initiatives that can
contribute to modify the nurses’ experience of the imbalance between demand and control.
Conclusion: An intervention that aims to reduce nurses’ imbalance between demand and control,
may advantageously contain elements such as training sessions, supervision, professional social
events and mix-meetings.
Keywords: Change, development, nurse, psychosocial work environment, demand, control, social
support, influence, communication and skills development.