Sense of security when new at work: a thematic analysis of interviews with young adult retail workers in Sweden

Sense of security when new at work: a thematic analysis of interviews with young adult retail workers in Sweden Erika Wall, Sven Svensson, Anna Berg Jansson International Journal of Workplace Health Management, Vol. 14, No. 6, pp.620-633 Positive examples of situations in which young adults new at work experience feeling secure in the role as novice in the work force are here focused. The aim is to analyze how young adults who are new to the labor market express having a sense of security in the workplace. The long-term goal is to strengthen the conditions for the health and wellbeing of workers entering the retail labor market. Thirteen individual in-depth telephone/video-interviews were conducted with young adults (aged 18–28) working within the retail sector in Sweden. Using a thematic interview schedule, the interviews focused how the interviewees contextualizing stories on being novice at the labor market. The study is based on those parts of the material in which stories on feeling secure was expressed. The analysis resulted in two themes: A sense of security is related to carrying out work safely and a sense of security is related to receiving support. The first theme illuminates how work is structured and safety training respectively contributes to a sense of security and the latter reveal how social support from a variety of sources (managers, colleagues and others outside the work environment) contributes to a sense of securit...
Source: International Journal of Workplace Health Management - Category: Occupational Health Authors: Source Type: research