The overarching aim of this thesis was to explore social norms in relation to work and its influence on individuals’ actions and mindsets. This has been done through four empirical studies which investigated the work norm from three different perspectives: 1) the work norm in practice, through the actions of individuals on sick leave during their rehabilitation process and in relation to the system and the actors within the system, as well as managers actions within their organisations; 2) exploring perceptions of the work norm in terms of socialisation to working life and structural changes; 3) a comparative exploration of the work norm between different contexts. 

The specific research questions were:

1.      How do individuals’ various experiences influence their values and perceptions of   themselves and their actions in relation to work? 

2.     How do individuals’ actions serve to reinforce or challenge the existing normative structures? 

3.     Are there differences, and if so, how are they expressed, in the work norm between different societal and cultural contexts? 

This thesis was exploratory in nature and aimed at gaining a rich, in-depth understanding of the participants’ experiences, values and actions by adopting an inductive, qualitative approach. The data collection consisted of a combination of semi-structured individual interviews and group interviews. The material was analysed through qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis. 

Study I focused on experiences of being on long-term sick leave, how the participants manage the societal norms and values, and how these influence their perspective on themselves throughout the rehabilitation process. 

Study II was concerned with first-line managers’ actions and attitudes towards employees with repeated short-term sickness absence. Of particular interest was how social and organisational factors in the workplace influenced and shaped the managers’ actions. 

Studies III and IV focused on young adults’ experiences of work, the role of work in their lives and their work values. The third study was mainly interested in the young adults’ expectations about work and their lived experiences of working. The fourth study’s main interest was how today’s young adults perceive the role of work in their lives and what they value in work. To capture how the social and cultural context may shape work centrality and work values data, from Sweden and the Netherlands were compared.

The results of this thesis show that the work norm is strong, and that work plays a central part in the lives of the participants in these studies. The structure individuals find themselves in shape their views on work and the thesis displays a nuanced perspective of different expressions of the work norm. Its influence differs depending on one’s life situation, whether you are at the start of your working career, in the centre of it or currently outside of the labour market. The results highlight the importance of achieving balance and accommodating one’s concerns within the natural, practical and social orders of reality. Ignoring one of these orders might result in a lack of wellbeing in another.

This thesis shows how the structural conditions which influence people’s possibilities to live up to the work norm differs depending on resources and social position. Even though the work norm is strong and people generally express a desire to work, it is not always practically reasonable to demand it, especially if it means too great of a sacrifice in other parts of the individual’s life. The results point to a difficulty in challenging the work norm as an individual, while organising with others around shared opposing values with others could be a start of bringing about a change.