Påverkar arbetstider välmående? - en kvantitativ studie om sambandet mellan upplevd flexibilitet av arbetstider och självskattat psykiskt välmående

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between perceived flexibility of working hours and self-reported mental well-being. This due to the fact that some studies have found that flexibility in working hours was beneficial for mental well-being, while others have found the opposite. The method was a cross-sectional survey. Mental well- being was measured using Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) and perceived flexibility of working hours was assessed with a self-constructed measurement based on relevant literature. The participants (N=153) were gathered using convenience sampling which was expanded into snowball sampling. The population was Swedes over 18 years old who worked full time and during day time. The result from correlation analysis showed no relationship between perceived flexibility of working hours and self- reported mental well-being (rho=.-054, p=.509). Mann-Whitney U-test and chi-square test for independence did not show any significant results. The conclusion drawn was that the nonexistent correlation could be due to that perceived flexibility of working hours and self-reported mental well-being were not related, that the advantages and disadvantages of fixed and flexible working hours cancelled each other out, that there were moderating variables which affected the covariation or that the participants were not representative for the population. The results indicated that there is need for more research in the field.Syftet med studien var att utröna hur sambandet mellan upplevd flexibilitet av arbetstider och självskattat psykiskt välmående såg ut. Detta då en del studier har funnit att flexibilitet i arbetstider var fördelaktigt för psykiskt välmående, medan andra har funnit det motsatta. Undersökningen var en enkätbaserad tvärsnittsstudie. Psykiskt välmående mättes med Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) och upplevd flexibilitet av arbetstider mättes med ett egenkonstruerat mått baserat på relevant litteratur. Deltagarna (N=153) samlades in genom ett bekvämlighetsurval som utökades till ett snöbollsurval. Populationen var svenskar över 18 år som arbetade heltid och under dagtid. Resultatet vid korrelationsanalys visade på inget samband mellan upplevd flexibilitet av arbetstider och självskattat psykiskt välmående (rho=-.054, p=.509). Mann-Whitney U-test och chi- square-test för oberoende visade inte några signifikanta resultat. Slutsatsen som drogs var att det icke-existerande sambandet kunde bero på att upplevd flexibilitet av arbetstider och psykiskt välmående inte hade någon relation, att för- och nackdelarna med fasta och flexibla arbetstider tog ut varandra, att det fanns modererande faktorer som påverkade sambandet eller att deltagarna inte var representativa för populationen. Resultatet indikerade att det finns ett behov av mer forskning inom fältet