Department of Business Humanities and Law

The focus of my research activity is the notions of shame and work-related stress, and the problem of how shame may be decisive in some situations of sick-leave due to stress. I am particularly interested in leadership and how leaders, in cooperation with employees, can work with stress mitigation in a day-to-day practice without imposing a therapeutically task on managers. In the literature there are constant calls for 'greater' or 'stronger' leadership as a means to prevent stress, but what this actually means, how we can evaluate it, and why it is important is unclear and unambiguous. Thus, I am interested in exploring these questions.

I study stress and shame using a qualitative methodology, called “problem-analysis”, which is inspired by Michel Foucault. I have used this approach in empirical analyses of a wide range of private and public enterprises. This approach helps me to focus on real life challenges as they are a central starting point for my research. In my current project, I have developed research-based practical dialogue tools for dealing with shame and stress. Although these tools are still in development, the feedback received so far indicates that it is possible to conduct such dialogues in a workplace without transgressing the private-public boundary, by rendering possible discussions of problems without the problems being conceived as personal.

Webinar on Stress