“We love this place but might have to move”: Qualitatively exploring work-related precariousness in rural northern Sweden
(2025) SOCM05 20251Sociology
- Abstract
- The aim of this thesis is to explore how contextual factors shape experiences of work-related precariousness in a sparsely populated municipality in northern Sweden. In the thesis, the concept of precariousness is operationalized as relating to three dimensions: income, employment stability and employability, and access to social security. These dimensions are explored qualitatively through semi-structured interviews with eight people who all live in the same municipality in northern Sweden, are of a working age, and lack permanent occupation. The accounts of the interviewees indicate that a number of contextual factors were important in shaping precariousness. In line with previous research, the institutional context of the Swedish... (More)
- The aim of this thesis is to explore how contextual factors shape experiences of work-related precariousness in a sparsely populated municipality in northern Sweden. In the thesis, the concept of precariousness is operationalized as relating to three dimensions: income, employment stability and employability, and access to social security. These dimensions are explored qualitatively through semi-structured interviews with eight people who all live in the same municipality in northern Sweden, are of a working age, and lack permanent occupation. The accounts of the interviewees indicate that a number of contextual factors were important in shaping precariousness. In line with previous research, the institutional context of the Swedish welfare state – here characterized as a Nordic welfare state regime – both mitigated and augmented experiences of precariousness. In the local context, formal and informal aspects of the labour market shaped experiences of precariousness. Of the formal aspects can be mentioned limited opportunities and options in the labour market, which relate to the demographic and geographic characteristics of the municipality. Among the informal aspects, the accounts of the interviewees indicate that the rural setting provided closer social networks and stronger social control than in cities, which was experienced as both restricting and securing. This highlights the necessity of viewing experiences of precariousness as contextually dependent and underscores the need of taking geographical location and local labour markets into consideration in future research on precarity. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- It has been argued that inequalities are increasing in Sweden as a result of a declining welfare state, and that these developments have had more severe consequences in rural places in northern Sweden. In this thesis, I explore how risk, vulnerability and instability in relation to work can be experienced in a municipality in this particular part of the country. I interview eight people who all live in a sparsely populated municipality in northern Sweden, lack a permanent occupation, such as work or studies, and are of a working age, 20-65 years old. The interviewees can be seen as having an unstable working situation and I am interested in how they experience their situation and how this relates to living in this specific place in Sweden.... (More)
- It has been argued that inequalities are increasing in Sweden as a result of a declining welfare state, and that these developments have had more severe consequences in rural places in northern Sweden. In this thesis, I explore how risk, vulnerability and instability in relation to work can be experienced in a municipality in this particular part of the country. I interview eight people who all live in a sparsely populated municipality in northern Sweden, lack a permanent occupation, such as work or studies, and are of a working age, 20-65 years old. The interviewees can be seen as having an unstable working situation and I am interested in how they experience their situation and how this relates to living in this specific place in Sweden.
In the thesis, I use the concept of precariousness to capture the interviewees’ experiences of insecurity and risk, but also of resistance and resilience. I relate the concept of precariousness to three dimensions: income, employment stability and employability, and access to social security. These dimensions are explored from the accounts of the interviewees.
The accounts indicate that the Swedish welfare system impacts the interviewees differently depending on their employment history. In the local context, the labour market appears to play an important role in the interviewees’ experiences of insecurity and risk. This can be related to formal aspects of the labour market, such as large geographical distances in the municipality and the experience that the labour market is limited in terms of options and opportunities. It can also be related to informal aspects of the labour market, where I show that experiences of strong social control and access to closer social networks in the municipality was experienced as both restricting and securing.
The thesis points towards the fact that risk, vulnerability and instability can be experienced differently in various parts of Sweden, which illustrates the need to consider geographical context when discussing these issues. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9203159
- author
- Amréus Leissner, Johannes LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SOCM05 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Precariousness, northern Sweden, Nordic welfare state model, context, precarity
- language
- English
- id
- 9203159
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-19 14:07:08
- date last changed
- 2025-06-19 14:07:08
@misc{9203159,
abstract = {{The aim of this thesis is to explore how contextual factors shape experiences of work-related precariousness in a sparsely populated municipality in northern Sweden. In the thesis, the concept of precariousness is operationalized as relating to three dimensions: income, employment stability and employability, and access to social security. These dimensions are explored qualitatively through semi-structured interviews with eight people who all live in the same municipality in northern Sweden, are of a working age, and lack permanent occupation. The accounts of the interviewees indicate that a number of contextual factors were important in shaping precariousness. In line with previous research, the institutional context of the Swedish welfare state – here characterized as a Nordic welfare state regime – both mitigated and augmented experiences of precariousness. In the local context, formal and informal aspects of the labour market shaped experiences of precariousness. Of the formal aspects can be mentioned limited opportunities and options in the labour market, which relate to the demographic and geographic characteristics of the municipality. Among the informal aspects, the accounts of the interviewees indicate that the rural setting provided closer social networks and stronger social control than in cities, which was experienced as both restricting and securing. This highlights the necessity of viewing experiences of precariousness as contextually dependent and underscores the need of taking geographical location and local labour markets into consideration in future research on precarity.}},
author = {{Amréus Leissner, Johannes}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{“We love this place but might have to move”: Qualitatively exploring work-related precariousness in rural northern Sweden}},
year = {{2025}},
}