The research supported by FAS is divided into six main areas with associated sub areas. A general description of the research conducted within the six main areas is provided below.
Work and health – This area comprises research into health risks in working life and unpaid work. This extends to biological, chemical and physical factors and how these factors affect people and their significance to the incidence of allergy, asthma and cancer, cardiovascular diseases, stress injuries, vibration and noise injuries, as well as research into electromagnetic fields. The area also encompasses research into psychological and somatic conditions related to psychosocial factors in the work environment. Development of methods for exposure measurement and risk assessment is also included.
Work organisation – Most research in this field concerns the impact of work structure and organisation, workload, reorganisations, staffing issues, etc. on the employees’ working conditions and development. Other central aspects include competence, learning and occupational roles and the ways in which changes in technology, work conditions and production organisations affect the individuals concerned. Management, leadership and influence, as well as gender relationships, power structures and social hierarchies in the workplace are other areas under study, as are diversity, discrimination, harassment and exclusion.
Labour market – This area concentrates on labour market policies, the working of the labour market, salary structures and structural changes. Certain research deals with issues such as labour laws, the relationship between social partners and labour market agreements. This area of research also deals with obstacles to entry to the labour market, unemployment, work capacity and ways of entering and exiting the labour market. Other themes include segregation in working life, professionalisation, the ways in which occupations and professions are defined, developed and changed and how new qualification requirements arise. As internationalisation increases, the mobility of the workforce and the common European labour market are also becoming important areas of research.
Public health – Research in this area includes the importance of living conditions, environment, social conditions and the healthcare system to public health – both physical and mental. It also focuses on the efficiency of the healthcare system and includes the importance of psychosocial factors for health problems, as well as the interplay between risk propensity, lifestyles and illness. Studies of the causes, prevalence and prevention of illness in the population are also studied, as is the distribution of illness by class, gender, ethnicity, age and education. Health problems in childhood as well the ageing process and age-related diseases are other examples within this field. The research also includes disabilities and functional impairments, studies of the use and abuse of alcohol, drugs and other substances, and studies relating to injuries and prevention in various contexts.
Welfare – This main area encompasses research into goals, legislation and institutions of social policy and social insurance and how they affect welfare. Living standards and income distribution are key areas, as are studies showing how life opportunities are influenced by family circumstances and the conditions under which children grow up. The importance of the social security system to people’s conditions and development is of particular interest. Welfare research also includes population and migration studies and the study of the welfare and living conditions of special groups such as children and the elderly. Research into sickness-related absenteeism and the link to working conditions, health and social insurance is another important area of research.
Social services and social relations – Research into care services and social relations involves studying the interface between the citizens and representatives of various institutions within, for instance individual and family care, elderly care and childcare services or the conditions that apply to family caregivers. Social and ethnic relations in society and the relationship between family members and outside world are also covered in this primary area. It also includes research into developmental psychology, socialisation and identity development, as well as harassment, violence and assault, cohabitation and sexuality. Research into disability policies and conditions for the functionally impaired in society also come under this heading.
