IntroductionWomen generally report more work-related musculoskeletal complaints than men and have higher rates of sickness absence, even within occupations. One likely reason is that work tasks within the occupation are gendered, that is, women and men have different tasks, even when sharing the same job title. Retail is an appealing sector for studying working conditions and work environment in a gender context. The prevalence of work-related complaints is high, physical loads may differ considerably between tasks and the distribution of tasks is likely gendered. The overall aim of this study in retail is to examine factors at the organisational and individual level that may, in a gender perspective, explain working conditions, work tasks, workloads and musculoskeletal health.Methods and analysesData will be collected in two grocery stores, each with 50–70 workers, at two occasions interspersed by about 1 year. In each of these four waves, data collection will include a web-based questionnaire to all workers addressing, for example, work tasks, psychosocial factors, fatigue and pain; semistructured interviews with managers and approximately 10 workers addressing, for example, competences and decision levels; and technical measurements of postures, movements and heart rate in about 30 workers. The study is novel in combining an organisational gender perspective addressed through qualitative methods with a quantitative analysis of tasks, workload and health. The design allows an examination of both how genders may differ, and why they may differ, as well as analyses of the extent to which gendered working conditions change over time in the two participating stores.Ethics and disseminationApproval of the study by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (reference number 2017/404) has been obtained. This work will be disseminated by publication of peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals, presentations at scientific conferences and in meetings with representatives from Swedish retail, including unions and employers’ organisations.

Purpose This study aims to examine how masculinities are (re)produced in project-based organizations. The authors first investigate the doing of masculinities in everyday work practices in construction project management. Second, the authors investigate whether there are opportunities to perceive, or do, gender differently in this specific context. Design/methodology/approach Data are elicited from a case study of construction project managers working on a infrastructure project. The project managers were interviewed through semi-structured informal interviews regarding their experiences of project work. The analysis was inspired by the competing discourses and practices of masculinity in organizations outlined by Collinson and Hearn (1994). Findings The results showed how multiple masculinities coexist and overlap in the project organization and in the everyday practices of project management. Both male and female project managers must adjust to these masculine discourses and act in accordance with a particular context. But the results also showed opportunities to challenge the masculine norms by doing gender differently. Practical implications The results of this study highlights opportunities for creating a more gender-equal work environment in the construction industry. The multiple ways of doing masculinity, by both men and women, highlights the possibilities to balance between doing it well and differently. Such knowledge can be used in policy and strategies for equal opportunities for men and women in organizations. Originality/value This study provides insights into the (re)production of multiple masculinities in construction project management. This study contributes to the criticism of the normative conceptions that have characterized the literature on project management. The authors add to the tradition of organization studies by arguing that the gender analysis of project management is important to increase understandings of how projects are managed and, in this case, how masculine discourses affect everyday work.

Several calls have been made by labour geographers in support for a more thorough investigation and theorization of labour as an active agent in the production of economic geographies. As noted by Castree (2007) the concept of agency within labour geography remains undertheorized, an observation that has inspired scholars such as Coe and Jordhus-Lier (2011) and Hastings and MacKinnon (2017) to propose the re-embedding of agency in arenas stretching from global production networks (GPNs) to the workplace. The present paper continues this endeavor, albeit from a different angle, i.e. by examining how Swedish agency warehouse workers and temp nurses working in Norway act and think in relation to mobility and how certain spatiotemporalities come into play in the mobility agency of individual workers. To expand our understanding of agency we combine several strands of literature. In particular, we consider the criticism raised by scholars such as Cresswell (2006), Adey (2010) and Hanson (2010) on the tendency to celebrate mobility (over immobility) because of the association with ideas of progress, freedom, power and change. In connection to this, we claim that the coupling between mobility and power/agency is manifest also in conceptualizations of workers 'mobility power' (Smith, 2006) and in current theorization regarding migrant and immigrant workers' ability to strategize around their mobility (

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to highlight the complexity of manpower management in temporary work agencies (TWA). The aim is to investigate to which extent the managers reflects the features of boundary spanners. Design/methodology/approach -The results come from a case study where manpower managers at one of the biggest TWAs in Sweden are interviewed. Findings -TWAs' boundary-spanning managers mediate between the opinions of the clients, the TWAs, and the individual temps as well as balancing between trust and risk. The findings reveal the relevance of the managers' application of a flexible and a dialectical approach when delivering service to clients, the TWA and the temps. This flexible approach means being able to simultaneously embrace these three perspectives of interests. A dialectical approach involves being able to: systematically balance between the opposing pair of trust and risk and search for the most functional option and not relate others' opinions to one's own personal values.Research limitations/implications -The interview data come from a case study at only one TWA and it is collected in a limited number of interview subjects. Practical implications -The results can provide useful information for recruiters of manpower managers in a TWA when choosing staff members that can enhance strategic management of temps. The results can also be of assistance for managers when interacting with both customers and temps. Originality/value -The paper contributes to the literature by an analysis of the complex working conditions under which manpower managers in TWAs work.

The aim of this article is to discuss how the concept of inequality regimes can contribute to theoretical and methodological advances in occupational health research. We posit the mutual advantages of bringing together feminist intersectional analysis of inequality in working life with studies of working conditions and health. The job demands and control model (JDC) is used as a starting point for the discussion. Reintegration of organizational analysis into studies of working conditions and health is warranted, as organizations influence how working conditions are distributed and individuals are stratified in the labor market. We refer to that development as going from healthy work to healthy workplaces. We discuss how the concept of inequality regimes is open for mixed method analysis and how it can be used as a theoretical framework for unraveling the ways in which inequalities in working conditions and health are (re)created in different types of organizations.