Health Institutions, Temporary Work Agencies, and the Mobility Power of Nurses

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18291/njwls.v8i4.111927

Keywords:

Health, Working Environment & Wellbeing, Labor Market Institutions & Social Partners, Organization & Management

Abstract

The objective of this article is to explore how the mobility power of nurses (the ability to move between employers or leave the labor market) contributes to changing relations between health institutions and temporary work agencies in the Norwegian welfare state. Based on case study as the research strategy, the article contributes to the political economy of labor relations approach and the debate over the role ofTWAs and temporary nursing in the health sector.The mobility power of Swedish nurses who shift from agency nursing to direct temporary nursing in health insti- tutions (bank nursing) partly explains the constrained growth of agency nursing in the Norwegianhospital sector. However, contracting flows of Swedish nurses to Norway since 2015 challengeinternal labor hire and could make health institutions more agency-dependent in future.The dataemployed are semi-structured interviews, official statistics, reports, and news clippings.

Author Biography

Hege Merete Knutsen, University of Oslo

Hege_Merete_Knutsen2.jpg

Professor, Department of Sociology and Human Geography

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Published

2019-01-10

How to Cite

Knutsen, H. M. (2019). Health Institutions, Temporary Work Agencies, and the Mobility Power of Nurses. Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies, 8(4). https://doi.org/10.18291/njwls.v8i4.111927

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Articles