Why it was so difficult to develop new methods to inspect work organization and psychosocial risks in Sweden

In 2001–2003, the Swedish Work Environment Authority (SWEA) ran a project to develop better methods to inspect psychosocial risk factors at work. The objective was twofold: to develop methods to enable most inspectors to effectively inspect such health risks, and to set a standard for method development within SWEA. This article presents our evaluation of the project and a discussion of this as an example of regulatory implementation. The methods project largely failed. Major reasons were the lack of general provisions on psychosocial risks, isolation from other policies in SWEA that affect the inspection of such risks, and a lack of engagement and guidance by top management on how to prioritize and conduct this very challenging development project. Underlying this was possibly a preoccupation with other major internal reforms, a limited competence and an unwillingness to challenge the employers on psychosocial and organizational issues within SWEA’s top management. Yet, the project probably had some indirect positive effects by raising awareness within the authority of psychosocial risk factors, of the complexities of inspecting such risks and of the difficulty to develop effective methods to supervise them.