We need one healthy working life. A working life that provides the conditions for people to do a good job. Where we have time for recovery, reflection and development. A working life for everyone, in short. Now, however, the reality looks different. The Director General of the Work Environment Agency, Erna Zelmin-Ekenhem, sign DN Debate 9/3 – 2016:
"Between 2010 and 2014, the number of reported occupational diseases due to the organizational work environment has increased by 70 percent. Too high a workload and problems in relationships at the workplace are examples of what lies behind the numbers."
Kristina Glise, senior physician at the Institute for Stress Medicine in Gothenburg, states in an interview i Gothenburg Post 13/5 2013 that sick leave in working life now also affects 90-somethings:
"- We have previously had patients who were born in the 70s and 80s. Now the first 90-somethings are starting to show up at the reception and we are drowning in referrals/…/"
What can we do to improve the situation? It is of utmost importance that we leave the austerity economy behind us and start investing again. We need more hands in care, school and welfare. We need more hands in social services, within the Employment Service and within society at large. We currently have approx 200 openly unemployed and approx. 181 in various measures. If those who are healthy enough to work were given a chance to come back, we would have come a long way. But it is also important that those who are too ill to work are allowed to continue to be ill.
In a welfare state you take care of each other. It's not more difficult than that.