The importance of having a meaningful work-life: a salutogenic approach

Abstract

This thesis is the main product of a Masters degree in Health Science, written by a student at the Department of Social Work and Health Science at Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The thesis consists of two articles. The first article presents the concept sense of coherence and shows how it can be used to create health and well-being in work-life. This is a theoretical article, in which the purpose is to identify what one benefits from having a strong sense of coherence in work-life. The research question for this article is: To what extent is sense of coherence important to create health and well-being at the workplace? The second article enclosed is an empirical investigation done in connection with a survey of how employees perceive their work environment. The purpose of this article is to assess how two work-environmental factors and one background factor influence employees’ experience of having a meaningful work-life.