About the research programme

NOWSTARS is an acronym which stands for the New Organization of Work in Self-employment, Temporary Agency, Academia, and Retail in Sweden.

NOWSTARS aims to explore how insecurity in working life, different kinds of employment contracts, and unionization are linked to working conditions, work-related attitudes and behaviors, and health and well-being among gainfully employed women and men in the Swedish labor market.

The program features occupations with varying demands on skills and competencies in both the public and private sectors.

This research program will clarify the significance of different employment contracts and job insecurity for women and men in various stages of life, professions, branches and sectors. Such knowledge will enable the promotion of change and advancement towards a more sustainable working life.

NOWSTARS logotype.

NOWSTARS stands for New Organization of Work in Self-employment, Temporary Agency, Academia, and Retail in Sweden.

The program consists of six different projects

The research program consists of six different projects, four of which are sector-specific. The sectors included are:

  1. Self-employment
  2. Temporary agency work
  3. Academia
  4. Retail

These four sectors were strategically chosen to complement each other. They represent 1) a new, and increasingly common kind of employment, 2) a common, initial employment position where the type of workplace may vary, 3) a knowledge-intensive sector where many encounter insecure conditions, and 4) a common labor market entry job with varied employment contracts, and equal gender distribution at the managerial level.

The fifth project focuses on the role of unions within each of the four sectors.

The sixth project supports the development of the theoretical framework within this area of research.

This project aims to investigate the opportunities and challenges faced by those who are solo self-employed, and specifically to explore how they organize their work in relation to the conditions and characteristics of the assignments they take on.

A furthered understanding of the implications for work-related outcomes and health factors in addition to possibilities of personal and professional growth as a self-employed individual is of primary focus within this project.

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Self-employment

Our goal for this project is to focus on young graduates whose entry into the labor market starts with employment through a temporary agency. We want to highlight how they experience their first employment and how they plan for and develop their career.

We are interested in learning more about the experiences of young graduates in their first employment at temporary agencies. Of particular interest are their expectations and career plans, experiences of supervisor support at the host organization as well as at the agency, what they learn in their placements, and how they shape their employability and career prospects.

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Temporary agency work

This project aims to investigate how employment contracts and job insecurity are associated with psychosocial work environment factors, as well as various work-related and health-related factors among women and men working in academia.

Particular emphasis will be placed on furthering the understanding of potential underlying mechanisms for relations between such factors.

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Academia

This aim of this project is to investigate how types of employment, job insecurity, and psychosocial work environment factors associate with work-related and health-related outcomes among women and men in the retail and wholesale sector.

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Retail

The aim of this project is to explore the role of unions in today’s labor market, primarily in relation to various non-standard employment contracts, which have become notably more commonplace.

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The role of unions

The principal aim of this integrative project is to strengthen knowledge with regards to the new organization of work.

More specifically, this project incorporates insights and results from four empirical cases to contribute to a furthered understanding of the similarities and differences when it comes to various forms of employment.

In addition, the project seeks to illustrate how employment types, perceptions of job insecurity, and work environment factors relate to work-related and health-related outcomes. Mechanisms that may explain these relationships are of the utmost interest.

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New organization of work: Theoretical integration and development

Funding

NOWSTARS is funded by Forte with supplemental funding from Stockholm University.

In 2019, the research program “Employment contracts, job insecurity, unionization, working conditions, work-related attitudes and health among women and men in a flexible labor market” was awarded a grant of 8.7 million Swedish Kronor from Forte for the first three years of this six-year-long program.

In 2022, after our half-time report, Forte awarded an additional grant of 8.7 million Swedish Kronor for the remaining three years.

Project-id: 2019-01311

Start date: 2019-07-01
End date phase 1: 2022-06-30
End date phase 2: 2025-06-30
Last disposition date: 2026-06-30

Read more about the research program in SweCRIS

Publications

Below we will post scientific publications from the program, examples of media appearances by program members as well as degree projects written within the program.

Scientific publications include scientific articles, book chapters, research reports, and conference presentations. To the extent that these are freely accessible, or "open access", there is also a link to download the publication.

Scientific publications

The NOWSTARS researchers are keen to supervise degree projects at the undergraduate and advanced levels. The list of degree projects is periodically updated as such work is completed.

Degree projects

Here is a list of NOWSTARS in the media, that is articles where the program’s researchers are interviewed, seminar presentations in which NOWSTARS members participate, and other media appearances.

Media appearances

Contact

Last updated: 2025-11-24

Source: NOWSTARS

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