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Jörgen Winkel

Professor Emeritus

Department of Sociology and Work Science
Mail
jorgen.winkel@socav.gu.se
Visiting address
Skanstorget 18
41122 Göteborg
Room number
G111
Postal address
Box 720
40530 Göteborg

About Jörgen Winkel

Background

Jörgen Winkel (ORCID-ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7993-396X ) is Professor Emeritus of Applied Work Physiology/Production Ergonomics; from 1989 to 2007 at the Karolinska Institute and the National Institute for Working Life, Sweden and thereafter at the Department of Sociology and Work Science, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Year 2008-10 also affiliated to the National Research Centre for the Working Environment in Denmark and year 2012-18 to DTU Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark.

He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and more than 350 other publications within the field of production ergonomics including ergonomic intervention research, ergonomic epidemiology, quantification and prediction of mechanical exposure as well as physiological issues related to prolonged occupational work while sitting, standing and walking. He has received several international research awards.

Research Medical conditions diagnosed as musculoskeletal or mental disorders are still a major cause of sick leave. This threatens the welfare of individuals and the economics of companies and the society.

Unfortunately, the ergonomic intervention research seems to have limited health effects in a long-range perspective. This lack of positive effects is now explained by adverse health effects caused by rationalization (Westgaard & Winkel 2011). It has therefore been suggested to change the focus of ergonomic intervention research towards organizational sustainability, i.e. the joint consideration of both competitive performance and working conditions in a long-term perspective.

Another key problem is that the ergonomic intervention research is mostly retrospective, i.e. aimed at reducing the problems that already exist. The intervention research should rather be prospective, i.e. investigate how to integrate ergonomics into management systems.

On this background, organizational sustainability and prospective approaches have guided our intervention research during recent decades.

In 2006, Jörgen Winkel initiated the establishment of a Nordic R&D network, the NOVO Network, highlighting the need for integrating work environment and production needs in intervention R&D in the health-care sector (Winkel et al: The NOVO network: A research and development platform with the vision of a Nordic Model for sustainable systems in healthcare. Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies, 2021, Vol. 8, Iss. 1). The hypothesis is that such an integration is more readily established in the Nordic countries, largely due to our leading positions in the world in terms of social capital. Through annual symposia and other activities, the NOVO Network brings together scholars and practitioners to share knowledge and experience and to suggest and develop new areas of collaboration towards increased organizational sustainability in health care. Since 2010, Prof. Lotta Dellve (GU/Sweden) and Senior Researcher Kasper Edwards (DTU/Denmark) have chaired the NOVO Network.

A complete list of publications is obtained by clicking on the document under the heading "CV - Curriculum vitae" (below the photo).

The list of publications below includes publications affiliated to the University of Gothenburg.