"Make it possible for more people to work at home!" representations of employee motivation and job satisfaction in Danish and Norwegian newspapers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees with task-based jobs were forced to work from home, while others were furloughed or laid off. The current study aims to investigate how Norwegian and Danish newspapers represent employee motivation and job satisfaction of remote workers in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study used a thematic analysis of five newspapers from Norway and Denmark with different daily distributions and political orientations. The findings suggest that the newspapers in the two countries represented the topic of interest from different perspectives, and this led to the use of two motivation theories: the self-determination theory (SDT) and Herzberg's two-factor theory. The SDT helps us understand why some employees feel motivated and are more productive while working from home. The need for autonomy, competence, and connectedness is being satisfied for some employees but not for all, which may affect the strength of employees' job motivation. Herzberg's theory helps explain physical and psychological issues as dissatisfiers, as these issues are the consequence of working in a home-based office. Furthermore, a hybrid model seems to be an optimal solution for the future job market, where employees with task-based jobs can feel motivated and job satisfied while working either from home or from the workplace. Finally, it is important for employers to look after both the physical and the psychosocial conditions if hybrid solutions are going to replace the traditional workplace.

Symptoms of disturbed eating behavior risk: Gender and study factors in a cross-sectional study of two Norwegian medical schools.

BACKGROUND: Studies about medical student's stress associated with disturbed eating behavior are scarce. OBJECTIVES: To study the explanatory role of curricular factors and distress in disturbed eating behavior among medical students and whether this varies according to gender, study stage, curriculum model, study stress and mental distress. METHODS: The cross-sectional sample surveyed consisted of Norwegian medical students at two faculties with different curricular models (traditional and integrated). The total response rate was 64% (1044/1635). We tested differences in disturbed eating behavior symptoms (EDS) and their correlates using stepwise linear regression analysis. RESULTS: In total, 18.3% were cases of disturbed eating behavior symptoms, including 23.5% of female and 5.6% of male participants. Disturbed eating behavior symptoms were independently associated with the medical school stress factors "medical school is cold and threatening" (ß = 0.07, p = .041), "worries about work and competence" (ß =0.15, p < .001) and "worries about finances and accommodation" (ß = 0.07, p = .018), in addition to female gender (ß = 0.30, p < .001), mental distress (ß = 0.17, p < .001), and body mass index (ß = 0.28, p < .001). The variables explained 28.9% of the variance in disturbed eating behavior symptoms, and medical school stress contributed 9%. "Worries about work and competence" was more important among the female students. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly one in five female medical students in the current sample reported symptoms of disturbed eating behavior. The symptoms were associated with medical school stress factors, mental distress, and body mass index.