He wants to be an enlightening force in a complex time

Mattias Bengtsson joins the university from the University of Gothenburg where he has been an Associate Professor of Sociology since 2013.

“In my new role as professor, I hope to build a research environment around social science research within the Faculty of Caring Science, Work Life and Social Welfare, but also in various interdisciplinary contexts at the University of Borås. In addition, I hope to inspire research colleagues so that they have the courage and desire to create new research, test ideas, and build networks,” he said.

Work life and welfare are linked

Mattias Bengtsson’s main research areas are work life and welfare research. His work is often based on issues of social inequality. He has, for example, studied the Swedish work line in connection with changes in active labour market policies and in unemployment and health insurance systems.

“Welfare’s security system is linked to how the labour market works. One example is health insurance. Stricter health insurance increases the demands on individuals to make themselves available to the labour market, which thus affects how the labour market works,” he explained.

“What we have seen in research since the mid-1990s is that people can less and less rely on the welfare state’s social security system. Recent decades have seen a more obligation-oriented and stricter approach. At the same time, the rights-oriented side of labour market policy, such as investment in education and traineeships, is less extensive than before. In parallel, unemployment benefit levels have, relatively speaking, decreased over time compared to average incomes.”

In the Swedish labour market, precarious forms of employment, such as hourly employment and gig work, have become increasingly common, which has to do with the establishment of global companies in Sweden, companies whose working model and conditions often clash with the Swedish model.

“Much of my research area is about studying the trend towards more precarious jobs and how they can be accommodated within the Swedish welfare system. For example, in a comparative Nordic research project, I have studied how the COVID-19 pandemic affected professional groups such as cultural workers. The pandemic lockdown made it even more clear that many of these professions are not covered by social security systems and that we need to modernise systems for these groups, as well,” he said.

Transformation of the welfare society

“The increased insecurity in the labour market and the reduction of the welfare system are an expression of a greater transformation of Swedish welfare, a welfare that faces major challenges linked to, among other things, a globalised economy and an ageing population in need of support” explained Mattias Bengtsson.

“The transformation will mean that the income gap between different groups in society will increase while there will be reductions in welfare, for example in areas such as the care of older people and in schools. Those hardest hit by the cuts are the unemployed and sick, but also children and older people who rely on welfare services. The cuts also affect many women, as they often work in the public sector, with tougher working condition and lower wages and pensions.”

“At the same time, the government has increasingly withdrawn from the responsibility of delivering welfare services. Instead, private actors and civil society have become increasingly important in welfare. We are moving towards a more market-based and selective welfare state model, which risks causing disappointment among many groups. The question is how this affects the legitimacy of the welfare state,” he said.

Follows the green transition

In one of his research projects, Mattias Bengtsson studies the establishment of battery factories in western Sweden. The project is part of a Forte-funded programme that deals with the automative industry’s green transition. He will monitor this at the regional and municipal level in 2023–2029 and examine their effects on the labour market and welfare.

“Building factories requires major conversion processes in schools, health, and social care. In addition, the necessary investments in infrastructure and the labour market need to be made in the municipalities concerned. At the same time, we have global competition from countries such as China and the United States, which means that companies are starting to reprioritise and postpone building factories. The battery factory in Skellefteå is a clear example of how these global transformation processes have consequences at regional and municipal level,” he said.

Examines the existential meaning of work

An area close to Mattias Bengtsson’s heart concerns social inequality linked to existential meaning at work. As he explained, “One shortcoming in sociological research, and in social science research in general, is that existential issues are not considered. What does it mean to take the perspective of existential sociology in studying work life and social inequality? Does work have a greater meaning for people and do people see their work differently depending on gender, class, and professional category?”

To address questions about the existential meaning of work, he has, together with Marita Flisbäck, also a professor at the University of Borås, conducted interview studies of people’s experience of retiring and how they view their work in connection with retirement.

“In our interviews, it became clear that many people who are retiring, regardless of their occupation or position, highlighted how meaningful work has been for them, including through the experience of contributing to society, helping other people, or passing on their experiences and knowledge. From an inequality perspective, it also emerged that people in working-class occupations do not have the same opportunities to stay in the profession after retirement, even if they wish to,” he said.

A critical look at complex contemporary problems

As a researcher in a society in which insecurity, social divisions, and distrust of democratic institutions are spreading, Mattias Bengtsson sees it as his task to be a force for enlightenment.

“When simple answers are demanded and strong leaders are called for as a solution to complex societal problems, it is especially important to be able to contribute other models of explanation, for example by showing how the problems are linked to major social transformations such as globalisation, demographics, or austerity in welfare policy,” he said.

As a researcher, he thrives best when he gets to be out in society and meet people, either when he does interview studies or when he presents his research to the public.

“When I interview, I get the opportunity to meet people I might never have met otherwise. And it is, of course, also very rewarding when the results are ready and it is time to present the research. At the University of Borås, we are fortunate because we have open seminars arranged by the Centre for Welfare Studies and R&D Sjuhärad Welfare, where we can communicate research results to the public,” he said.

“Something that also gives me existential meaning in my work is to follow my students over time, see how they develop, and to be able to pass on my knowledge, that they hopefully have taken in, out into society in their future professional life.”

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