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Marit Christensen
Per Øystein Saksvik
Maria Karanika-Murray Editors
The Positive Side

of Occupational
Health Psychology
The Positive Side of Occupational Health
Psychology
Marit Christensen Per Øystein Saksvik
•
Maria Karanika-Murray
Editors
The Positive Side

of Occupational Health
Psychology
123
Editors
Marit Christensen Maria Karanika-Murray
Department of Psychology Department of Psychology
NTNU Nottingham Trent University
Trondheim Nottingham
Norway UK

Department of Psychology
NTNU
Trondheim
Norway
ISBN 978-3-319-66780-5 ISBN 978-3-319-66781-2 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66781-2
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017954466
This is translated into the English language, enhanced and heavily revised from the Norwegian
Arbeidshelsepsykologi på norsk, published by Fagbokforlaget in 2015, Authors: Per Øystein Saksvik &
Marit Christensen. This translation has been published with the financial support of NORLA.
© Springer International Publishing AG 2017

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part
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Foreword
The aim of this book is to present the positive side of occupational health psy-
chology. Research within the field of occupational health psychology has
traditionally focused on investigating risk factors like job demands and stressors in
the workplace and the resulting health impairment process. However, it is difficult
to understand the dynamics behind the factors promoting well-being, health and
meaning through studies of illness, dissatisfaction and suffering. A positive focus
provides new and interesting approaches to challenges and opportunities in today’s
work life. Positive occupational health psychology has been influenced by positive
psychology, positive organizational behaviour and positive occupational
scholarship, which contribute to complement occupational health psychology. The
positive occupational health movement promotes an integrated and comprehensive
approach that we are discussing in several of the chapters in this book. This requires
a perspective where we understand and promote positive factors at work, while
continuing to investigate risk factors and occupational ill health (Bakker & Derks,
2010).
The world of work is continuously changing, and change is often described as
the only stable factor in organizations. This imposes high demands on employees
not only in the form of high workload and time pressure but also in the form of
more psychological demands as to how to cope with the social and technical
innovations. In times of insecurity regarding professional future and the growth
of the global economy, the importance of occupational health issues becomes even
more significant. Organizations are also increasingly more aware of how the
quantity and quality of employee contributions are essential business matters.
Modern organizations have therefore begun to have more focus on how to manage
human capital rather than an emphasis on control and cost reduction. Positive
occupational health psychology has a lot to offer regarding well-being and health of
employees, and a focus on obtaining and promoting job resources can also ensure
sustainable performance and productivity.
Most of the authors of this book have a background in the Scandinavian context,
where they have conducted most of their research. The history of occupational
health psychology highlights a key role for the Nordic countries (mainly Norway,
v
vi Foreword
Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland), with pioneering research on the alienation
of work and the dangers of Taylorism and a broader concern for the impact of work
on health and alternative ways of work organization. This can be traced back to the
Nordic model of work organization (Gustavsen, 2011; Hasle & Sorensen, 2013),
which emerged in the 1930s and
“was based on the idea of reducing conflicts in working life though pooling the measures
available to, respectively, the employers, the unions and the government resulting in
substantial packages covering a broad range of measures and institutions. With less con-
flicts productivity would increase, making room for wage increases, reduction in working
time, and welfare programs” (Gustavsen, 2011, pp. 466).
We would like to use the foreword to discuss positive occupational health

psychology in relation to the Nordic model and to argue that it might add some new
insights in addition to what we already know. We seek to demonstrate how work
and health and the discipline of occupational health psychology can be understood
from the more positive and collectively oriented Nordic perspective, with the aim of
promoting good work and yielding healthy, stimulating and productive work
environments.
Although the Nordic model and Taylorism have shared the same aim of maxi-
mizing productivity at work and rebuilding collapsed post-war economies, the two
traditions were in stark contrast in terms of the process by which this could happen.
The Nordic model has, at its core, “a cooperation between organized labour market
parties, and between these parties on the one hand and the state/the public on the
other” (Gustavsen, 2011, p. 464) and defines the elements of good work such as
autonomy, variety, learning and participation in decisions. Taylorism, on the other
hand, advocated specialization and rationalization of work. Alternatives have
emerged, including the human relations movement, the quality of working life
movement and the lean enterprise movement (Gustavsen, 2011), resulting in a
substantial number of research and national initiatives that have played a crucial
role in setting a course or direction in work organization. Distinguished figures have
emerged, most notably from Norway (e.g., the work of Lysgård in the 1960s;
Thorsrud and Emery in the 1970s; and Ursin in 1970s; see also Emery and
Thorsrud (1976); Thorsrud & Emery, 1970) and Sweden (e.g., the work of Theorell,
Gardell and Levi separately in the 1970s), whereas in Finland the first occupational
health psychologist was appointed at Kymmene paper mill in 1974, and in Sweden
we had the first scientific studies of ‘alienation’ of workers, monotony and par-
ticipation (by Gardell in the 1970s).1 This tradition is also reflected in the European
social model which combines the aims of economic growth with the aims of good
working conditions and living standards, and the 1989 European Framework
Directive (89/391/EEC, https://osha.europa.eu/el/legislation/directives/the-osh-
framework-directive/1) which was transposed into national law by 1992 by
European Member States. A number of cultural, social and economic characteristics
1
For a broader overview of the history of occupational health psychology, please see Schonfeld
and Chang (2017), Occupational Health Psychology: Work, Stress, and Health. Springer.
Foreword vii
have been linked to the Nordic model, underlined by a belief that individuals have
the ability to take control of their own future (social constructivism; Gustavsen,
2011). With variations within the Nordic countries group, these contextual char-
acteristics have been institutionalized as shared attitudes towards work, the
responsibility of organizations towards employees and the focus on worker health
and productivity. The benefits are tangible: “So far, this has placed he Nordic
countries in the lead in making the idea of good notion come real. In fact, in
practically all types of international comparisons—ranging from economy to health
and well-being—the Nordic countries come out with high scores, and if a broad
range of such studies are combined, they come out on top as a group of their own”
(Gustavsen, 2011, p. 479). Correspondingly, research also reflects a widespread
agreement on good work and essential principles such as autonomy, variety,
ownership and participation, learning and positive work relationships.
The question then becomes whether and how we could implement these prin-
ciples outside of the unique context from which they emerged. At the broader level,
this tradition has counterparts in, but has not necessarily directly influenced, a range
of practical mechanisms and tools. Examples are the tripartite model of social
dialogue, social innovation and more specifically, workplace innovation and local
examples of organizations explicitly built on the principles of employee partici-
pation and workplace democracy. Notable examples are Semco in Brazil, Sekem in
Egypt, SMUD in the USA and Vaude in Germany (Bal & de Jong, 2016). Although
the Nordic countries are leading on new work organization (e.g. shorter work week,
participation), it is possible for organizations and perhaps other countries to apply
elements of the Nordic model of work organization without going through the same
process of social construction, as these example organizations demonstrate. This
book is inspired by the Nordic model and built on the positive, comprehensive and
collective perspective, which also underlies the movement of positive occupational
health psychology.
In conclusion, there is a growing movement among researchers and practitioners
in occupational health psychology to have more integrated and comprehensive
approach to workplace health. This approach aims to have a balance between
prevention of illness at work and promotion of well-being and health by
enhancement of strengths, resources and optimal functioning in the workplace. We
hope this book will contribute to build a bridge between knowledge and practice
because an evidence-based approach to positive occupational health could con-
tribute to psychologically healthy workplace practices that foster employees’ health
and well-being while enhancing organizational performance. This book offers some
lessons aimed for researchers, organizations, employees and HR-professionals and
seeks to show how work and health and the discipline of occupational health
psychology can be understood from the more positive and collectively oriented
perspective inspired by the Nordic model.
viii Foreword
References
Bakker, A.B., & Derks, D. (2010). Positive occupational health psychology’, In S. Leka &
J. Houdmont (Eds.) Occupational Health Psychology pp. 194–224. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Bal, P. M., & de Jong, S. B. (2016). From human resource management to human dignity
development: A dignity perspective on HRM and the role of workplace democracy. In M.
Kostera & M. Pirson (Eds.), Dignity and Organizations. Palgrave MacMillan.
Emery, F. E., & Thorsrud, E. (1976). Democracy at work. Leiden, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
Gustavsen, B. (2011). The Nordic model of work organization. Journal of the Knowledge
Economy, 2(4), 463–480.
Hasle, P., & Sørensen, O. H. (2013). Employees as individually and collectively acting
subjects-Key contributions from nordic working life research. Nordic Journal of Working Life
Studies, 3(3), 9–30.
Thorsrud, E., & Emery, F. E. (1970). Industrial democracy in Norway. Industrial Relations: A
Journal of Economy and Society, 9(2), 187–196.
Thorsrud, E. (1970). A strategy for research and social change in industry: A report on the
industrial democracy project in Norway. Information (International Social Science Council), 9
(5), 64–90. Chicago.
Acknowledgements
We are deeply grateful for the support and feedback from colleagues when writing
this book. Our special thanks go to Øystein Indergård and Karianne Kvalheim for
your invaluable feedback and contributions regarding proof reading. We would also
like to thank Edona Zilkiqi for working with the translation of the book. This
translation has been published with the financial support of NORLA.
ix
Contents
1 What Is the Meaning of the Concept of Work from an

Occupational Health Perspective? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 What Is Health from an Occupational Health Perspective? . . . . . . 9
Marit Christensen
3 Explanatory Models in Occupational Health Psychology . . . . . . . . 19
4 Facilitating a Meaningful Work Situation—A Double-Edged
Sword? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Thomas Christian Espenes and Fay Giæver
5 Authentic Leadership, Psychological Capital, and Employees’
Well-Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Oyeniyi Samuel Olaniyan
6 Work, Family, and Leisure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Karoline Grødal
7 Work Engagement and Job Crafting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Marit Christensen
8 Constructive Stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
9 Coworkership and Prolific Behaviors in Modern Work Life . . . . . 99
Martin Schrøder, Marit Christensen, Siw Tone Innstrand
and Anette Fjeld
10 Successful Aging at Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Karianne Kvalheim, Marit Christensen and Siw Tone Innstrand
xi
xii Contents
11 From Sickness Absenteeism to Presenteeism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Per Øystein Saksvik, Karoline Grødal and Maria Karanika-Murray
12 Healthy Change in Intervention Research and Reorganization . . . . 135
Per Øystein Saksvik and Maria Karanika-Murray
13 Healthy Individuals in Healthy Organizations: The Happy
Productive Worker Hypothesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Marit Christensen
Contributors
Marit Christensen Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science

and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
Thomas Christian Espenes Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of
Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
Anette Fjeld Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and
Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
Fay Giæver Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and
Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
Karoline Grødal Department of Public Health and Nursing, Faculty of Medicine
and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology,
Trondheim, Norway
Siw Tone Innstrand Department of Public Health and Nursing, Faculty of
Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology,
Trondheim, Norway
Maria Karanika-Murray Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent
University, Nottingham, UK
Karianne Kvalheim Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of
Oyeniyi Samuel Olaniyan Norwegian School of Hotel Management, University
of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway
Per Øystein Saksvik Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of
Martin Schrøder Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science
and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
xiii
Chapter 1
What Is the Meaning of the Concept
of Work from an Occupational Health
Perspective?
To have an occupation has always been crucial for the survival of the human
species. This can be defined differently depending on which era we are talking
about. Before the industrial revolution, and in some societies, people thought of
work with disgust and contempt (Kildal, 2005). The ancient Greeks shared this view
and did not have much respect for what was then considered to be manual work.
This included the preparation of what was harvested from nature and was made
beneficial for humans. It was only through Adam Smith’s political–economical
writings in the 1700s that workers could disengage from preparing natural products
and instead could bring about wealth (Kildal, 2005). This, in turn, gave working a
new status, as something valuable and as an abstract quantity. The contrast with the
ancient Greeks, who viewed labor as near slavery, is striking. Working for our
survival, driven by our needs, was not something that distinguished us from the
animals, and therefore working was not considered important in a spiritual sense. It
was also seen as a disadvantage to be under the control of others, i.e., not to have
independence. In our part of the world, Christianity (in particular the various forms
of Protestant religion) has played an important part in the consideration of the value
of work. According to Christianity, our task on earth is to prepare ourselves for the
eternal afterlife, by fulfilling our duty on earth in a good and worthy manner and by
accomplishing the soul’s immortality. “By the sweat of your brow shall you earn
your bread” from the first book of Genesis is a motto for the Norwegian labor
movement. In this way, work becomes a duty, as something you have to do to earn
material wealth. Work is now a necessary tool for obtaining something else, and yet
it has no real value in itself. Throughout the middle ages, work had mostly negative
connotations. Priests and monks would perform tasks as punishment, to obtain
nourishment, and to avoid idleness. As Kildal (2005) puts it: “The word (read work)
P.Ø. Saksvik (&)

Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of
e-mail: per.saksvik@ntnu.no
© Springer International Publishing AG 2017 1

M. Christensen et al. (eds.), The Positive Side of Occupational Health Psychology,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66781-2_1
2 P.Ø. Saksvik
had originally a passive and negative content, and covered a large number of
conditions and activities.” According to the same author, humans didn’t think of
work as attractive and positive until the 1500s. Then, work was viewed as “humans’
purpose of engagement and activity” (Johansen, 1980, p. 396 in Kildal, 2005).
Work was still primarily considered as beneficial to God, not to man.
It was primarily through the writings of the father of capitalism, Adam Smith,
that work was elevated to a meaning in itself, and the economic self-interest of the
individual was given its power (Dahl, 2003). Marx supported working as a means
for self-actualization and was opposed to the idea of capitalism which stated that
work should be truly free and attractive (Kildal, 2005). A normal opinion in
Norway has been that work is synonymous with paid labor. This gives rise to
confusion since work is both an abstract category and a social reality that are mixed
together in “The white paper on welfare (Velferdsmeldingen) 94–95” (Heen, 2008).
There are many activities that are important to the individual, which are not, strictly
speaking work, in the sense of employment. Moreover, it is important that the
frameworks for employment are developed in today’s working conditions.
The function and role of work are in constant change, and this book aims to
understand how work defines itself today, and what changes we may see in the
future. As the book is based on the Norwegian workforce, the definition of work
will be based on where we are as a nation today, that is, what we define as the
postindustrial workforce. This concept includes a movement from a place where
working life has been dominated by an industrial logic toward something else
(Gershuny, 2003). What this “something else” entails, is not precise, but it can
involve knowledge, service, leisure, art, and culture, or a combination of these
themes that will distinguish our working life in the years to come. It is, for example,
only recently that we have seen Norwegian crime fiction becoming a commodity for
export, making the profession of author more lucrative and allowing multiple
authors to make a living even though only a few enjoy international success.
Even though the meaning of work in past years will become something else in
the society of the future, we cannot deny that working has a distinct function in our
society: to secure an income. The whole of western society is built upon the notion
that the individual has to contribute to the community through effort and taxes. Up
to 1949, a housewife’s added value was a part of the national budget in Norway.
This shows that the national income and an economical active population are
historically negotiated (Hagemann, 2007). In modern working life, wealth creation
will also have an extended role in terms of understanding what the value of work is.
Creating value has been given a long-term perspective. People, for example, tend to
invest in education and qualifications to get a “pay off” at a later time and to give
rise to new activities and products. The same applies to what is termed as green
values. Preserving the ecosystem is not achieved by having short-term profit, but
rather it happens by investing in future creations. Thus, future jobs will increasingly
be found within sectors which do not immediately create monetary values, but
rather are linked to long-term-based competence assets.
In the Norwegian and Nordic relations, we are known internationally for having
cooperation models amongst the parties in working life (Sørensen, Hasle, &
1 What Is the Meaning of the Concept of Work … 3
Hesselholt, 2012). This does not mean that a traditional model of work involving
employer and employee, with the function of a guiding state as a third part, will be
the dominant model for the future. Even though the number of self-employed people
is not high in Norway (less than 10% of the total work force), the country has a large
number of small companies operating in a state of turbulence (Karlsen & Lie, 2001).
These small businesses change more often than other businesses, and the future of
the workers is increasingly unpredictable. This book will discuss whether this is a
wanted or unwanted development from an occupational health perspective.
The idea that work has a greater function for the individual than merely securing
an income and ensuring survival, has been known for a long time. The classic study
of Jahoda between 1930 and 1950 concluded that work, in addition to its manifest
function, in terms of wages and benefits also has the latent function of providing
structure in life, social contact, status, and meaning (Newell & Newell, 2002). The
fact that work has a meaning beyond the creation of economic wealth was also an
important point for Thorsrud, one of the major working life research pioneers on
Norwegian working life (Emery & Thorsrud, 1976). He is especially known for
having included work in the democratization efforts in Norway after WW2. He
thought that working contributed to fulfilling a larger sum of needs, which included
meaning and the development of society. These needs were on an individual level,
but the idea was that they would contribute beyond the individual. Interestingly, in
this context, is not that work contributes to something beyond income and wealth
for the individual worker, but that these values are not only related to the economy,
but also to psychological values on an individual level and higher.
Today’s view of the concept of the value of work is, therefore, much more
differentiated. The thought that working gives life meaning becomes a natural
consequence of the historical precursors. From around the time of the new mil-
lennium, the meaning of work has assumed an important place in Danish working
life research (see for example Ravn, 2008). The concept becomes differentiated and
associated with individual, collective, and social meanings, but with the individual
as a point of departure. Seen from this perspective, this is not all that different from
the view of Thorsrud, only that “need” has switched places with “meaning.” The
idea that working in many ways changed identity and signification is important
when talking about occupational work psychology. Now, working plays a different
role, and the concept of work becomes more fluid. It is a fact that about 10% of the
inhabitants of Norway get a disability benefit, when, based on their age, they should
really be working. It is also true that some citizens retire before the age of retire-
ment. In spite of all the efforts put in place for people to work beyond their
retirement age, the value of not having a job has to be recognized. Many of those
without a job, still work voluntarily in organizations that are dependent on these
voluntary workers. Those taking early retirement could also be grandparents and
this could lessen the effects of the working-home conflict (see Chap. 6). The fact
that a great many people have relatively high education contributes to the changes
in working life. A number of people choose studies that do not necessarily end up in
a defined occupation or profession. Although many still end up in the established
workforce, they bring with them values and skills that can contribute to a better
4 P.Ø. Saksvik
understanding of the profession they eventually chose, and that will raise their own
and others’ self-awareness and sense of meaning. In an example from our field, the
M.Sc. in Organizational Psychology, it may be that the majority of those we
educate want everyday work with health, a good working environment, and safety.
However, in any future job, most people will benefit from the expertise acquired
from the courses we provide. In a project about temporary work, we found that a
consequence of an increasing number of temporary employees is that the standard
of occupational health and safety goes down (Eiken & Saksvik, 2009). If educa-
tional programs such as ours strengthen these qualifications, this will no longer be
an issue with temporary employment.
One of the best illustrations of the modern working world is Charles Chaplin’s
movie, “Modern Times” from 1937. In the movie, we follow a little man who is a
small part of a much bigger machine. The movie can be viewed as a critique of
Scientific Management, which still had an impact on industry. The message of the
movie is also valid in today’s modern workforce where achievement still is a key
concept. Sometimes, human labor is presented as something that is needed, but still
something that we could do without. The production line should not be so lean that
all unnecessarily slack is out of the question (Skorstad & Ramsdal, 2009). In their
book, Skorstad and Ramsdal (2009) implement a critical analysis of the notion that
lean production is the solution to problems and, at the same time, it gives the
workers more developing working tasks. They claim that it is rather the opposite,
and that the costs of these alterations are transferred to the employees who expe-
rience higher stress, bullying, and disempowerment. Nevertheless, a feature of the
development of automation and innovation at work can be a decrease or a change in
the number of people needed for jobs (Bain et al., 2007). This gives rise to fewer
routine-based tasks and decreased manual work, which entails a transition to a
highly skilled labor force, but also, maybe involuntarily as a consequence, that
work must be created in new areas to maintain employment. This also increases the
gap between rich and poor countries. In poorer countries, created wealth is still
associated with commodities and their processing, while in the richer parts of the
world there is more talk of expertise and increased technology. It is perhaps a
paradox that Norway is so dependent on natural recourses such as oil, and some
people claim that this limits the development of new employment in Norway.
These days we face a value debate on work. This concerns which values are
brought about by work, as well as what value working has for the individual. In
both areas, a lot is happening. Some years ago, only a few people thought there
could be a value in communications technology, like the Internet and cell phones.
Now, we see a great deal of occupations and wealth creation all around the world in
association with this technology, and the trend is moving increasingly faster. What
work is and what it means for the individual is also in rapid development. For
many, working is no longer just a restricted activity. Life becomes about working.
Naturally, this influences the consequences of the understanding of occupational
health. It is perhaps this major differentiation that becomes the most problematic. At
one end of the scale, we have those with marginal contact with working life: the
unemployed, the recipients of disability benefit, some of those in temporarily jobs,
and others who have difficulties with getting and keeping jobs (and in periods do
not want to work, who in Norway survive on the social security granted by the
state). Tanum interviewed unemployed subjects, who were considering working.
For several, it was not a given that they would choose an occupation. They could
live their lives without engaging in the workforce (Tanum, 2013). This phe-
nomenon is still new and has not yet been examined all that much, and the
long-term effects have not been researched. It could be that the need for social
contact and developing an identity is now filled by social media and that blogging
can be a form of creative expression that also gives meaning to people’s lives.
The other extreme in relation to work also requires further investigation. The
attitude can be illustrated with the concept of “Always present,” used as a slogan in
occupational groups, for example, real estate agents. This means that one is almost
never off work. You could get questions or be approached at all hours and in all
situations. A large number of occupational groups have the freedom to regulate
working hours and effort, such as musicians, artists, or professional athletes. Even
those relatively regulated occupations, like doctors, can have life involving working
situations. These occupations have what we call boundless careers (Bertelsen, 2011;
Sullivan & Arthur, 2006). Boundless refers to both psychological and physical
mobility, implying that it is difficult to categorize this kind of work as a threat or as
something that gives life value and content. Research done on doctors shows, for
example, that they experience circumstances that make them vulnerable to presen-
teeism (Løvseth & Saksvik, 2014; Thun, Fridner, Minucci, & Løvseth, 2014).
Presenteeism as a phenomenon will be discussed later on in this book (see Chap. 11).
This book is about the relationship between occupation and health, and when the
work has changed as much as it has, it should indicate that occupational health has
changed equally. Bain et al. (2007), after a thorough analysis of nine case studies,
concluded that: “Work today is the same mixture of satisfaction and unpleasantness
as it has always been, but the contemporary workplace is perhaps a more unstable
environment that we have been used to for some time (p. 1).” Based on these
researchers, what has changed in today’s working life is instability and uncertainty.
The implications of this are numerous, amongst others, the need to understand why
and how change happens. Furthermore, is it possible to initiate measures/
interventions that improve work and health, and generally, how can we develop
a greater sense of security in the workforce? However, this does not mean that
feeling secure is a basic premise for positive occupational health. Rather, that there
are some changes in relation to security in that today’s workers are more concerned
with competence—or what can be labeled professional security than security based
on a current position (Danielsen, Nordvik, & Saksvik, 2011).
This introduction to work has shown that work had diversity and variety. This
affects the picture of how work is today, and how it likely is to develop in the
future. This means that we cannot use the same set of norms for a cook employed at
a hotel as for a freelance journalist. This also implies different rules for marginal
workers, actively choosing to live on the state through social security, than for those
working in boundless careers by choice. Freedom, boundlessness, and diversity are
of course dependent on economical conjunctions and a functioning welfare state. In
6 P.Ø. Saksvik
our introductory book on occupational and organizational psychology, we wrote

that a future model for working life may be that when one ends education and until
the age of retirement one can receive a fixed salary, a citizen wage (Danielsen et al.,
2011). Those who, for different reasons are not capable of working, could poten-
tially live off these wages, while others could choose to work as much as they
would like (of course within some boundaries, defined by, for example, contract or
the government). The model is not that far from today’s reality, but has some
difficulties regarding politics and wealth variables. The model can lead to a larger
gap and greater inequality in society, but it addresses the issue of poverty. Some
might fear the possibility that not enough people will choose to remain employed,
and especially not chose what is considered hard and demanding work or low-status
work. The same debate is applicable to pension reforms. Our thinking in writing
this was that the future occupations all need to be upgraded in terms of becoming
more stimulating and motivating, and that easy routine job will become more
automated. The future will tell if this is about to become a reality. Throughout this
book, we frequently discuss the theme of the development of the concept of work.
Ideas on how work should be in the future, and how this is important for the
occupational health, have received a lot media attention from a Danish institution
(Max Planch Odense Center on the Biodemography on Aging) (http://www.sdu.dk/
en/om_sdu/institutter_centre/maxo). They claim that, in a week, 25 h should be the
optimal working hours and that we should not retire until the age of 80. The reason
given for that is that a shorter work day benefits all ages. For example, parents would
have more time with their children and would exercise more. From a preventable
perspective is it claimed that the elderly would have a job to go to (see also Chap. 10
). The debate about the length of the workday is not a new one. For example, there
exists an international movement that tries to implement a six-hour workday (http://
www.6hourday.org). This has not received huge support amongst the politicians in
Norway, but still there are examples from Norway of successes in this area (Kico &
Saksvik, 2015). These successes can also be found in Sweden http://www.
huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/05/sweden-working-hous_n_5446579.html), and the
debate is still going on in Norway. What is optimal from an occupational health
psychology perspective would be to reduce working hours for all throughout a career
and aim to prolong professional life. However, it is not occupational health that
governs these developments. Political constraints have a greater significance. We
will examine in detail some aspects of occupational health psychology that will
make us revise our views on work.
References
Bain, P. M., Baldry, C. J., Bunzel, D., Gall, G., Gilbert, K., Hyman, J. D., et al. (2007). The
meaning of work in the new economy. Future of work. Basingstoke, United Kingdom:
Palgrave.
Bertelsen, T. (2011). En grenseløs karriere?: En studie av enkelte arbeidstakeres karriereen-
dringer innen norske kunnskapsintensive sektorer [The boundaryless career?: A study of some
employees career changes in Norwegian expert-knowledge sectors] (Master Thesis). University

of Oslo, Oslo.
Dahl, T. (2003). Hvilken moral for dagens marked og miljø? [What kind of moral for to-days
market and environment]. In H. Brattebø (Ed.), Program for industral ecology. Report no:
3/2003.
Danielsen I. H, Nordvik, H., & Saksvik, P. Ø. (2011). Individuell karriere og lojalitet til bedriften
—motstridende interesser? [Individual career and loyalty to the enterprice—contradictory
interests?]. In P. Ø. Saksvik (Ed.), Arbeids- og organisasjonspsykologi [Work. And
Organizational Psychology]. Oslo: Cappelen Akademisk Forlag.
Eiken, T., & Saksvik, P. Ø. (2009). Temporary employment as a risk factor for occupational stress
and health. Policy and Practice in Health and Safety, 07, 75–93.
Emery, F. E., & Thorsrud, E. (1976). Democracy at work. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
Gershuny J. I. (2003). Changing times: Work and leisure in postindustrial society. Oxford: Oxford
university press.
Hagemann, G. (2007). Reciprocity and redistribution: Work and welfare reconsidered. Edizioni
Plus: Pisa University Press.
Heen, H. (2008). Om bruken av begrepet arbeid [On the use of the concept work]. Sosiologi i dag,
38, 29–50.
Karlsen, J. E., & Lie, T. (2001). Et Nordisk grep på arbeidsmiljøregulering [A Nordic grip on
work environment regulation]? Nordic Council of Ministers.
Kico, E., & Saksvik. P. Ø. (2015). Derailed, but implemented. In M. Karanika-Murray & C. Biron
(Eds.), Derailed organizational stress and well-being interventions: Confessions of failure and
solutions for success. Netherlands: Springer Education.
Kildal, N. (2005). Fra arbeidsbegrepets historie: Aristoteles til Marx [From det history of the
work consept. Aristoteles to Marx]. Stein Rokkan senter for flerfaglige samfunnsstudier.
Bergen: Universitetsforskning Bergen. Notat 3.
Løvseth, L., & Saksvik, P. Ø. (2014). Prevalence, determinants and interventions to prevent
sickness presenteeism among physicians in Academic Medicine. Preliminary results based on
the HOUPE study and Nordic NOS-HS study. Paper presentation at the 11th EAOHP
Conference, London.
Newell, S., & Newell, S. (2002). Creating the healthy organization: Well-being, diversity and
ethics at work. Psychology at work. Cengage Learning EMEA: Boston.
Ravn, I. (2008). Mening i arbejdslivet – definition og konceptualisering [Meaning at work—
definition and conceptualization]. Tidsskrift for Arbejdsliv, 10(4), 59–75.
Skorstad E. J., & Ramsdal, H. (Eds.) (2009). Flexible organizations and the new working life: A
European perspective. Farnham: Ashgate.
Sullivan, S., & Arthur, M. B. (2006). The evolution of the boundaryless career concept: Examining
physical and psychological mobility. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 1(69), 19–29.
Sørensen, O. H., Hasle P., Hesselholt, R. R., & Herbøl. K. (2012). Nordiske Perspektiver på
Arbejdsmiljø - Mening, Indflydelse og samarbejde [Nordic work environment perspectives—
mening, control and cooperation]. NMR-rapport, Det Nationale Forskningscenter for
Arbejdsmiljø. Nordisk Ministerråds rapportserie.
Tanum, M. S. B. (2013). Arbeid? Ikke for enhver pris: En narrativ studie av arbeidslediges
hverdag [Employment? Not for any cost: A narrative study of the ordinary day of unemployed
people] (Unpublished master’s thesis). Universitetet i Oslo, Oslo.
Thun, S., Fridner, A., Minucci, D., & Løvseth, L. T. (2014). Sickness present with signs of
burnout: The relationship between burnout and sickness presenteeism among university
hospital physicians in four European countries. Scandinavian Psychologist, 1. doi:10.15714/
scandpsychol.1.e5.
Chapter 2
What Is Health from an Occupational
Health Perspective?
Marit Christensen
In understanding and explaining what the phenomenon of occupational health

revolves around, we have to take a closer look at the concept of health, as well as
asking the question: what is health? Answering this question is almost impossible
because health is a highly complicated, complex, and context-dependent concept.
Most of us agree that this concept is much more than simply the absence of illness,
yet health is also dependent on culture and experience since health is something that
changes throughout the entire life course. If it is so difficult to define health, then we
could be asking what is the point of writing this chapter? The aim is to help the
readers to be attentive to the complexity of the concept of health so that it can be used
to reflect on various issues in terms of the challenges facing occupational health.
In this chapter, we first introduce a short historic view on the concept of health,
starting from the early philosophers. We then focus on developments in the field of
health from concern with infectious diseases to the focus on lifestyle diseases, that
is, a shift from a biomedical explanatory model to a biopsychosocial explanatory
model. Finally, we will discuss the differences and overlap with regard to different
approaches to a health-promoting perspective. In addition, the focus will be on the
health concept and how we should understand it. Here, we will make an attempt to
reflect on how we define, operationalize, and measure health.
2.1 Challenges
Health issues create major challenges and costs for society. At the same time, they
cause major losses for employers in terms of sickness absenteeism, sickness pre-
senteeism, and production losses. The state of Norway annually spends 37.7 billion
M. Christensen (&)
Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of
e-mail: marit.christensen@ntnu.no
© Springer International Publishing AG 2017 9

M. Christensen et al. (eds.), The Positive Side of Occupational Health Psychology,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66781-2_2
10 M. Christensen
kroner on illness benefit, that is, about 14,500 Norwegian kroner for every
employee in Norway. If all the losses are taken in account, the cost was estimated to
be around 61.4 billion kroners in 2013, or 23,600 Norwegian kroner for every
employee. In addition, the employer’s losses have to be considered. In a report on
the cost to industries (Hem, 2011), it was estimated that employers pay 13,000
Norwegian kroner every week (Hem, 2011). As an agenda in the workforce health
issues should not be seen as a burden, since they produce increased opportunities
and advantages. These can be in the form of reduced costs, reduced risk, and lower
absenteeism and turnover. For employers, health issues can contribute to them
establishing a good reputation for protecting their employees, which is favorable
when collaborating with partners and for future employees. Last, but absolutely not
least, placing health issues on the agenda could lead to higher productivity if the
employees are healthier, happier, and more motivated.
2.2 History
The question of what health really is has been on people’s minds since the dawn of
time. The early Greek philosophers were later convinced that maintaining good
health and fighting off disease was related to natural rather than supernatural factors.
These included both physical and social health determinants and defined health as a
state of dynamic balance between inner and outer surroundings. Thus, they oriented
medicine toward a more scientific and humanistic perspective. The Greek
philosopher Plato (428–348 B.C.) said that when looking for the reasons and
treatment of disease, we should look at the human as a whole rather than focusing
only on parts of the body.
Hippocrates (ca. 460–377 B.C.) is viewed as the western father of medicine and
is thought to be one of the most influential people in the history of medicine. He
rejected the supernatural and set the foundation for medicine as a science. Illness
was not necessarily a result of the wrath of the gods, rather it was caused by
environmental factors, diet, and lifestyle.
Aristotle (384–322 B.C.) believed that one should be careful when dealing with
anything one could not measure. The physical is easily measurable, but the mind is
not so easily measured. Based on this view, we have numerous important studies on
diseases and their treatment, but the understanding is that a disease can be explained
as a lack in the human’s physical apparatus. Aristotle introduced eudaimonia as the
highest of all human needs, that is, self-realization and the realization of one’s
potential.
The lack of concurrence between the philosophical thought and how to live the
good life, and how human health is constructed, probably stems from the scientific
revolution, where health was related to biological science. This conceptualized
health in relation to the human body. Descartes (1596–1650) introduced the mind
and body dualism. This means that humans consist of two separate parts: the body
and the mind. Medical technology escalated this trend. Descartes suggested that the
2 What Is Health from an Occupational Health Perspective? 11
body and mind do connect at one point, “pineal gland” (later called epiphysis), but
that they did not affect each other. The biomedical model is based on such thoughts.
The biomedical model of health focuses only on biological factors and excludes
psychological, environmental, and social explanations. This model explains health
as being the absence of disease or illness. Its main focus is on physical processes
that influence our health, such as biochemical factors, physiology, or pathology.
The assumption is that disease has an underlying cause; if the cause is removed, one
will be healthy again (Engel, 1977; Espnes & Smedslund, 2009). This health model
is closely attached to a disease model that is often described as being reductionist.
This is because of the claim that it reduces disease to smaller body parts or limiting
biological processes. Reductionism has become the big success of biomedical
medicine. Development in this field is excessive, and its detailed knowledge is
becoming even more extensive. The biomedical model emerged in the
mid-nineteenth century and focuses on the physical body when diagnosing and
initiating treatment which, at that time, was closely related to the challenges of
infectious disease such as influenza and tuberculosis. The causes of these diseases
were identified and the treatment implemented. The big breakthrough came with the
discovery of penicillin. Large vaccination programs were carried out, and this led to
a massive decline in the number of cases of such diseases (Engel, 1977). Based on
this, the popularity of the biomedical model is understandable.
During the 1950s, there was an explosion of what were commonly referred to as
lifestyle diseases (diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, etc.). These diseases
compensate for the earlier infectious diseases as the main cause of death in western
countries. We have also witnessed an increase in psychosomatic diseases, which
include stress, burnout, back, and neck problems. Based on this development, it
would be correct to assume that the existing method of medical treatment using the
biomedical model is no longer adequate, and there has been a growing need for a
greater focus on psychological and social processes in addition to the biomedical
perspective.
The biopsychosocial model was launched as a reaction to biological reduc-
tionism and tried to build a bridge between the physical–biological and the psy-
chological aspects of health. George L. Engel introduced in the 1970s the
biopsychosocial model (Engel, 1977). Engel acknowledged the enormous contri-
bution to the understanding of disease, but he disagreed with the view that diseases
only had physical causes. He emphasized the importance of the psychological and
social aspects of human illness (Matrazzo, 1980). Using the biopsychosocial model
of health, Engel proposed that a more holistic understanding of the patient’s bio-
logical, social, psychological, and behavioral background should be considered
when reaching a diagnosis and identifying treatment. The biopsychosocial model
assumes that an individual’s own sense of how they feel will have great conse-
quences for their health (Suls & Rothman, 2004) (see Fig. 2.1).
Biological influences continue to play a key role in the biopsychosocial model,
where the physiological cause is identified and examined. However, biological
factors are only one component of the whole picture of an illness. Psychological
influences are viewed as another of the main components that can contribute to
12 M. Christensen
physical health
genetic vulnerabilities disability
BIOLOGICAL
temperament
drug effects
IQ
peers Mental self-esteem
Health
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL
family
relationships
family circumstances coping skills
trauma
school social skills
Fig. 2.1 Biopsychosocial health model
understanding the picture of an illness. This could, for example, include depression,
health behavior, and negative thought patterns. The third key component is soci-
ological influences, where we examine illness from a sociological perspective. Here
we include, for example, economical relations, religion, and technology as
important contributors to the development of disease. This model is based on the
treatment of illness but it also includes health promotion as an essential component
due to its focus on how to maintain and promote health throughout the lifecycle.
2.3 Health Promotion
The approach on how one act in accordance to health and treatment of health can be
separated in three distinguished phases. Treatment/rehabilitation stands for treating
and relieving injury that is already emerged. Discovering means and interventions
for removing risk factors for disease is the aim of preventional work. Whilst health
promotional work is to bring awareness to behavior that maintain and encourage
health by advancing skills that gives control over the environment and increase the
energy level. In real-life health promotion and preventive work are interacting and
2 What Is Health from an Occupational Health Perspective? 13
Illness Health
Sence of
Illness Quality of life
coherence
Engagement
Treatment/
Prevention Promotion Participation
rehabilitation
Well-being
Health factors
Injury Functional hindrance Health-risk Creativity
Diagnose Risk zone Target zone
Fig. 2.2 Model of rehabilitation, prevention, and health promotion (Idébanken). Source Idébanken,
http://www.idebanken.org/innsikt/artikler/helsefremmende-arbeidsplasser
complement each other, and different interventions can include the same elements
(see Fig. 2.2).
WHO defines health promotion as “process of enabling people to increase
control over, and to improve, their health” (WHO, 1986). The Ottawa charter for
health promotion is an international agreement, elaborated and approved on the first
international conference of health promotion, organized by WHO in Ottawa,
Canada in 1986. Here they made an effort in supplementing WHO’s definition by
adding that health is a recourse in a humans’ life, and not the object of the human
existence. The Ottawa charter was the first document, which emphasized on health
promotion and focused on making a conceptualization of health so that it could be
more useable in health-related work and research. This was achieved when they
realized which conditions had to be fulfilled for maintaining and achieving good
health. In this agreement, it is stressed that health promotional work is closely
associated with politics, all levels of the society and with the local environment.
Through this, the aim was to achieve “health for everyone” within 2000. In
Norway, one can, for example, see the effects of this through the Working
Environmental Act, which in § 1-1 states that the act’s purpose is to ensure a work
environment that provides the basis for a healthy and meaningful working situation.
2.4 Definition of Health
As we can see from this discussion of its historical development, health has tra-
ditionally been defined as the absence of disease (Nelson & Simmons, 2003). In
light of this understanding, one can ask questions about the definition and the
14 M. Christensen
understanding of health and about its approach to causal explanations for the
development a disease. Is it possible for one to enjoy good health while dealing
with a chronic disease? If someone does not have a disease but is feeling low, can
we define them as having good health? The understanding of health has been
debated for a long time, and today there is agreement that health is a complex
concept that extends far beyond the absence of disease. The Central Bureau of
Statistics reporting on Norway’s (SSB) health research concluded that the absence
of disease did not correlate with the main criteria for health. Ninety-six percent of
individuals without chronic illnesses and seventy-one percent of those with chronic
illnesses reported having either good or great health (Lunde, 1999).
The severity of a disease, and in particular, the reduction in functional ability,
has an influence on the experience of health. Only thirty percent of those experi-
encing difficulties related to illnesses in everyday life reports good health. One
explanation may be that the disease plays a part in the whole understanding of
health. The most celebrated definition of health comes from the WHO, which sees
health as a condition of entire physical, mental, and social well-being (WHO,
1948). This definition has been the subject of considerable criticism, especially
because of the notion that absence of disease is a condition for obtaining good
health and that good health is obtained through complete well-being. The chal-
lenges are based on three assumptions contained in the definition. Without
exception, disease and health cannot coexist. Disease is disease; there is no room
for differentiating between a mild and a more serious illness, such as cancer. The
definition gives the impression that it is universal. The form it takes includes all
humans without considering individual and social characteristics. Despite these
criticisms, there is still value in this definition because it includes the notion of a
positive well-being and gives the health concept a multidimensional character.
A definition of health that claims health to be more that the absence of disease
gives rise to obstacles when defining and dealing with a positive health concept
(Nelson & Simmons, 2003). Health has been described as a continuum between two
end points where we find positive health on one side and disease on the other. It is
not only medics that are interested in the definition of health today; the concept is
also of great interest amongst philosophers. In their paper, Ryff and Singer (1998)
compared different approaches from both a medical and a philosophical standpoint.
The two disciplines have approached the concept of health in largely different ways.
The focus of medicine has been disease, treatment, and the prevention of disease,
whereas the focus of philosophy has been on well-being and mind–body interac-
tion. Ryff and Singer’s argument for the interaction between the mental and soma
has been neglected for the last hundred years. They emphasize that having a goal in
life, a social network, self-confidence, and the sensation of mastering your envi-
ronment are important predictors for good health. Furthermore, the interaction
between the mind and the body is important when we interpret and master obstacles
within ourselves to obtain our physical health status. Ryff and Singer concluded that
positive emotions contribute to a restitution and prevention of a disease. In this
definition of positive health, they introduce three key principles: (1) Health is more
of a philosophical question rather than a medical one, and therefore there is a need
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CHAPTER XX
STILL FALLING
§1
IT was in the first week of April that Catherine began to look about
for suitable lodgings. By this time the cottage at High Wood was half-
naked of floor coverings: patches on the wallpaper showed where
pictures had been wont to hang, and only essential furniture
remained. The place was very dreary and inhospitable, and
Catherine had many fits of depression during the last two weeks of
March, which were bitterly cold and rainy. She was looking forward
eagerly to the coming of the warm weather, and with the first of April,
which was warm and spring-like, her spirits rose. Rose, that is,
merely by comparison with her previous state: ever since her illness
a melancholy had settled on her soul which, though it occasionally
darkened into deep despair, never broke into even passing radiance.
The sale of her household effects had given her a credit balance
of a hundred and ten pounds, and there was still a few pounds’ worth
of furniture which she was keeping right until the last. Of late her arm
had begun to improve somewhat, which made her unwilling to
discontinue the massage treatment, though Madame Varegny was
very costly. That and the incidental expenses of living would soon
eat into her hundred and ten pounds.
Yet on the morning of the first of April she was quite cheerful,
relatively. It was as if a tiny ray of sunshine were shyly showing up
behind the piles of clouds that had settled shiftless on her soul. The
forest trees were just bursting into green leafage; the air warm and
comforting; of all seasons this was the most hopeful and the most
inspiring. She took a penny tram down to the Ridgeway Corner, and
enjoyed the wind blowing in her face as she sat on the top deck. At
the Ridgeway she turned down Hatchet Grove and into the haunts of
her earliest days.
The painful memories of her life were associated much more with
“Elm Cottage” than with Kitchener Road. Kitchener Road, teeming
with memories though it was, could bring her no pain and but mild
regrets: the magnitude of more recent happenings took away from it
whatever bitterness its memories possessed. She was walking down
its concrete sidewalks before she realized where she was, and a
certain vague familiarity with the landscape brought her to a
standstill in front of the Co-operative Society branch depot.
Everything was very little altered. A recent tree-planting crusade had
given the road a double row of small and withered-looking copper
beeches, each supported by a pole and encased in wire-netting. The
Co-operative Society had extended its premises to include what had
formerly been a disused workshop, but which now, renovated and
changed almost beyond recognition, proclaimed itself to be a
“licensed abattoir.” Catherine did not know what an abattoir was, but
the name sounded curiously inhospitable. She passed by No. 24,
and was interested to see that the present occupier, according to a
tablet affixed to the side of the porch, was
H. Thicknesse, Plumber and Glazier. Repairs promptly attended
to.
The front garden was ambitiously planted with laurels, and the
entire exterior of the house showed Mr. Thicknesse to be a man of
enterprise.
In the sunshine of an April day Kitchener Road seemed not so
tawdry as she had expected, and then she suddenly realized that
during the years that she had been away a subtle but incalculably
real change had been taking place. Kitchener Road had been slowly
and imperceptibly becoming respectable. There was a distinct
cæsura where the respectability began: you could tell by the curtains
in the windows, the condition of the front gardens, and the
occasional tablet on the front gate: “No Hawkers; No Circulars; No
Canvassers.” What precisely determined the position of the cæsura
was not clear: maybe it was the licensed abattoir, or most probably
the cæsura was constantly and uniformly shifting in a given direction.
At any rate, the road was immeasurably loftier in the social scale
than it had been when she and her parents had occupied No. 24.
Turning into Duke Street, she discovered the Methodist Chapel
under process of renovation: scaffolding was up round the walls and
the railings in front were already a violent crimson. A notice declared
that:
During the redecorating of the Chapel, services, both morning
and evening, will be held in the schoolroom.
It was the schoolroom in which her father had given Band of
Hope demonstrations and evenings with the poets; it was the
schoolroom in which she had flung a tea-cup at the head of Freddie
McKellar. Curiously vivid was the recollection of that early incident. If
she had gone inside she could have identified the exact spot on the
floor on which she stood to aim the missile.... One thing was plain: if
Kitchener Road had risen in the social scale its rise had been more
than compensated for by a downward movement on the part of Duke
Street. Duke Street was, if such were possible, frowsier than ever.
Many of the houses had converted their bay-window parlours into
shops, and on the window-frame of one of these Catherine noticed
the “Apartments” card. She wondered if she would ever have to live
in a place like that. It was a greengrocer’s shop, and the gutter in
front was clogged with cabbage leaves and the outer peelings of
onions. The open front door showed a lobby devoid of floor covering,
and walls scratched into great fissures of plaster. As she passed by
a woman emerged from the shop, with a man’s cap adjusted with hat
pins, and a dirty grey apron. In her hand she held a gaudily
decorated jug, and Catherine saw her cross the road and enter the
off-license belonging to the “Duke of Wellington.”
§2
The summit of disaster was reached when Catherine received
one morning in April a bill of eighty-five pounds from a London
furniture company! At first she thought it must be a mistake, until she
read the list of the specified articles sold to her and identified them
as things that had been included amongst a lot that the second-hand
dealers had bought from her for twenty-five guineas. It showed the
chaotic state of her finances, as well as her complete carelessness
in money matters, that she had not the slightest recollection of
having incurred the bill. Nor did she recollect having paid for the
articles: she had merely overlooked the transaction entirely. And now
she must pay eighty-five pounds for a bedroom suite she no longer
possessed! The way she had swindled herself irritated her beyond
measure. And this time she became seriously alarmed for the future.
Twenty-five pounds does not last for long, particularly with electric
massage treatment costing three guineas a week. Her excursion to
Duke Street had impressed her with the horror of what she might
have to come to some day, and now this furniture bill had cut away
the few intervening steps that had yet to be descended. She must
fall with a bump. It was quite inevitable.
But at first she could not reconcile herself to the new conditions
that must be hers for the future. Her dreams of fame as a pianist
were still undiminished, and they helped her considerably by
suggesting: This débâcle is but a swift excursion: it cannot last for
more than a few weeks at the most. Before long I shall be back
again, maybe at “Elm Cottage.” This adventure is really quite
romantic. It should be interesting while it lasts. Nay, it even enhances
the strangeness of me that such adventures should come my way....
Egoism for once helped her to submit to what, viewed in a sane light,
would have been intolerable. Yet in her darker moments the thought
would come over her: perhaps I shall never come back. Perhaps I
shall never regain the heights I have surrendered. Perhaps this is the
end of me....
Only once at this time did she give way to uttermost despair. And
that was when a second-hand bookseller bought all her library for
five pounds. There were shelves stocked with Wells and Shaw and
Ibsen and Galsworthy and Bennett and Hardy and Granville Barker.
The whole was worth at least twice what she received for it. But it
was not that that made her unhappy. It was the realization that this
was her tacit withdrawal from the long struggle to lift herself on to a
higher plane. She had tried to educate herself, to stock her mind with
wisdom beyond her comprehension, to reconstitute herself in a
mould that nature had never intended for her. And there had been
times when the struggle, vain and fruitless though it ever was, was a
thing of joy to her, of joy even when she was most conscious of
failure. But now these books held all her dead dreams, and she
cared for them with an aching tenderness. All the things she had
tried hard to understand and had never more than half understood
were doubly precious now that she was beginning to forget them
all.... One book alone she kept, and justified her action in so doing
on the ground that the dealer would only give her sixpence for it. It
was Ray Verreker’s Growth of the Village Community. It had a good
binding, she argued, and it would be a shame to let it go for
sixpence. But after all, it was a mere piece of sentimentality that she
should keep it. It was no use to her at all. Even in the old days, when
a strange enthusiasm had prompted her to seek to make herself
mistress of its contents, it had been woefully beyond her
understanding. And now, when she tried to re-read its opening
chapter, every word seemed cruel. All the technical jargon about
virgates and demesnelands and manorial courts inflicted on her a
sense of despair deeper than she had ever felt before. Finally, when
she came to a quotation from a mediæval trade charter in Latin, she
cried, for no very distinct reason save that she could not help it. After
all the issue was plain, and in a certain sense comforting. However
low she might descend in the social scale, she was not sacrificing
intellectual distinction, for that had never been more than a dream
and a mirage. If ever anyone by taking thought could have added
one cubit to her intellectual stature that person must have been she.
Time and effort and her heart’s blood had gone into the struggle. And
nought had availed....
But she put Growth of the Village Community amongst the little
pile of personal articles that she intended to take with her when she
moved into lodgings....
CHAPTER XXI
FALLEN
§1
ON the afternoon of the fifteenth of April, Catherine sat with her hat
and coat as yet unremoved in the front sitting-room of No. 5, Cubitt
Lane. She had taken a drastic step, and had only just begun to
realize its full significance. Her lips, tense in a manner suggestive of
troubled perplexity, began to droop slowly into an attitude of poignant
depression. Accustomed as she was to lofty and spacious rooms,
this front sitting-room seemed ridiculously small and box-like. The
wallpaper was a heavy chocolate brown with a periodic design which
from a distance of a few feet looked like a succession of fat
caterpillars. A heavy carved overmantel over the fireplace and a
sideboard with a mirror on the opposite wall multiplied the room
indefinitely into one long vista of caterpillars. Catherine sat
disconsolately at a small wicker table by the window. The outlook
was disappointing. On the opposite side of the road, children were
converging from all directions into the entrance to the Infants’
Department of the Cubitt Lane Council School. It was that season of
the year devoted to the trundling of iron hoops, and the concrete
pavements on both sides of the road rang with them.
Catherine had chosen No. 5, Cubitt Lane because it combined
the cheapness of some of the lower-class districts with the
respectability of a class several degrees higher than that to which it
belonged. Cubitt Lane was a very long road leading from the slums
of Bockley to the edge of the Forest, and that portion of it nearest the
Forest was in the parish of Upton Rising, and comparatively
plutocratic. Only near its junction with Duke Street and round about
the Council Schools was it anything but an eminently high-class
residential road. It was curious that, now that fame and affluence had
left her, Catherine clung to “respectability” as something that she
could not bear to part with. In the old days she had scorned it,
regarded it as fit only for dull, prosaic and middle-aged people: now
she saw it as the only social superiority she could afford. The days of
her youth and irresponsibility were gone. She was a woman—no,
more than that, she was a “lady.” And she must insist upon
recognition of that quality in her with constant reiteration. She must
live in a “respectable neighbourhood” in “respectable lodgings.” And,
until such time as her arm allowed her to regain her fame and
reputation as a pianist, she must find some kind of “respectable
work.”
No. 5, Cubitt Lane was undoubtedly respectable. Yet Catherine,
even as she recognized this, was profoundly stirred at the realization
of what this red-letter event meant to her. From the wreckage of her
dreams and ideals only one remained intact, and that was her
ambition as a pianist. That was her one link with the past, and also,
she hoped, her one link with the future. She looked at the trumpery
little eighteen-guinea piano she had brought with her and saw in it
the embodiment of her one cherished ambition. Now that all the
others were gone, this solitary survivor was more precious than ever
before. Her hand was slowly improving, and soon she would start the
long struggle again. Her determination was quieter, more dogged,
more tenacious than ever, but the old fiery enthusiasm was gone. It
was something that had belonged to her youth, and now that her
youth had vanished it had vanished also.
Mrs. Lazenby was a woman of unimpeachable respectability.
Widowed and with one daughter, she led a life of pious struggling to
keep her precarious footing on the edge of the lower middle classes.
Every Sunday she attended the Duke Street Methodist Chapel and
sang in a curious shrivelled voice every word of the hymns, chants
and anthems. Her crown of glory was to be appointed
superintendent of the fancy-work stall at the annual bazaar. She had
not attended the chapel long enough to have known either
Catherine’s father or mother, and nobody apparently had ever
acquainted her with the one exciting event in the annals of the
Literary and Debating Society. But she was “known by sight” and
“well-respected” of all the leading Methodist luminaries, and once,
when she was ill with lumbago, the Rev. Samuel Sparrow prayed for
“our dear sister in severe pain and affliction.” Her daughter Amelia, a
lank, unlovely creature of nineteen, was on week-days a shopgirl at
one of the large West-end multiple stores, and on the Sabbath a
somewhat jaded and uninspired teacher at the Methodist Sunday
Schools. For the latter post she was in all respects singularly
unfitted, but her mother’s pressure and her own inability to drift out of
it as effortlessly as she had seemed to drift in kept her there. She
was not a bad girl, but she was weak and fond of pleasure: this latter
desire she had to gratify by stealth, and she was in a perpetual state
of smothered revolt against the tyranny of home.
Into the ways and habits of this curious household, Catherine
slipped with an ease that surprised herself. Mrs. Lazenby treated her
with careful respect, for the few personal possessions that Catherine
had brought with her were of a style and quality that afforded ample
proof of her social eligibility. Then, also, her conversation passed
with honours the standard of refinement imposed mentally by Mrs.
Lazenby on every stranger she met. Amelia, too, was impressed by
Catherine’s solitariness and independence, by her secretiveness on
all matters touching her past life and future ambitions. All she knew
was that Catherine had been a successful professional pianist and
had been forced into reduced circumstances by an attack of neuritis.
Amelia thought that some day Catherine might become an ally
against the pious tyranny of her mother. She cultivated an intimacy
with Catherine, told her of many personal matters, and related with
much glee scores of her clandestine adventures with “boys.” She
developed a habit of coming into Catherine’s bedroom at night to
talk. Catherine was apathetic. At times Amelia’s conversation was a
welcome relief from dullness: at other times it was an unmitigated
nuisance. But on the whole Catherine’s attitude towards Amelia was
one of contemptuous tolerance.
§2
It was on a sleepy Sunday afternoon in June, whilst Amelia was
teaching at the Sunday School and Mrs. Lazenby out visiting a
spinster lady of her acquaintance, that Catherine had the sudden
impulse to commence the long struggle uphill again whence she had
come. The last of Madame Varegny’s electric massage treatments
had been given and paid for: her arm was practically well again: in
every other respect than the financial one the outlook was distinctly
hopeful. Outside in Cubitt Lane the ice-cream seller and whelk
vendor were going their rounds; a few gramophones and pianos had
begun their Sabbath inanities. But as yet the atmosphere was
somnolent: you could almost hear (in your imagination, at any rate)
the snorings and breathings of all the hundreds of tired folks in Cubitt
Lane and Duke Street, in placid contentment sleeping off the effects
of a massive Sunday dinner....
Catherine sat down in front of the eighteen-guinea English
masterpiece. Mrs. Lazenby had put a covering of red plush on the
top of the instrument and crowned that with a number of shells with
black spikes, and a lithograph of New Brighton Tower and
Promenade in a plush frame of an aggressively green hue.
Catherine removed these impedimenta and opened the lid. She
decided to practise for exactly one hour. Later on she might have to
do two, three, four, five or even more hours per day, but for a start
one hour would be ample. She would learn now the extent to which
her technique had suffered during her long period of enforced
idleness. She would be able to compute the time it would take to
recover her lost skill, and could put new hope into her soul by
thinking that at last—at last—the tide of her destiny was on the
turn....
Rather nervously she began to play....
She started an easy Chopin Ballade.... Her memory served her
fairly well, and since the music contained no severe test of technique
her hands did not disgrace her. Yet within thirty seconds she stopped
playing: she clasped her hands in front of her knees and gazed over
the top of the instrument at the caterpillary design on the wallpaper.
And in that moment the truth flashed upon her incontrovertibly: it
came not altogether as a surprise, for with strange divination she
had guessed it long before. And it was simply this: she would never
again earn a penny by playing a piano in public: more than that, her
failure was complete, obvious and devastatingly convincing: she
would never again be able to delude herself with false hopes and
distant ambitions. Something in the manner of her playing of the first
few bars made her think with astonishing calmness: I cannot play
any more.... She wanted to laugh: it seemed such a ridiculous
confession.... She looked down at her hands and thought: How do I
know that after long practice these may not be of use again? She
could not answer.... And yet she knew that she had lost something,
something she could not properly describe, but something vital and
impossible to replace. Technique, undoubtedly, and memory, and the
miraculous flexibility of her ten fingers. And also some subtle and
secret capability that in former days had helped her along,
something which in a strangely intuitive way she felt to be
compounded largely of courage ... courage.... Oh, it was all as
incomprehensible as a dream: she felt that she might wake any
minute and find herself once again supreme mistress of her hands....
And then, more sanely, she told herself: I cannot play any more ...
Finally, as if in querulous petulance at her own reluctance to accept
the truth: I really can’t play now, can I? ... Then she began to
remember things that Verreker had said of her playing. She
remembered a scrap from a review criticism: “the opinion I have held
ever since I first heard Miss Weston, that she is a skilful player of
considerable talent who will, however, never reach the front rank of
her profession.”
Now that she knew the truth as the truth, she knew also that this
was what she had been fearing and expecting for weeks and
months, that she had been during that time slowly and imperceptibly
accustoming herself to the idea now confronting her, and that for a
long time the maintenance of her old dreams and ambitions had
been a stupendous self-deception. And she knew also, by a subtle
and curious instinct, something which to herself she admitted was
amazing and mysterious. She was not going to be very disappointed.
Or, if she were, her disappointment, like her former hopes, would be
counterfeit.... She was angry with herself for accepting the situation
so coolly, angry at the callousness of her soul. But nevertheless, the
truth stood unassailable: she was not going to be very disappointed.
Not disappointed? she argued, in terrific revolt against herself—not
disappointed when the last ideal she possessed had joined its
fellows on the scrap-heap, not disappointed when nothing remained
to shield her from the gutter whence she sprang? Not disappointed
to hear the news of her own spiritual extinction? ... And something
within her replied, very quietly: No; what I said was perfectly true. I
am not going to be very disappointed.
I was dreading all those hours and hours of practice, she
admitted, a little ashamed. And the thought occurred to her: I don’t
believe I should have the pluck to face an audience. I had once—but
not now. Or perhaps it was never pluck that I had—perhaps it was
something else that I have lost.... Well, the game’s played out. It
would have meant a terrible lot of work to make myself a pianist
again. I shan’t need to do all that now. Oh, I have lost ... courage and
... enthusiasm ... for all big things.... I am getting old ... and tired ...
and that’s why I am not going to be very disappointed....
Amelia and Mrs. Lazenby might be returning any moment. The
crowd of noisy children pouring out of the Council school across the
road (it was used by a religious organization on Sunday) proclaimed
the hour to be four o’clock.... Catherine began to replace the red
plush cloth and the shells with black spikes and the lithograph of
New Brighton Tower and Promenade....
At ten minutes past the hour Amelia came in, cross and sullen.
Catherine heard her slam the hymn book and Bible on the wicker
table in the hall. Evidently her spirit was more than usually in revolt
this afternoon....
“Amy!” Catherine called, opening the door and looking down the
passage.
A rather sulky voice replied: “What is it?”
“Will you come and have tea with me this afternoon?” Catherine
called back cheerfully. The fact was, she wanted somebody to talk
to, particularly somebody who was discontented, so that by this she
could measure her own rapidly growing contentment.
“Righto,” called Amelia, rather less sulkily.
As soon as Amelia entered Catherine’s room she started upon a
recital of her various woes, chief of which appeared to be the
possession of an unfeeling and narrow-minded parent. Catherine
listened apathetically, and all the time with conscious superiority she
was thinking: This is youth. I was like this when I was her age. Funny
how we grow out of our grievances....
... “It’s too bad,” Amelia was saying. “Only last week Mr. Hobbs
asked me to go out to the pictures, and I had to refuse because it
wasn’t a Saturday.”
“Who is Mr. Hobbs?”
“The salesman in our department ... and he don’t offer to spend
his money on anybody too often, either.”
“Careful with his money, eh?”
“Careful?—stingy, I should call it.... Takes you in the sixpenny
parts at the pictures and if you wants any chocolates he goes up to
the girl at the counter and says: ‘I’ll have a quarter of mixed——’”
Amelia laughed scornfully. “Only it’s too bad,” she went on,
resuming her original theme, “to be compelled to say no when he
does ask you out with him!”
Catherine smiled. She was not of this world. She did not go out to
“pictures” with salesmen from West-end departmental stores.... Yet
with a sudden impulse she said:
“You know, I shall have to be looking about for a job very soon.
My arm, you see: I’m doubtful of it being really well for quite a long
time. And, of course, I can’t afford to—to go on like this.... Any jobs
going at your place?”
Amelia pondered.
“I heard they wanted a girl in the song department.... That’s next
to where I am—I’m in the gramophone line.... You know lots about
music, don’t you?”
“Oh—fair amount.”
“Well, you might get it. I’ll see what Mr. Hobbs says. Better come
up with me on Tuesday morning.”
“Right, I will.... I’m pretty sure the job will suit me....”
“I daresay it will ... and you’ll learn what a lot I have to put up
with. There’s heaps of pictures and theatres and things I’d like to go
to up that part of the town, only I can’t because of mother. She says
——”
And as Catherine listened to Amelia’s woes and began the
preparations for tea, she actually started to experience in a tired,
restricted kind of way a certain species of happiness! After all, the
struggle was over. And the struggle had wearied her, wearied her
more than she had herself realized until this very moment.... No, she
reflected, as she spooned the tea out of the caddy into the teapot—
no: I am not going to be very disappointed.... But she was just faintly,
remotely, almost imperceptibly disappointed at not being
disappointed....
CHAPTER XXII
MR. HOBBS
§1
A WEDNESDAY morning in June. Catherine had been in the song
department for just over a month. Her work was easy and not too
monotonous. It consisted in selling ballad songs, and trying them
over to customers on the piano. Every day new music came from the
publishers, and she had to familiarize herself with it. She was very
successful at this kind of work, and was altogether happy in her
position.
The stores opened at nine, but business was always slack until
half-past ten or thereabouts. Mr. Hobbs, everlastingly attired in a
morning coat and butterfly collar, with his hair beautifully oiled and
his moustache beautifully curled, and his lips beautifully carven into
an attitude of aristocratic politeness, arrived always on the stroke of
nine. His first duty was to open the packages from the publishers,
but before doing this he would wash his hands carefully lest the
journey from South Bockley should have contaminated them. Should
also the alignment of his hair-parting have been disturbed in transit
he would remedy the defect with scrupulous exactitude. Then, and
only then, would he exhibit himself for the delectation of the general
public....
On this particular morning Mr. Hobbs did not arrive upon the
stroke of nine. Such an event had never been known to happen
before. Catherine and Amelia and the other girls of the music
department were thrilled with the romance of Mr. Hobbs’ non-arrival.
In soft whispers they discussed what might possibly have happened
to him. The previous evening he had left upon the stroke of six,
seemingly in a state of complete normality, physical and mental. Had
some dire fate overwhelmed him? Or—prosaic thought—had he
overslept himself? ...
And then at a quarter past ten Mr. Hobbs entered the portals of
the music department. His morning coat was marked by a chalky
smudge, his tie was unsymmetrical, his moustache uncurled and his
top hat considerably and conspicuously battered.
Was he drunk? The girls waited breathless for an explanation.
“There was an accident to the 8.42 at Liverpool Street,” he
announced calmly. “It ran into the end of the platform.”
“Were you hurt?” Amelia asked him.
“I received no personal hurts,” he replied, “but my hat, as you
see, is badly damaged.” And he pointed solemnly to the hat he held
in his hand.
“Well, it’s quarter past ten now,” said one of the girls. “What did
you do all that time?”
“I just went round to the company offices to lodge a complaint,”
he answered quietly.
“What for?” said Catherine. “You weren’t hurt.”
“But my hat was,” he replied. “And I can’t afford to buy a new hat
every time the company runs their train into the end of the platform.”
Catherine was amazed at the man’s utter coolness.
“Well,” she said laughingly, “I’m sure if I’d been in a railway
accident I should have been so glad to get out without hurting myself
that I should never have thought about complaining for a hat.”
He smiled—a touch of male superiority made itself apparent in
his eyes. Then he delivered judgment.
“One should always,” he said massively, “know what one should
do in any contingency, however unforeseen. And everyone should
be acquainted with the first principles of English law ... there’s those
parcels down from Augeners’, Miss Weston....”
§2
All the rest of the day he was serene in his little groove.
At lunch-time he went out to buy a new top hat.
But the next day he unbent a little. About closing time he
approached Catherine and placed a little green book on the counter
before her. It was one of those sixpenny volumes called the
“People’s Books.” Its title was Everyday Law, by J. J. Adams.
“Perhaps this would interest you,” he said. “It is very short and
simple to understand, and it tells you a good many things that every
modern man and woman should know.”
“Thank you,” she stammered, slightly overwhelmed.
“I have underlined the pages relating to railway accidents,” he
went on.
And she thought: “He has actually spent sixpence on me!”
But he continued: “You need not be in a hurry to return it to me....
In fact”—in a burst of generosity—“keep it until you are quite sure
you have finished with it.”
“Thank you,” she said again, and was surprised to feel herself
blushing scarlet....
§3
Catherine bought her daily paper in the evening and read it in the
train while Amelia occupied herself with a novel. That evening she
read the account of the railway accident that had taken place at
Liverpool Street Station the day before. Several persons were taken
to hospital “suffering from cuts and contusions,” but “were allowed to
return home later in the day.” And amongst those who “complained
of shock” she read the name:
Mr. James Hobbs ... 272A, Myrtle Road, South Bockley.
Incidentally that told her where he lived....
§4
The summer sun shone down upon the scorched London streets,
and the lives of those who worked in the music department of Ryder
and Sons were monotonously uneventful. Every morning Catherine
and Amelia caught the 8.12 from Bockley and arrived in Liverpool
Street at 8.37. Every morning Mr. Hobbs said “Good morning,” with
exquisite politeness, to all the female assistants. Every lunch-time
Mr. Hobbs went to the same A.B.C. tea-shop, sat at the same
marble-topped table, was served by the same waitress, to whom he
addressed the mystic formula “usual please,” which resulted in the
appearance some minutes later of a glass of hot milk and a roll and
butter. During the meal he scanned the headlines of the morning
paper, but after the last mouthful had been carefully masticated he
gave himself up to a fierce scrutiny of the stock markets. Was his
ambition to be a financier? ...
If Amelia was sullen on a Sunday afternoon, there were
occasions when she was sullen on week-days also. A sulky
discontent was ingrained in her nature, and Catherine was often
treated to exhibitions of it. Then suddenly Catherine discovered the
reason. Amelia was jealous of her. Amelia regarded her own
relationship with Mr. Hobbs as promising enough to merit high
hopes: these high hopes had been blurred, it seemed, by the swift
dazzlement of Catherine.
Catherine was amused. Chronically jealous as she herself had
been in her time, she had no sympathy whatever with others afflicted
with the same disease. And Amelia’s jealousy seemed absurd and
incredible. Catherine was beginning to take a malicious dislike to
Amelia. Mr. Hobbs was so scrupulously correct in his treatment of
them both that Amelia’s jealousy became ludicrously trivial. In her
youthful days Catherine would have tried to flirt extravagantly with
him for the mere pleasure of torturing Amelia, but now her malice
had become a thing of quieter if of deadlier potency. She would wait.
She did not like him at all, but she did not blame him in the least for
preferring herself to Amelia. It was inconceivable that any man
should desire Amelia. She would wait: she would be as friendly with
Mr. Hobbs as she chose (which did not imply a very deep intimacy),
and Amelia and her jealousy, if she still persisted in it, could go to the
devil.
Even to Mr. Hobbs her attitude was curiously compounded of pity
and condescension. As much as to say: I don’t enjoy your company
particularly, but I am taking pity on you: I know how awful it must be
for a man to have anything to do with that horrid Miss Lazenby. But
don’t presume upon my kindness.
He did indeed begin to talk to her rather more than the strict
business of the shop required. And in doing so he displayed the
poverty of his intellect. He had a mind well stocked with facts—a sort
of abridged encyclopædia—and that was all.
He brought her a piece of newly published music to try over. She
played it through and remarked that it was very pretty, not because
she thought it was, but because the habit of saying things like that
had grown upon her.
“Very pretty,” he agreed. “There’s a—a something—in it—a
peculiar sort of melody—oriental, you know, isn’t there?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “There is, quite.”
“It’s strange,” he went on, “how some pieces of music are quite
different from others. And yet the same. You know what I mean.
When you’ve heard them you say, ‘I’ve heard that before!’ And yet
you haven’t. I suppose it must be something in them.”
“I suppose so.”
“It’s in a minor, isn’t it?—Ah, there’s something in minors.
Something. I don’t know quite how to describe it. A sort of
mournfulness, you know. I like minors, don’t you?”
“Very much.”
They talked thus for several minutes, and then he asked her to
come out with him the following Saturday afternoon. Chiefly out of
curiosity she accepted....
§5
“That’s just where you’re wrong, Amy,” she replied, as they
walked along the High Road from Bockley Station, “I don’t like him a
bit. I think he’s one of the dullest and most empty-headed men I’ve
ever met. So there!”
“You thought he was clever enough after that train accident when
he went to claim damages, anyway.”
“Oh, that?—That’s only a sort of cheap smartness. A kind of
pounciness. Like a pawnbroker’s assistant. I tell you he’s got no real
brains worth calling any.”
“Then if you don’t like him why are you going out with him on
Saturday?”
“’Cos I am. Why shouldn’t I? It’ll be your turn maybe the week
after. Hasn’t the poor man a right to ask out any girl besides you?”
“I believe you do like him....”
“What?—Like him?—Him?—If I couldn’t find a better man than
that I’d go without all my life, I would. Take him, my dear Amy, take
him and God bless both of you! Don’t think I shall mind!”
“Oh, you needn’t talk like that. And you needn’t despise them that
hasn’t got brains. I suppose you wanter marry a genius, eh?”
Catherine laughed.
“Not particularly,” she replied carefully, as if she were pondering
over the subject, “but I know this much: I wouldn’t marry a man
unless he’d got brains.”
“Ho—wouldn’t you?”
“No, I wouldn’t....”
§6
They spent Saturday afternoon at the Zoo.
“A very interesting place,” he said, as they were strolling through
Regent’s Park, with a July sun blazing down upon them. “And
instructive,” he added complimentarily.
The snake-house was very hot, and in front of a languid Indian
python he remarked: “Poor things—to be stuffed up like that in a
glass case....” He seemed to be searching for a humane plane on
which to steer their conversation.
And in the lion house, as they stopped in front of a huge lioness,
he remarked facetiously: “How should you like to be shut up alone
with that creature, eh?”
“Not at all,” she replied, with absurd seriousness.
They had tea in the open air near the elephant’s parade-ground.
During the meal he said slowly and thrillingly: “I had a stroke of luck
yesterday.”
Politeness required her to be interested and reply: “Oh, did you?
What was it?”
He coughed before answering. He made a little bending gesture
with his head, as if to indicate that he was about to take her
somewhat into his confidence.
“Last year,” he began, “I bought a certain number of shares for
five hundred pounds. The day before yesterday these shares were
worth five hundred and ninety-five pounds. Yesterday their value
increased to six hundred and forty pounds. To-day they may be
worth a still higher figure.... So, you see, yesterday I earned, in a
kind of way, forty-five pounds. And without any effort on my part,
besides. Forty-five pounds in one day isn’t bad, is it?”
“Quite good,” she murmured vaguely. She wondered if she would
startle him by saying that she had earned much more than forty-five
pounds in a couple of hours. She decided not to try.
“Curious how money makes money, isn’t it?” he went on.
“Wonderful thing—modern finance.... Of course I am saving up. After
all, a man wants a home some day, doesn’t he? As soon as I come
across the right girl I shall get married....”

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The Positive Side of Occupational Health

The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of

Positive Psychology The Basics 1st Edition Hart

The Wiley Handbook of Positive Clinical Psychology 1st

Measures of Positive Psychology Development and

Positive Psychology The Science of Wellbeing and Human

Virtual Reality and Virtual Environments: A Tool for

Positive Balance A Theory of Well Being and Positive

Creek s Occupational Therapy and Mental Health

The Positive Side

The Positive Side

Per Øystein Saksvik

ISBN 978-3-319-66780-5 ISBN 978-3-319-66781-2 (eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017954466

© Springer International Publishing AG 2017

Printed on acid-free paper

This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature

We would like to use the foreword to discuss positive occupational health

1 What Is the Meaning of the Concept of Work from an

11 From Sickness Absenteeism to Presenteeism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Marit Christensen Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science

Per Øystein Saksvik

P.Ø. Saksvik (&)

© Springer International Publishing AG 2017 1

our introductory book on occupational and organizational psychology, we wrote

employees career changes in Norwegian expert-knowledge sectors] (Master Thesis). University

In understanding and explaining what the phenomenon of occupational health

© Springer International Publishing AG 2017 9

genetic vulnerabilities disability

school social skills

Fig. 2.1 Biopsychosocial health model

2.3 Health Promotion

Diagnose Risk zone Target zone

2.4 Deﬁnition of Health

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