Flexible Work: Opportunity and Challenge (FLOC) for individual, social and economic sustainability. Protocol for a prospective cohort study of non-standard employment and flexible work arrangements in Sweden

Abstract

IntroductionFlexibility in working life, including non-standard employment (NSE) and flexible work arrangements (FWAs), offers the organisation a better ability to adapt to changing conditions while also posing considerable challenges for organisations as well as workers. The aim of the Flexible Work: Opportunity and Challenge (FLOC) study is to investigate associations between NSE and FWA on the one hand, and individual, social and economic sustainability on the other.Methods and analysisThis prospective open cohort study targets approximately 8000 workers 18–65 years old in 8–10 public and private organisations in Sweden. We will use a comprehensive battery of measurement methods addressing financial performance, physical and psychosocial exposures, and physical and mental health, both at the organisational and the individual level. Methods include valid survey questionnaires and register data, and, in subpopulations, technical measurements, interviews and diaries. Main exposures are type of employment and type of work arrangement. Main outcomes are indicators of social and economic sustainability and, at the individual level, health and well-being. Data, collected over 54 months at approximately 18-month intervals, will be analysed using multivariate methods considering main effects as well as potential effect modifiers. The analyses will take into account that respondents are nested in organisations, divisions and/or have specific managers.Ethics and disseminationFLOC is approved by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (decision numbers 2019–06220, 2020–06094 and 2021–02725). Data will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at international conferences, and researchers will assist the organisations in improving policies and routines for employment and organisation of work.