Why is it so that some occupational groups get work clothes from head to toe, while others barely get a cotton shirt?
Why is it so that sickness absence is much higher in home nursing and nurseries than at most other workplaces in Tromsø municipality?
Could it be a connection?
We know that feeling seen and valued is an important factor for well-being at work, which in turn has a clear connection with sickness absence.
You feel appreciated by the employer when you have to wear your private outdoor clothes in all kinds of weather, in mud ponds and sandboxes, on walks in the woods and fields with a dozen wild toddlers? When early in the morning you rush into multiple homes in snow, ice and slush, to get to those in need of care in their homes?
No, then feel man that the employer gives a blank about how you are doing at work!
And the marvelous is that people who work with machines, in construction and other “men’s occupations”, they of course get the necessary work clothes from the municipality, from inside to outside. While in the female-dominated professions in home nursing and kindergartens, you hardly get anything covered.
Is this due to gender discrimination? I do not know. But if the managers in the respective units want to give their employees a little recognition and make them feel a little more motivated to show up at work, then give the workers proper work clothes when they are at work!
A warm hat, winter boots and jacket with the Tromsø municipality logo on it, then you are a long way towards having proud and equal employees. The little extra that makes you still go to work if you’re tired and have a cold!
