A well-functioning systematic occupational safety and health management is beneficial for both individuals and organizations, and employee motivation seems to be crucial for positive outcomes. Occupational safety and health issues are a major concern for the Swedish equine sector since the work environment in horse stables is known to be characterized by low mechanization, high physical workloads, and high injury risks. The purpose of this study was to gain an increased understanding of how systematic occupational safety and health management is performed and which factors that influence motivation for occupational safety and health improvements in the Swedish equine sector. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods study, based on quantitative data from questionnaires and qualitative data from semi-structured interviews, was conducted. Various statistical analyses were performed to obtain quantitative data and an abductive applied thematic analysis was applied for the qualitative data. The results indicate that both intrinsic motivators, i.e. attitudes, values, and influence, as well as contextual factors such as motivational management, occupational culture, and workplace resources, influence compliance in systematic occupational safety and health management and participation in occupational safety and health improvements, which in turn affect workplace outcomes regarding safety and health. The positive relationship found between an implemented and functioning systematic occupational safety and health management and employee motivation for occupational safety and health improvements indicate the importance of employee involvement and participation. Understanding the motivational factors for occupational safety and health improvements from an employee perspective is an important step to creating healthy and sustainable workplaces. 

This thesis considers the nature of lifestyle-oriented work, i.e. making a livelihood based on leisure interest or personal lifestyle, and focuses on the perspective of employees within the Swedish equine sector. The purpose was to gain an increased understanding of the characteristics of lifestyle-oriented work and the consequences for health and well-being. 

The thesis has a case study research design with two embedded units, riding schools and trotting stables, and a mixed methodological approach based on questionnaires and interviews. 

The findings show that employees experienced their work as both important and attractive with loyalty, relations, and stimulation being important factors for work attractiveness (Paper I). The employees found their work meaningful and worked primarily to achieve self-realization and quality of life. Person–environment fit, task significance, and occupational culture emerged as important factors for meaningfulness. However, the work had an inherent duality as the same factors both promoted and challenged the experiences of work attractiveness and meaningfulness (Paper II). The safety climate was found to be relatively good, despite some risk acceptance (Paper III), although the results indicated shortcomings regarding occupational health and safety management (OHSM) (Papers III and IV). Moreover, motivation, management, occupational culture, and resources affect both participation and compliance in OHSM (Paper IV).

Lifestyle-oriented work within the equine sector can be described as double-sided, i.e. both satisfying and demanding. The work is characterized by attraction, meaningfulness, prosocial behavior, and a strong occupational culture but also an acceptance of challenging working conditions, overwork and deficient conditions for OHSM. A systematic OHSM, where both health-promoting factors and risk factors are considered, is necessary to enhance employee health and well-being and to create attractive and sustainable employment.

Many people dream of turning their hobby into a profession so that they can earn a living while doing work they enjoy. Making a livelihood based on hobbies and leisure interests, i.e. employment in the intersection of the work and leisure spheres, can be defined as lifestyle-oriented. However, lifestyle-oriented work can be experienced as double-sided as it contains inherent characteristics that both promote and challenge health and well-being which, in turn, raise issues concerning sustainable employment. 

The aim of this thesis was to gain an increased understanding of the nature of lifestyle-oriented work and what consequences it may have for employees. The thesis brings together the issues of attractive work, meaningful work, occupational culture, and occupational health and safety management. 

Creating attractive working conditions and meaningful work content in a healthy and sustainable way is important in many aspects, not only for an organization’s ability to recruit and retain employees but also to foster employee motivation and commitment as well as health and well-being throughout the working life. The results contribute to the understanding of how work can be organized and designed to offer attractive and sustainable employment in lifestyle-oriented work.

The Swedish equine sector is considered a high-risk work environment, with relatively high injury rates and high severity of injuries. General safety research has identified a correlation between the safety performance and safety culture, but little is known about the intricacies of the safety culture in the Swedish equine sector, especially concerning managers’ and employees’ perceptions of their work environment. The safety climate assessment is recognised as an effective tool for identifying potential problems in the workplace, thus enhancing safety behaviour and decreasing the frequency and severity of injuries. The aim was to evaluate the safety climate at riding schools and trotting stables through the Nordic Safety Climate Questionnaire (NOSACQ-50) diagnostic tool, and to get a better understanding of the workers’ perceptions regarding safety and safety management at their workplace through complementary interviews. The results showed that the safety climate was generally positive and that employees were aware of the risks relating to their work. Riding schools commonly had routines in place for risk assessment and work environment management, but such routines were often lacking at trotting stables, indicating inadequate prioritisation of safety by the management. The main area that should be targeted to improve safety in the sector is employees’ prioritisation and non-acceptance of risks. Proactive instead of reactive safety management should be promoted, where safety is an integral part of daily work and all employees are encouraged to identify factors contributing to occupational injuries and develop strategies for injury prevention.

Meaningful work is related to a range of positive outcomes, but also negative effects. Research regarding meaningful work and lifestyle-oriented work; i.e., when making a livelihood based on a leisure interest and personal lifestyle, is deficient. The aim of this qualitative study is therefore to explore factors that promote and challenge meaningful work in a lifestyle-oriented setting. The study focuses on the perspective of employees within the Swedish equine sector, and is based on individual interviews. The results show that person–environment fit, task significance, and occupational culture seem to be important factors in the promotion of meaningful work. In addition, the analysis also illustrates how the nature of meaningful work has an inherent duality, constructed by abalancing act between doing good for oneself and for others. The tension is reinforced by the fact that the same factors can both promote meaningful work and challenge meaningfulness. This study shows that meaningful work not only comes with satisfaction, enjoyment, and fulfillment, but also an acceptance of challenging working conditions, which may lead to sacrifices and exhaustion. The double-sided nature of meaningful work can therefore affect the employees’ well-being, and challenge the willingness and ability to remain in the occupation.