Background Despite a growing literature on how digitalisation affects service quality, justice, and accountability in the public sector, research on the effects on the work and work environment of public employees is scarce.Objective To present and discuss existing evidence and identify knowledge gaps related to how digitalization affects the work and work environment of public sector employees.Methods This scoping review is based on peer reviewed academic journal articles in English found in PubMed, PsycINFO, Business Source Premier (EBSCO) and Scopus.Results The review included 52 studies, of which most focused on office or care workers. An increase in studies since 2020 indicates growing interest in the topic. Challenges among screen-level bureaucrats included work-life balance problems, technostress and fear of job loss. Among street-level bureaucrats, reported challenges included curtailed discretion, lack of user involvement and ethical stress. Identified knowledge gaps include the small number of studies with a work environment focus in general and on sectors beyond office and health settings in particular, few studies set outside of Europe and absence of studies on recent phenomena such as AI or algorithmic management.Conclusions In view of the presented scarcity of research, we suggest that relevant questions are included in national and local surveys to enable more research, that more studies are conducted in occupational sectors, countries and regions lacking this type of research, and that comparative research is stimulated to uncover differences between the effects of digitalisation on occupational health in private and public sector work settings.

The integration of digital technology has significantly transformed social workers work­places. Although research in the Nordic countries has examined the impact of digital tech­nology on social work in the public sector, research on social workers’ experiences of working in digital work setting remains scarce. This paper examines how Swe­dish social workers have been affected by digitalization, based on data collected in two Swedish muni­ci­palities through semi-structured interviews and a digital diary, including self-reported con­tex­tual information prompted by measurements of Electrodermal Activity (EDA). Data were analyzed using a Gioia inspired approach. The findings underline the complexity of digital technology and its dual role in introducing both demands and resources into the work environment, while also underlining the value of collegial interaction in a digital workplace. The paper makes empirical and methodological con­tri­­butions to research on digital technology and the work settings in which social wor­kers perform their work.

Despite the extensive introduction of digital technologies in working life and the demand for the public sector, including schools, to digitalise, there is limited research on the relationship between digitalisation and the work environment. The aim of this article is therefore to explore how implementation processes of digital administrative and communication systems and teaching tools interact with work-related demands and resources experienced in schools. The Normalisation Process Theory (NPT) and Job Demand-Resources model (JDR) were used to analyse experiences of digitalisation and the work environment of employees, managers, strategists and health and safety officers in schools in Sweden. The study, based on semi-structured interviews with 25 participants, shows that the lack of resources and a too-high workload were reported as problematic and challenging in the introduction of digital technology. Collegial cooperation and decision-making opportunities, on the other hand, seemed to enhance the digitalisation process and to some extent even bridge over the weaknesses of strained time resources and high workload.

Background Strained financial resources and increasing demands for high-quality services in an ageing population are two challenges facing local government managers. While digitalizing public service processes can meet these challenges, Occupational Health and Safety Management (OHSM) is often overlooked.Objective This study explores how Swedish local government managers handle digitalization processes in relation to OHSM, identifying the potential drivers and barriers that influence their integration.Methods The study is based on 25 semi-structured interviews with managers, HR professionals, strategists, and Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) in two Swedish municipalities. An inductive approach, inspired by the Gioia methodology, was used. The Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) model was utilized to analyze where potential drivers for and barriers to integrate digitalization into OHSM emerge.Results School managers demonstrated a systematic approach to integrating digitalization with OHSM, collaborating with stakeholders and managing procurement despite financial constraints. In contrast, social and home care managers reflected technological determinism, overlooking risk assessments and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) evaluations, thus underestimating OHS risks and limiting the involvement of employees and HSRs.Conclusions The study demonstrates that managerial approach and organizational context are crucial for integrating OHS into digitalization processes. By highlighting the value of the PDCA model as a guiding framework, it advances the understanding of OHSM as a dynamic, context-sensitive process with practical relevance for management in technology-driven environments.