Sense of coherence at work

The symposium addresses connections between Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence-construct (SoC) and work experiences. A person with a high SoC perceives challenges as comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful; sense of coherence stands for a salutogenic disposition towards the world. Therefore, SoC may predict psychophysical health. The contribution of G. Larsson illuminates this by showing how poor mental health after military service is related to pre-service mental health and SoC to a greater degree than to trauma exposure and post-trauma support during the service. Even though SoC is a rather stable disposition, changes in it are possible even in the adult age. The contribution of T. Höge addresses the impact of perceived organizational fairness on SoC and psychophysical health. Furthermore, the dimensions of SoC can also be used as guidelines when designing work. Comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful work may strengthen the sense of coherence. The contribution of I. Carlsson demonstrates how a democratic leadership style, creative working team context, and engagement based coping style relate to the experience of coherent work. M. Kira discusses in her contribution how salutogenic work is difficult to achieve in the contemporary working life characterized by an imbalanced transition from bureaucratic organizational approaches to post-bureaucracy.