The Work Research Institute (WRI) (, AFI), formerly known as the Institute of Work Psychology, is a Norwegian government-owned

social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

research institute A research institute, research centre, or research organization is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often implies natural ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. Its purpose is to "produce systematic knowledge on working life" based on

industrial and organizational psychology Industrial and organizational psychology (I-O psychology) "focuses the lens of psychological science on a key aspect of human life, namely, their work lives. In general, the goals of I-O psychology are to better understand and optimize the effec ...

and other social sciences. It is part of

Oslo Metropolitan University Oslo Metropolitan University (Oslomet; )"Skrivemåten av universitetsnamnet Oslomet – storbyuniversitetet," Language Council of Norway, 17/677-4/DGI, 18 January 2018 is a state university in Oslo and Kjeller in Norway. It is the result of ...

and was formerly an independent

state-owned State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed to ...

research institute from its establishment in 1964 until 2014.

History

The institute was founded in 1964, originally named the Institute of

Work Psychology Industrial and organizational psychology (I-O psychology) "focuses the lens of psychological science on a key aspect of human life, namely, their work lives. In general, the goals of I-O psychology are to better understand and optimize the effec ...

(''Arbeidspsykologisk institutt''), as one of several institutes which together made up the ''Work Research Institutes''. In 1986, the Institute of Work Psychology became a fully independent institute and renamed the Work Research Institute, and the other institutes shortly after became the

National Institute of Occupational Health National Institute of Occupational Health, also known as Statens arbeidsmiljøinstitutt or STAMI is a government body organised by the Norwegian Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion. The institute deals with a range of occupational health areas, ...

. The institute was organized as a

government agency A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, s ...

under the Ministry of Labour and Government Administration until 2002, when it became a wholly owned governmental limited company, since 2005 administered by the Ministry of Education and Research. In 2014, it merged with

Oslo and Akershus University College Oslo and Akershus University College (, abbr. HiOA) was the largest state university college in Norway from its establishment in 2011 until 2018, when it was transformed into Oslo Metropolitan University, the youngest of Norway's new universities. ...

, while maintaining its separate identity and autonomy; in 2018 Oslo and Akershus University College became

. It is currently part of the Centre for Welfare and Labour Research at Oslo Metropolitan University, together with the sister institutes

Norwegian Social Research Norwegian Social Research (, NOVA) is a state social science research institute based in Oslo, Norway. It is part of Oslo Metropolitan University, and was formerly an independent state agency from its establishment in 1996 until 2014. Together w ...

, the

Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research The Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (, NIBR) is a social science research institute based in Oslo, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsu ...

and the

National Institute for Consumer Research The National Institute for Consumer Research (, SIFO) is a consumer affairs research institute based in Oslo, Norway. It has researchers in both social science, social and natural sciences. Albeit non-biased, it is not organizationally independent ...

. The current director of WRI is Elisabeth Nørgaard. The institute publishes series of reports, occasional papers and monographs. The institute's history is linked to the

action research Action research is a philosophy and methodology of research generally applied in the social sciences. It seeks transformative change through the simultaneous process of taking action and doing research, which are linked together by critical refle ...

tradition where partaking in development work is central.

Academics

* Jorun Solheim *

Bjørg Aase Sørensen Bjørg Aase Sørensen (18 February 1944 – 16 June 2010) was a Norwegian sociologist. She was senior researcher at the Work Research Institute, professor at Vestfold University College and adjunct professor at the University of Oslo. She was edi ...

* Bjørn Gustavsen *

Olav Eikeland Olav Eikeland (10 October 1955 – 1 September 2023) was a Norwegian philosopher and working life researcher. In 2008, he became professor of work research and research director for the Program for Research on Education and Work at Oslo Metropoli ...

Einar Thorsrud Einar Thorsrud (30 April 1923 – 29 May 1985) was a Norwegian psychologist, researcher and professor at the Norwegian Institute of Technology in Trondheim and University of Oslo, who is known for his work in the field of organizational development ...

Øystein Gullvåg Holter Øystein Gullvåg Holter (born 7 February 1952) is a Norwegian sociologist and expert on men's studies. Son of Harriet Holter. He is Professor of men's studies at the University of Oslo, the first to be appointed to such a chair in Norway. He work ...

Margunn Bjørnholt Margunn Bjørnholt (born 9 October 1958 in Bø, Telemark) is a Norwegian sociologist and economics, economist. She is a Academic ranks in Norway#Research professor, research professor at the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Stud ...

* I. H. Monrad Aas *

Torild Skard Torild Skard (born 29 November 1936) is a Norwegian psychologist, politician for the Socialist Left Party, a former deputy permanent secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a former chairman of UNICEF. She served as a Member of Parlia ...

Jon Frode Blichfeldt Jon Frode Blichfeldt (born June 24, 1944 in Oslo) is a Norwegian Professor Emerius of Education and Psychology. He was a researcher at the Work Research Institute from 1970 to 2004, and the institute's director from 1986 to 1989. From 1994 to 20 ...

References

External links

Official website
Research institutes in Norway Independent research institutes Social science research institutes Government-owned companies of Norway Industrial and organizational psychology Psychology organisations based in Norway {{Norway-org-stub