Roland Paulsen
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Roland Karl Oscar Ericsson Paulsen (born 17 December 1981) is a Swedish author and sociologist. His thesis ''Empty Labor: Idleness And Workplace Resistance'' is about people who devote more than half of their work time to private activities, so-called " empty work". The dissertation was published at
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and received international attention from among others ''
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'', ''
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'' and ''
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''.


Biography

Paulsen was born in
Hägersten Hägersten (''Heronstone'') is an Urban districts of Sweden, urban district of Stockholm. It is located in the borough of Hägersten-Liljeholmen, which was formed 1 January 2007 by merging the former boroughs of Hägersten and Liljeholmen. Referen ...
, Stockholm on 17 December 1981. He received his Ph.D from
Uppsala universitet Uppsala University (UU) () is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially founded in the 15th century, the university rose to s ...
and is a ''
docent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifi ...
'' in sociology; he is now active at the institution of business administration at
Lund university Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...
. He researches individuals relationship to waged work, and especially questions regarding why waged work takes up such a major role in peoples lives.


Research and engagement in public debate

Paulsen claims that the people who have the highest income generally contributes the least. His dissertation ''Empty labor'' is about people who spend more than half of their time at work doing private activities. Roland Paulsen writes columns for
Dagens Nyheter (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major nationa ...
, Sweden's biggest newspaper. In these he has among other things explained his view on inequality and his critique of the theories of
Hans Rosling Hans Rosling (; 27July 19487February 2017) was a Swedish physician, academic and public speaker. He was a professor of international health at Karolinska Institute and was the co-founder and chairman of the Gapminder Foundation, which developed t ...
. He has also co-authored ''Return to Meaning: A Social Science with Something to say'' (with
Mats Alvesson Mats Alvesson (born 1956) is a Swedish management scholar and professor of business administration at Lund University, particularly known for having made key contributions in forming the field of critical management studies. Life and work Alves ...
) in which the authors address how the "
publish or perish "Publish or perish" is an aphorism describing the pressure to publish academic work in order to succeed in an academic career. Such institutional pressure is generally strongest at research universities. Some researchers have identified the p ...
" game produces meaningless social science research that cannot address social problems and just serve to further academic tenure and promotion. Paulsen has also put forward the concept of functional stupidity hich according to Paulsen is defined as" ..''the modus operandi of ego-dystonic compliance we enter in order to endure long hours of imposed work assignments we would rather not perform.''".


Criticism of the work-society

In 2010 Paulsen published his book ''Arbetssamhället – Hur arbetet överlevde teknologin'' (Roughly translated: The work society - how work survived the technology.) which was critical of work. Paulsen said that he wanted to achieve a change in how we perceive work, in relationship to that the need for work itself has decreased due to the technological development. Paulsen considers it to be a waste of resources that peoples working hours hasn't decreased as technology has moved forward. As well as claimed that work is increasingly losing its ability to create value. Instead, Paulsen claims, that work takes on a religious function in contemporary society, and acts like a mechanism of distributing resources. When asked why he thinks it is an important question for people who vote in political elections to create more work. Paulsen responded:


Bibliography

*'' Arbetssamhället - Hur arbetet överlevde teknologin'' ( Gleerups, 2010) *''Empty labor: Subjectivity and idleness at work'' (Uppsala universitet, cop. 2013) *''Empty Labor: Idleness and Workplace Resistance'' (
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
, 2014) *'' We merely obey: A story about the public employment service (Vi bara lyder: En berättelse om Arbetsförmedlingen)'' (
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, 2015) *''Return to Meaning: A Social Science with Something to Say'' (
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2017) (with
Mats Alvesson Mats Alvesson (born 1956) is a Swedish management scholar and professor of business administration at Lund University, particularly known for having made key contributions in forming the field of critical management studies. Life and work Alves ...
and Yiannis Gabriel) *''What if: a study of anxiety (Tänk om : en studie i oro'') (Albert Bonniers Förlag, 2020) *''Why We Worry: A Sociological Explanation'' (
Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...
, 2024)


Awards

* 27th International Labor Process Conference Award for best doctoral paper (2009) * Winner of The Nordic Sociological Association Competition for Junior Sociologists (2010) * Wallanderstipendiet from Jan Wallanders & Tom Hedelius foundation (2014) * Johan Hansson-priset (2015) *
Natur & Kultur Natur & Kultur is a Swedish publishing foundation with its head office in Stockholm. It is known for an extensive series of teaching materials, and its logotype is an apple tree. Overview The publishing house was founded in 1922 by Johan H ...
's debate-book price (2015) * European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS) book award (2017 Jun 17) * The documentary Vi bara lyder (We merely obey) which is based on Paulsens work won the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam's price for best short documentary in 2017.


References


External links


Paulsens personal website - Rolandpaulsen.orgRoland Paulsens international staff-page at the Department of Business Administration
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Lund university Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

Roland Paulsens staff-page at the sociological institution
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Uppsala university Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...
- archived from th
original
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paulsen, Roland 1981 births Living people Swedish columnists Swedish male writers Swedish sociologists Critics of work and the work ethic Uppsala University alumni Academic staff of Lund University Writers from Stockholm