The therapeutization of work : the psychological toolbox as rationalization device during the third industrial revolution in Sweden

The organization of work in the Western welfare states has made use of
psychological know-how since the early twentieth century, for instance
by making the practices of 'psychotechnics" and 'human relations" a
part of the production apparatus. The last decades, however, have
seen the development of a new economy based on information and
communication technologies and with a related shift in organizational
ideals from large hierarchical structures to networks of self-governing
units - a change sometimes labelled the third industrial revolution.
This development has meant new possibilities for the deployment of
psychological knowledge in organizational management.
The present study takes as its geographical starting point the
greater Stockholm area in Sweden. Through a variant of multi-sited
fieldwork it investigates the distribution of psychological know-how
in and through different institutions - such as school, work life,
health care - by which the average 'worker-citizen" is supposed to
acquire a 'psychological toolbox", thus becoming a kind of amateur
psychologist or therapist, ready and able to take responsibility for
his or her own productivity, well-being and health. The study depicts
this ideal of psychological self-regulation: its discourse and practices,
and how it emerged as a part of the technological and organizational
developments of the third industrial revolution.