Joel Lööw

About me

I am Associate Professor in Human Work Science at Luleå University of Technology. My research focuses on how the interplay between humans, technology, and organisation creates the conditions for safe, healthy, and sustainable workplaces, with a particular focus on the mining and base industries.

My work is grounded in sociotechnical systems theory. I study both how new technology affects work and the work environment, and how organisations, leadership, and change processes can be designed to strengthen safety, health, and workplace attractiveness. A key ambition is for research results to have practical impact, for example through concrete tools and forms of feedback to organisations and employees.

Research

Research profile

• Sociotechnical systems theory with a broad view of technology: technology includes not only machines and digital systems but also ways of working, organising, strategies, and interventions.
• Digitalisation, automation, and AI in industrial settings: how technical and organisational decisions in development/implementation affect work, safety, perceived work environment, and health.
• Organisational and social work environment (OSA) and leadership in large industrial organisations, including how results can be translated into change.
• Methods: interviews, focus groups/workshops, observations, and document studies, as well as survey and register data, statistical analysis, and quantitative text analysis.

Current projects and research collaborations (selected)

• Organisational and social work environment for managers and coworkers (LKAB): I lead LTU’s part of the collaboration, focusing on a recurring large-scale survey, analyses of leadership and working conditions, and development of digital feedback of results to support change in the organisation.
• LIKA and SMART-MINE (Vinnova): projects focusing on the relationship between technology, work, and the work environment in base-industry contexts; I contribute, among other things, to solution concepts and studies of acceptance and implementation.
• Collaborations: internationally with The Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre (University of Queensland) and internally at LTU, among others, with Mining and Rock Engineering and Urban Water Engineering (a systems perspective on transition and implementation).

Completed projects (selected)

• Digital Electric Mines (DEM, SUN/LTU): a pre-study on prerequisites for adopting battery-electric vehicles and digital technologies in Swedish underground mining, including workshops to identify sociotechnical challenges related to acceptance and implementation, and as a basis for a larger research proposal.
• Urban stormwater: From risk to resource (Water Wise Societies/Vinnova): a systems perspective on transforming stormwater from a risk into a resource.
• Attract (Vinnova, Swedish Metals & Minerals): development of a strategic roadmap for attractive, inclusive, and safe mine work; I led the work package on the effects of digitalisation on mining work and was responsible for visualising the roadmap.
• PrOSA (Vinnova): development of approaches and tools to integrate organisational and social work environment aspects early in the planning of industrial facilities and during technology implementation.
• NEXGEN-SIMS (Horizon 2020): studies and co-production of future visions for the “digital miner”, including workshops, surveys, and a roadmap focusing on the social and organisational consequences of new mining technology.

Teaching

I teach at first-, second-, and third-cycle level, and I am also active in educational development and contract education. My pedagogical approach is that students often learn a great deal when they are given high autonomy together with accessible support. I therefore prefer problem- and project-based teaching with an early connection between theory and practice, often in collaboration with industry and other external partners.

An important part of my pedagogical development in recent years has been finding a sustainable balance between traditional teaching formats (e.g., lectures and seminars) and new ways of working (e.g., distance/hybrid education and digital tools). I am positive towards technology that clearly supports student learning, but I am critical of tools that risk making it harder for students to acquire central skills.

Examples of teaching (selected):

• Production and production systems (including risk and safety analysis)
• Workplace analysis and work environment practice
• Organisational design and organisational development
• Contract education, e.g., risk and safety
• Contributions to doctoral courses in Human Work Science (e.g., sociotechnical systems theory and methods)

Supervision

I have experience supervising at several levels, including thesis projects and doctoral level. I am a co-supervisor for PhD students in Human Work Science and have been main supervisor for several thesis projects related to the work environment, technology implementation, and organisational change.

Examples (selected):

• Erik Lund (PhD student, now PhD, Human Work Science): co-supervisor.
• Annika Pekkari (PhD student, Human Work Science): co-supervisor.