The changing emotional codes underlying generation-specific understandings of mental health at work: a qualitative study in the municipal sector

Abstract This qualitative interview study examined the changing role of emotions in understanding and forming work inability, and the tensions generated by differing emotional codes in the workplace. Data were collected in 2021 through 70 interviews in Finland’s municipal sector: young employees born between the late 1980s and early 2000s, their supervisors, and occupational health professionals born between the late 1950s and early 1980s. Three thematic areas were identified: (1) Codes of self-fulfilment were particularly pronounced among well-educated young employees in knowledge-intensive jobs, often prompting emotion-focused reflection on well-being and work ability. (2) Emotional codes diverged among young workers: while some emphasized emotional well-being as integral to their work ability, others normalized or embodied distress as part of working life, drawing on cultural norms of endurance shaped by differing socio-cultural experiences. (3) Shifting emotional codes have contributed to generational differences in how mental health and work ability are interpreted, leading to morally charged views on what constitutes legitimate work inability. We conclude that the evolving significance of emotions in shaping understandings of work ability and disability differentiates employee groups across diverse social and occupational backgrounds, generating tensions within the field of occupational health—particularly within the contested terrain of mental health.