Umeå University's logo

Deadly workplace accidents in Sweden have increased, drawing significant media attention. According to the Swedish Work Environment Authority, 55 people lost their lives at work in Sweden 2023, which is the highest number since 2011. News media have extensively covered these accidents and the involved stakeholders. The aim of this study is to analyze how deadly workplace accidents are framed in news media and stakeholder communications, identifying patterns and examining how these narratives challenge or reinforce the dominant discourse on workplace accidents in the construction industry. Two cases of fatal workplace accidents are analyzed using news articles, press releases, and trade union publications. The analysis applies framing theory, news values, and the Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), utilizing critical discourse analysis as the method. The findings reveal that stakeholders implementing conciliatory strategies are portrayed more positively and assigned less responsibility in news coverage, while those using defensive strategies face greater scrutiny from the news media and are held to higher standards of accountability. The dominant ideological perspective focuses on how responsibility is discursively represented. There is a power struggle between how the problem of workplace accidents is discursively presented in the material between the ones who are responsible for the workplace environment and the worker representatives.  

Keywords: Workplace accidents, fatal workplace accidents, framing theory, news media, press release, crisis communication, SCCT, construction industry, critical discourse analysis, Sweden