Vacation for the People : Press Representations of Working Time, Leisure and Social Reform in Sweden, 1938 and 1951

This study analyzes how statutory paid vacation in Sweden was represented in the press at the time of its introduction in 1938 and its extension to three weeks in 1951. The aim is to examine how ideological and class-based perspectives shaped the public debate surrounding vacation as a social reform. The study compares three newspapers: the conservative Svenska Dagbladet, the labour oriented Arbetet, and the local newspaper Ölandsbladet. The analysis is based on a qualitative content analysis of editorials and news articles and is informed by a class-oriented theoretical perspective, drawing on Lars Ekdahl’s theory of the relationship between labour and capital. The findings show that the 1938 reform was marked by ideological polarization, while the 1951 reform was discussed in more administrative and practical terms. This shift suggests that paid vacation had become an established element of the Swedish welfare state.