Ulla Forseth

Ulla Forseth is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and Political Science at the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). With extensive experience from three SINTEF research institutes, she has led over 20 research projects focusing on regulatory dynamics, emotional labor, and Nordic welfare models. Her work bridges sociological theory with practical applications in high-risk industries and organizational settings.

Her research spans sociology of work and organizations, emotional labor, gender dynamics, risk analysis, health and safety, financial sociology, power relations, and the Nordic model of working life. She employs narrative analysis and memory work to examine how power, resistance, and regulatory frameworks shape organizational behavior in aviation, oil and gas, and banking sectors. Her methodology emphasizes interdisciplinary communication across languages and cultures.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals consistent focus on regulatory dialogue in asymmetrical power contexts (particularly oil and gas), emotional labor transformations in service industries, and globalization's impact on Nordic labor models. Her work demonstrates how metaphors frame financial crises, how safety regulation operates through tripartite collaboration, and how gendered emotional labor persists in aviation despite industry changes.

No major scientific awards or honors are documented in the available information.

Professor Forseth supervises master's theses through courses SOS3900 and SOS3901 while leading significant research projects, often collaborating with Ragnar Rosness, Emil André Røyrvik, and Stewart Clegg. Her grant-funded work examines helicopter safety in oil transport, financial crisis impacts on banking rhetoric, and work-life balance for Norwegian fathers, demonstrating strong industry-academia partnerships with SINTEF and petroleum sector stakeholders.

Her research operates within interdisciplinary teams at NTNU and SINTEF, focusing on health, safety, and environment (HSE) in high-risk industries. These collaborations integrate sociological perspectives with engineering and safety expertise, particularly in Norwegian petroleum regulation where she analyzes how operational managers create favorable conditions for safety work through environmental structuring.