Work Environment — Nordic Labour Journal

Nordic youths want to learn more about work environments

(May 28, 2021) A Nordic project could help young people learn more about work environments, starting in elementary school. The Swedish Agency for Work Environment Expertise is preparing a module for 13 to 18-year-olds to improve their work environment knowledge, and the hope is to spread this across the Nordics.

Workplace battlegrounds: Are Norwegian employees being criminalised?

(May 28, 2021) How should an employer handle workplace conflicts? In Norway, it is becoming increasingly common to hire external consultants to perform a workplace investigation. The consultants often come from a legal or psychological background. Employees risk being exposed to situations resembling police interrogations – yet with no legal protection, warn researchers Bitten Nordrik and Tereza Østbø Kuldova.

Sexual harassment: new knowledge needed

(Apr 29, 2021) Sexual harassment in the care sector has had less attention than harassment in other sectors. Patients behaving inappropriately is often seen as part of the job. “High tolerance levels represent a problem,” says Bryndis Elfa Valdemarsdottir, who has been heading the Icelandic part of a Nordic project looking at this problem.

Should employees be compensated for working from home?

(Jan 22, 2021) The Norwegian government is recommending that everyone who is able to, should work from home. The working environment act must be updated, argue labour market organisations.

Covid threat to Nordic “julebord” tradition and restaurant survival

(Dec 10, 2020) Julebord is a Christmas office party on steroids and a major tradition in Norway and Denmark. This season is already a crisis for restaurants and food providers say enterprise confederations. But at least there will probably be fewer #metoo situations.

Danish drive against sexual harassment at work

(Nov 11, 2020) Sexual harassment in the workplace must end, say the government and the social partners. Clearer rules for psychological work environments came into force on 1 November 2020.

Video conferences – from added bonus to necessity

(Oct 07, 2020) You need more than Zoom or Teams. That has become obvious to many businesses as the pandemic has forced most meetings online. As people are getting used to the technology, newly gained experience becomes useful knowledge.

Extra power with robot gloves

(Oct 07, 2020) The Stockholm-based company Bioservo marries medical research with new technology with their robot glove. It gives extra muscle power to people with reduced hand function and for those whose jobs put a strain on their hands. This summer they won NASA’s invention award.

A silver lining for working life during corona

(Aug 14, 2020) Improved gender equality, less stress and more people who feel they have a meaningful job with positive challenges. Those are some of the surprising results found in the 2020 Norwegian working life barometer.

Prolonged sitting an increasing health and safety risk in Europe

(May 15, 2020) Sedentary work has become one of the main challenges identified in the third major study of European work environments from the European Agency for Health and Safety at Work.