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You are here: Home i In Focus i In focus 2013 i Work engagement gives Nordic competitiveness i Experts: action needed to combat bad psychosocial work environments

Experts: action needed to combat bad psychosocial work environments

A Nordic proposition to systematically measure businesses’ psychosocial work environments is getting expert backing. But the businesses must also play their part, and hiring a consultant is not always the best solution.
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Facts

Recommendations from the report for an improved psychosocial work environment:

  • Adjust work environment policies covering psychosocial well-being.
  • Make businesses systematically gather and publish data for ‘key performance indicators’ for psychosocial work environments, which in the long term can be used to develop national work environment barometers. 
  • Share best practice examples on a Nordic level of methods which businesses use to deal with and improve their psychosocial work environment. 
  • Initiate pan-Nordic measures to improve the psychosocial work environment, and improve coordination of the measures and cooperation on issues linked to the psychosocial work environment.
  • Focus on creating guidelines, methods or factors which can help workers improve their work-life balance, for instance through flexible working hours and flexible kindergarten opening hours.

 

Source: The Nordic Council of Ministers’ report ‘Nordic Growth Sectors – How can working life policies contribute to improving the framework conditions’, 2013

Psychosocial work environment

What is the psychosocial work environment?

It is a generic term describing non-physical work environment factors. It includes influence, social relations and fairness at work. Research shows that psychosocial work environment factors are important to workers’ health and well-being. 

Nordic policies for psychosocial work environments

Legislation differs between the Nordic countries, but all consider the psychosocial work environment to be important and that it should be measured on equal basis with the physical work environment. 

Norway

All businesses must provide systematic access to work environment data, including the psychosocial work environment. 

Denmark

Similar to Norway. A new work environment law makes it compulsory to prioritise physical and psychological work environment issues.

Finland

Focus areas include psychological well-being at work and ways to handle work-related demands. 

Sweden

Works systematically to adapt expectations and demands at work to meet workers’ abilities.

About the report ”Nordic Growth Sectors”

The end report of a part-project on economic growth areas during the Nordic cooperation ministers’ globalisation initiative Health and welfare 2010-1012.

Builds on registry data from the four largest Nordic countries with more than 1.4 million observations, a survey involving business leaders and staff and interviews with business leaders, the social partners and civil services in the Nordic countries. 

The report has been put together by consultancy firm DAMVAD together with a Nordic group of experts.

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