The work environment is everything around us
Work environment can be about many different things, both physical work environment and organisational and social work environment (OSA).
Physical work environment
Physical work environment regards things such as the premises, ventilation, light, sound and the digital work environment. Having a good physical work environment can, for example, be to have a desk that can be raised and lowered, good ventilation in the premises or good lighting in one's office.
Organisational and social work environment (OSA)
The organisational work environment regards how tasks are distributed, management, communication, requirements, resources and how decisions are made. The social work environment is about how we interact and treat each other at the workplace.
A good organisational and social work environment can mean, for example, that the employees have a reasonable workload with time for recovery between work shifts, a good tone of conversation between colleagues and that you feel that you have support from your manager and your colleagues.
We are each other's work environment
The ultimate responsibility for the work environment always rests with the employer. However, it is important that everyone at a workplace is involved in creating a good environment. A good work environment is one of the most important parts for us to feel good at our workplace and for our department/unit to function and thrive. Therefore, management, employees and students at Umeå University all have a responsibility to participate in developing and constantly improving our work environment – we are each other's work environment.
Collaboration on work environment
The employer must cooperate on the work environment with workplace representatives, work environment representatives and with employees at the workplace. The forms for cooperation in work environment matters are regulated in the Cooperation Agreement (Local collective agreement for cooperation and development).
Read more about trade union cooperation