The work environment is divided into three areas
Work environment can be about many different things. Usually, the work environment is divided into three different areas: physical work environment, digital work environment and organisational and social work environment (OSA).
Physical working environment
Physical work environment regards things such as the premises, ventilation, light, sound and aids in a workplace. Having a good physical work environment can, for example, be having a desk that can be raised and lowered, good ventilation in the premises or good lighting in one's office.
Digital work environment
Digital work environment regards the parts of the work that take place in digital systems. This applies to computers, IT programs, connectivity and how to manage the boundary between work and leisure when it comes to being reached digitally outside of working hours.
Organizational and social work environment (OSA)
The organizational work environment regards how tasks are distributed, management and control, communication, requirements, resources, responsibility, and how decisions are made.
The social work environment is about how we interact and talk to each other in the workplace.
A workplace where there is 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 boss and your colleagues.
We are each other's work environment
The ultimate responsibility for the working environment always rests with the employer. However, it is important that everyone at a workplace is involved in creating a good working environment. A good working environment is one of the most important parts for us to feel good at our work place 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".
Read more about how work environment work is organized at your workplace
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