Healthiest in the county

On Wednesday 5 December, Vice-Chancellor Hans Adolfsson and Ann-Christin Edlund, Deputy Human Resources Director, accepted the diploma from Joachim Morath, CEO of the occupational health care service Feelgood.
"It's a great honour and it means a lot to us," says Hans Adolfsson. "The basis in succeeding is to carry out long-term work and to involve both members of staff and students at the University."

Feelgood wants to highlight good examples when it comes to developing healthy and flourishing workplaces and has therefore instigated this competition open to all Swedish companies and organisations. Over 160 companies and organisations applied by answering a survey. The answers were then analysed by experts in work environment and health.

The most important points are systematic investments in work environment, leadership, employeeship and participation as well as health and a sustainable working life.

"For good health and performance, we find it important that employees feel involved and able to influence things," says Ann-Christin Edlund. "Questions of work environment and outreach are complex, but also an important part of the managerial training programme. It's a huge challenge at the University that managerial positions are limited in time."

Beside managerial training programmes on all levels, the University has also invested in Culture on Campus and Health on Campus aimed at the well-being of both faculty, staff and students.

"When that works, in conjunction with a good occupational health care service, the overall result is positive," says Ann-Christin Edlund. "The result of the previous employee satisfaction survey was good, but more can be done. There is always room for improvement!"

Umeå University is now one of seven finalists. A jury will appoint a winner in March 2019. This is the second year that Feelgood and its jury, consisting of experts in work environment and health, honour companies and organisations with this award. Last year's winner was Stora Enso Skutskär Mill – a pulp mill with its headquarters in Stockholm.

The motivation
The fact that Umeå University has created a healthy organisation is no coincidence – it is the result of a long and systematic investment in work environment on several levels and in all areas. The University is continuously working with leadership development and managerial support providing the right conditions for successful and health-promoting leadership. With their awareness of the importance of acting early and of the challenges in enjoying work but not overworking yourself, they are working with preventative measures and a long-term approach to counteract ill health. The stabile rules and regulations of the organisation, the comprehensive view on work environment and health, and accessible support for managers and co-workers qualifies Umeå University as the winner in Västerbotten County, resulting in becoming a finalist in the competition for the title of Sweden's Healthiest Company.