How to succeed with organizational and social work environment efforts

Today, most companies have good routines for systematic work environment management when it comes to the physical work environment. But the concept also includes the organizational and social work environment. Regardless of whether you work from a health-promoting, preventive or rehabilitative perspective, a good organizational and social work environment is of the utmost importance.

What is meant by the physical work environment is clear to most people – but what does organizational and social work environment actually mean? The organizational work environment includes management and governance, communication, participation and room for action, distribution of tasks, as well as demands, resources and responsibilities. The social work environment refers to how we are affected by the people around us at work.

Systematic work environment management should be a continuous process. This means that companies must examine the work environment, assess risks, take measures and then follow up to ensure that the measures have had an effect.

Below, we have based our text on the Swedish Work Environment Authority’s regulations regarding the organizational and social work environment (AFS 2015:4) and listed the most important points, as well as described how you as an employer should work with them.

Knowledge. Managers and supervisors must have knowledge of how to prevent and manage unhealthy workload, but also the conditions needed to put this knowledge into practice. By conditions we mean, for example, sufficient authority, a reasonable workload and support in their role as manager or supervisor. Managers have a major impact on the work environment, well-being, stress and work performance of employees. In turn, managers are greatly influenced by the organizational conditions that exist for exercising good leadership.

Goals. A clear description of goals that is known to all employees is important for improving health and motivation among staff. Vague goals can mean high demands at work and uncertainty about how or in what way the goals are to be achieved. Another important health-promoting factor is clear roles at work. This means that the employee knows the content of their tasks, what is to be done and who is responsible for what.

Workload. It is important that the employer adapts resources to the demands of the work and is attentive to any imbalance between these so that they do not risk being repeated or becoming long-term. As an employer, you must be alert to signals that indicate an unhealthy workload. You can then quickly take measures such as reducing demands or adding resources. Examples of measures to prevent unhealthy workload can be: reducing the amount of work, changing the order of priorities, varying tasks, providing opportunities for recovery, applying different ways of working, increasing staffing or adding knowledge.

Work content. Work content refers to which tasks are to be performed, what results are expected and how the work is to be carried out. This also includes priorities and who employees can turn to if they need help and support. Examples of measures can be to jointly review and clarify the work content. It is also important that employees have the opportunity, when needed, to raise unclear issues, for example through regular meetings.

Working hours. The scope and scheduling of working hours are an important part of organizational and social work environment management. Overtime work, constant connectivity and availability, as well as the occurrence of night work, are important work environment issues that must be evaluated. An imbalance between strain and recovery can lead to ill health among employees in the form of stress, increased risk of accidents and mistakes, and reduced performance. To be able to handle periods of high stress and demanding work schedules, it is important to have good recovery. One way can be to limit overtime, allow time for recovery between projects, prioritize coffee breaks and other opportunities to calmly discuss topics that are not work-related. This can also help improve the social climate in the workplace.

Victimization and harassment. To violate someone means to degrade one or more people through words or actions. Harassment means being treated differently from others in an incomprehensible and unfair way and risking being excluded from the social community at the workplace. Sexual harassment and various forms of discrimination are also included. Regardless of the form of victimization, the important thing is to recognize the problem early as a work environment issue. It is necessary that employees are allowed to participate and have influence. Discuss together and explain what may constitute victimization and harassment in your workplace. To work preventively, the entire work situation needs to be taken into account. One cause may be that the work group is not functioning well or that there are conflicts. Conflicts can risk developing into victimization, which is why it is important to work preventively. Clear examples of victimization and harassment are not being greeted, being called nicknames, being frozen out, being excluded from meetings you should be part of, being unfairly accused or personally singled out, or being called nasty things in front of others. Everyone must know that you are not allowed to behave like this towards others in your workplace.

Communication. A characteristic of healthy companies, and an important part of the points above, is clear and close communication. There should be both formal and informal channels of information, and employees should have the opportunity to express their opinions – including critical ones. Strive for a communication climate that is open and permissive, where there is space and forums for listening to both good ideas and criticism. One example of effective communication is direct follow-up and feedback via managers.