Work environment and equal opportunities
As a student in Sweden, you have the right to a good study and work environment. Your university or other higher education institute is responsible for continually improving the study environment and preventing harassment and discrimination. Your feedback on courses and your study situation is important. You can share your opinions through course evaluations or become more actively involved in the work environment. If something happens or does not feel right, there are several ways to get help.
Work environment
Under the Swedish Work Environment Act, students—with only a few exceptions—have the same rights as employees to a sound physical, organisational, and social work environment. These areas are essential for ensuring a safe and healthy study experience and for preventing ill health and accidents.
Physical work environment
This includes things like noise levels, ventilation, lighting, accessibility, and ergonomics. The physical environment should be safe, prevent accidents, and be accessible to everyone.
Organisational work environment
This involves factors such as workload and demands. For example, whether you have enough time to rest between exams, whether information from teachers is clear regarding exams, readings, and deadlines, and whether there are adequate teaching resources and conditions for you to meet course requirements.
Social work environment
This relates to how you are treated by staff and fellow students, whether the social environment feels safe, and whether relationships and collaboration function respectfully.
Equal opportunities
“Equal opportunities” refers to ensuring that everyone has the same rights, responsibilities, and possibilities regardless of background. All higher education institutions in Sweden are required to have procedures in place to prevent discrimination and other forms of harassment.
Discrimination
Discrimination means being disadvantaged or treated unfairly on the basis of one of the seven legally defined grounds:
- sex
- transgender identity or expression
- ethnicity
- religion or other belief
- disability
- sexual orientation
- age
There are several forms of discrimination. It may include being directly or indirectly disadvantaged because of, for example, your ethnic background or sexual orientation.
Harassment
Harassment refers to unwanted actions that violate your dignity and that are connected to one of the seven grounds above. This may include comments or degrading jokes.
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment refers to unwanted verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature. These actions do not need to be connected to any discrimination ground. It is always the person who is subjected who determines what is unwanted or offensive.
If you experience discrimination, harassment, bullying, or other issues in your study environment
Your university is legally required to investigate, address, and follow up on incidents involving discrimination, harassment, or other offensive treatment. Therefore, you need to inform someone at your department or programme—such as a study advisor or course coordinator.
If you prefer to talk to someone outside your department, you can contact the university’s equal opportunities office or a student union representative. In some cases, it may be appropriate to report the incident to the police. You can discuss this with university staff, a student union representative, or contact the police directly for guidance.
If you experience other problems in your study environment, you can follow a similar approach. Contact a representative at your university—such as a head of department, course coordinator, study advisor, or a student safety representative connected to your programme.
If you need emotional support or someone to talk to, you can contact your university’s student health services for assistance or guidance on where to seek further help.
If you feel that you need support as a result of what has happened, you can contact your local student health service for help or to find out where you can turn.
Get involved
If you want to take a more active role in promoting a good study environment, you can register an interest in becoming a student safety representative. In this role, you participate in the study environment management at your higher education institution as a student representative. Student safety representatives are usually given a short training course to learn more about the legislation and their assignment. To find out more about when and how student safety representatives are elected, you can contact your student union.
Last updated: 2026-03-09