Work environment and equal opportunities
All students have the right to a good study and work environment. This means that the students’ views are always taken into account and that they are given the opportunity to influence their study situation and work environment. Shortcomings in the work environment can have a major impact on, among other things, students' mental health.
What is a study environment?
With a few exceptions, the Work Environment Act gives students the same right as employees to a good physical, organisational and social environment. These areas are important for making your time as a student as good as possible, as well as for preventing ill health and accidents.
Physical environment includes things like noise, ventilation, lighting and ergonomics. The physical environment should help prevent accidents, and be safe and accessible.
- Organisational environment refers to factors such as requirements and workload. For example, it can be about whether you have enough time to recover after an examination before the next course starts, whether communication from course coordinators is clear regarding exams, reading lists and deadlines, or whether there are enough teaching resources and conditions in place for you to have a chance to meet the course requirements.
- Social environment concerns how you are treated by staff and fellow students, whether the social environment feels safe, whether relationships are respectful and whether collaboration works well.
Equal opportunities
Equal opportunities is a collective term for the work carried out to ensure that everyone has the same rights, obligations and opportunities regardless of background. All higher education institutions are obliged to have procedures in place to counteract discrimination and other forms of harassment.
Discrimination
Discrimination means being disadvantaged or treated unfairly on the basis of one of the seven grounds for discrimination:
- sex
- transgender identity or expression
- ethnicity
- religion or other belief
- disability
- sexual orientation
- age
There are several different forms of discrimination. This can include being directly or indirectly disadvantaged because of your sexual orientation, ethnic background or another ground for discrimination.
Another form of discrimination is harassment. This refers to unwanted behaviour that violates your dignity. Harassment is linked to one of the seven grounds for discrimination and can, for example, take the form of remarks or offensive jokes.
Harassment can also be sexual, involving both verbal and physical behaviour. Sexual harassment does not have to be connected to any of the grounds for discrimination. It is always the person who is subjected who decides what is unwanted or offensive.
If you are subjected to discrimination, harassment or problems with your study environment
If you are subjected to discrimination, harassment, bullying or other offensive treatment at your higher education institution, the education provider is required to investigate, rectify and follow up on the matter. Therefore, it is important to tell someone at your department or programme about it. This may be, for example, a study adviser or course coordinator. Sometimes it may feel easier to contact someone outside your own department or programme. In that case, you can turn to an equal opportunities officer at your higher education institution or an ombudsperson from the student union. It may be possible to report what has happened to the police. You can ask about this when you report the incident to a member of staff or a student representative at your higher education institution, or contact the police for advice on whether what happened constitutes a criminal offence.
If you experience other problems with your study environment, you can proceed in a similar way. Contact a representative of the higher education institution and explain what is not working properly. This could be a head of department, a course coordinator, a study adviser or a student safety representative linked to your programme.
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.