Virkemidler i arbejdsmiljøindsatsen: Afslutningsrapport fra Center for forskning i virkemidler og arbejdsmiljøindsatser (CAVI)

This report presents CAVI's research processes and results. It focuses especially on the four key
sub-projects within the overall project framework:
• The joint project in which we have worked to develop theory and general understandings of
how the policy instruments and work environment initiatives are put into practice in companies.
• Organisation of work environment activities in the companies (the AMO project) where the
focus has been on both the formal work environment organisation, including the 2010 reform of
the legislation on the establishment of an internal work environment organisation with committees
and work environment representatives.
• Certified occupational health and safety management systems (the CERPA project) with a special
focus on municipalities' efforts to control and improve the psychosocial work environment.
• Support for the work environment in small enterprises (the INVINE project) through financial
incentives and networks.
Furthermore, the report also includes results from three PhD projects affiliated to CAVI as well as
from a co-operation with the Work Environment Council on the evaluation of occupational health
and safety policy programmes and on orchestration of work environment efforts.
CAVI illustrates how the work environment programmes through a combination of different
measures and mechanisms influence the work environment as one element in a wide range of different
contextual factors influencing the companies. The research question for CAVI has been to
investigate: What is the relationship between work environment efforts at societal level utilising a
broad range of policy instruments and the health and safety activities in the companies?
The joint project has included an on-going research-based reflection on the theoretical understandings
of policy instruments and work environment initiatives which have been developed through
empirical contributions from the other three sub-projects. This project provides a theoretical understanding
of the connection between policy programmes and company responses. Important mechanisms
include coercive (traditional regulation), normative (the common understanding of the work
environment) and imitation (we do as the others). They constitute essential mechanisms for the
transformation of work environment policy programmes into practice in the industries.
The AMO project illustrates trends in organisation of work environment activities in the companies
in the period 2012-15. It builds on a study of 60 systematically selected Danish companies. The
results show that the reform of the regulation of the internal work environment organisation -
viewed by itself - has had only limited impact on the companies. The reform has on the contrary
played along with other trends in the companies in the form of new management and governance
principles, formalisation (system application) and professionalization which, together with the flexibility
built into the reform, have created significant changes in the internal organisation of the work
environment activities in the companies.
The CERPA project is focused on the work environment activities in two municipalities. Both municipalities
have had an occupational health and safety management system certificate after OHSAS
18001 for a longer period and have paid priority to improve the psychosocial work environment.
The results of the project indicate that certified health and safety management systems can help to
maintain focus on the work environment - also the psychosocial work environment, but the practice is different in different workplaces, and that both internal and external audits have difficulties in
capturing the psychosocial work environment and to ensure follow-up on identified work environment
problems.
The INVINE project has been dealing with the role of networks in the support of work environment
improvements in small companies. The project included two networks within smaller dairies and
microbreweries. Both were supported by the Prevention Fund and the purpose was to develop new
work environment friendly lifting devices. A network of demolition companies was also studied. It
had developed a vocational training course which qualifies demolition workers to perform the work
in a safe manner. The results show that cooperation between peers has a significant impact on companies'
approach to the work environment, and particularly the development of mutual trust in the
network is crucial for a successful outcome.