# The Faculty of Law is violating the Working Environment Act, according to the senior safety representative.

• The Faculty of Dentistry received an injunction from the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority this summer.
• A survey on the working environment at the Faculty of Humanities showed that 1 person out of 8 feels that they are being bullied at work.

Bullying and malicious comments have been a part of everyday life at the Faculty of Law (JUS), according to Senior Safety Representative at the University of Oslo (UiO) Mette Børing.

- The Faculty of Law is struggling with a culture that leads to a poor working and learning environment, she says.

Børing has been following the situation at the faculty for a long time.

- We see clear breaches of the Working Environment Act at the faculty. Employees experience harassment, and are overloaded with tasks that they have no ability to complete, says Børing, who adds that this situation is not unique to the Faculty of Law.

Insufficient room for alternative thinkers, disagreements regarding academic issues, conflicts between scientific and administrative staff and old fashioned methods of management are thought to be reasons for the poor working environment at the University of Oslo (UiO).

- This is a general problem for large parts of the university, says Børing.

Threatened with fines

This spring the Faculty of Humanities (HF) carried out a survey about the working environment, in which it emerged that 1 staff member out of 8 felt bullied. Last week Uniform wrote that the Faculty of Dentistry was reported to the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority, after a case of serious bullying and harassment. More people have got in touch with Børing after this case.

- The feedback that I have received shows that many people recognise this situation, at many different faculties. Nearly all of them are too afraid to come forward with names, as they fear reprisals, says Børing.

The Faculty of Dentistry has been given until the 1st of November to clean up this mess; otherwise they will receive fines from the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority. The same thing could happen at JUS.

- A survey like the one at HF would uncover the exact same situation at JUS. The difference is that the administration at the Faculty of Humanities has been very competent and has taken the problems seriously. So far the treatment at JUS has not been as good, and I must say that I am concerned about the situation there, says Børing.

Børing and the administration at UiO partook in a meeting about the working environment at the Faculty of Law this summer. According to the summary of the meeting, the protection organization is worried about whether the faculty is doing enough to resolve the situation.

Dean at the Faculty of Law, Hans Petter Graver, thinks however that the faculty administration is taking the problem seriously.

- We have now begun to send leaders on leadership development courses, so that they can get better at seeing strengths in their employees and communicate more constructively with coworkers. It is difficult to deal with issues regarding culture, as this is a somewhat diffuse term, but we don’t know what else we can do, other than seek professional assistance, says Graver.

He believes that the whole of UiO is in the process of directing more attention towards the psychosocial side of the working environment.

- Problems in the relationships between colleagues have not traditionally been seen as a problem related to the working environment. I do not think that this is unique to the Faculty of Law, but it is positive that the working environment has become an administrative priority, Graver states.

Students are also bullied

Mette Børing thinks that students suffer when employees at UiO are working in an unsatisfactory environment.

- Of course the students’ learning environment is affected when the staff is not treated well. It is hard to do your job well when you are being bullied, says Børing.

Leader of the Student Parliament, Heine Skipenes, gets the impression that being harassed by lecturers and seminar leaders is a part of everyday life for students at several faculties.

- Students have fewer rights than employees do, and many are afraid to speak up about harassment, because of these circumstances. All the same, the Student Parliament has experienced a significant increase in these kinds of cases during the past year, and I fear that this is just the tip of the iceberg, says Skipenes. He would like to encourage everyone who has experienced anything like this to get in touch with the Student Parliament, who can then take the case further.

Several faculties are now trying to rectify the problems in their respective working environments.

- This autumn we are carrying out a survey regarding the psychological working environment. This has never been done here before, says Isabel Solinas, safety representative at the Faculty of Education.

- Even though I have not received any reports of bullying directly, I am concerned about whether members of staff are well enough informed about the guidelines for reporting problems. I am glad that we are seeing an increased focus on this matter, as this will not happen automatically, says Brynjulv Norheim, safety representative at the Faculty of Theology.

With regards to the situation at JUS, the senior safety representative will wait to get in touch with the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority, in order to give the administration one final chance to deal with the problems internally.