Halogen - Inclusive Workplace programme for nursing homes: the path to a better working environment

Halogen

Inclusive Workplace programme for nursing homes: the path to a better working environment

for KS

A new Inclusive Workplace (IA) agreement is in place. Since 2001, similar agreements have aimed to make the working environment in Norway more inclusive. So, what did we learn from the last IA agreement, which ran from 2019 to 2024? One way to answer this question is to look at the seven sector programmes created under the agreement. These programmes supported activities at workplaces across Norway. One of them focused on nursing homes.

Halogen

Inclusive Workplace programme for nursing homes: the path to a better working environment

for KS

Halogen

Inclusive Workplace programme for nursing homes: the path to a better working environment

for KS

Halogen

A closer look at the nursing home programme

“Nursing homes face major challenges with sick leave and employee retention. Every day, around 8,000 employees at Norwegian nursing homes are not at work. It’s not uncommon for a nursing home to have over 20 percent sick leave. A high proportion of this is related to the working environment,” says Sara Formo, who leads the programme for nursing homes.

Halogen has helped develop new tools and methods to address the working environment at nursing homes, focusing on staff involvement, testing and iterative development.

Image: KS and Halogen

“‘Us and Ours’ is a practical tool developed with the help of service design to work on improving the working environment. The method consists of a series of workshops where employees map the strengths and challenges in their working environment, and then find solutions which they test in their own workplace,” explains Siri Moe Megaard from Halogen. Megaard and Halogen have worked on the programmes for both nursing homes and nurseries, exploring how service design methods and processes can be applied to the working environment.

What the research shows

Kari Anne Holte, Research Director at NORCE, has studied the programme and evaluated “Us and Ours.” She found that it helps to solve local challenges and to improve the organisation, planning and execution of work activities. Employees are less stressed and get more input into their daily lives – which in turn helps to reduce staff turnover and sick leave.

The evaluation also found that the programme also promotes shared responsibility and improves cooperation between managers, union reps, and safety reps – an important group in Norwegian workplaces. It shows that big nationwide ambitions can be anchored in local workplaces.

“That’s one of the things we’ve highlighted in several of the reports we’ve written about the sector programmes, but also in the knowledge base behind new IA agreement: that cooperation between the parties itself has been strengthened because they’ve been provided with both resources and tools,” explains Kari Anne Holte.

NORCE’s conclusions align with the evaluation conducted by Deloitte across all seven of the sector programmes: “Our overall assessment is therefore that sector programmes are a well-functioning tool to help achieve the goals and ambitions of the IA agreement.”

What makes “Us and Ours” work?

The tool is designed to promote active collaboration between the staff at the nursing home and those responsible for health, safety and the environment (HSE). It helps organisations bring everyone into the conversation, and helps avoid rushing to solutions without fully understanding the problem.

“‘Us and Ours’ is about the employees’ everyday life, on their own terms. What I see is that those who succeed dig deep into their challenges. They dare to talk about the difficult things. I actually believe nursing home employees have an advantage here – they already have a culture for discussing hard topics,” says Sara Formo.

Image: Halogen

Challenges that can hinder progress

Even with good tools, the programme faces some challenges. One is ownership. Nursing homes must take charge of the process for it to have a lasting effect.

“What makes a difference, and is crucial for good results, is having a good process leader. That’s something we need to work on. Some people are naturally better than others at leading these kinds of processes. It’s about skills, mindset, and practice. The latter is important. No one becomes good without practice. And you have to learn from what doesn’t work,” Formo urges.

The programme offers training in process leadership to help nursing homes build internal capacity. When they have their own trained facilitators, they take ownership and can use the method as part of their regular HSE efforts.

Another challenge is time and resources. Municipalities are already under pressure from other processes such as the Health Platform. It can be hard to prioritise programmes such as “Us and Ours”, and if it is not anchored at management level and throughout the municipalities, it risks becoming a one-time effort that doesn't last.

“There is also a risk that formal cooperation between the parties is not enough, and that the programme won’t be as effective if local union representatives and safety delegates are not involved in the practical day-to-day work,” emphasises Holte. She recommends linking “Us and Ours” with various mapping tools, such as safety rounds and work environment assessments, to view it in light of the information continuously gathered about one’s organisation.

The working environment programme has the potential to create a better working life, but it requires more than good intentions. It requires overcoming the barriers and actively working to create real change in practice.

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“Us and Ours” in short: a step-by-step approach to a better working environment

The method uses four workshops where employees identify challenges and find solutions.

It is divided into four parts:

Explore: map strengths and weaknesses in the working environment.
Elaborate: understand and select challenges to address.
Create: develop ideas and proposed solutions.
Test: evaluate solutions in real scenarios.

The HSE group leads the process and ensures continuity. All employees should be involved to leverage their experience and expertise.

The programme takes into account the organisation’s specific needs and challenges. Organisations need to prioritise the resources needed to ensure successful implementation at the end of the programme. Actions at the end of the programme often focus on creating activities, distributing them amongst the staff, and clarifying responsibilities.

“Us and Ours” should be integrated into the organisation's management systems for lasting impact.

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