Working environment, survey on living conditions

Below is a definition of important terms, indicators and background variables. Definition of indicators is sorted by table/theme.

Definition of main concepts

Persons in work

Respondents are counted as part of the working population if they performed at least one hour of paid work the past week or if they have work they were temporarily absent from. Includes both employed and self-employed persons. From 2022, persons who have been temporarily absent from work for more than 12 months are not included as employed in this statistic.

Employees

Respondents who work for an employer. Does not include self-employed or persons performing unpaid work in family business. From 2019 this category no longer includes persons who are employed in a company where the persons themselves are sole-owners of the company.

Percentage of persons in work

The percentages presented are shares of the working population. For some indicators, the percentages presented are shares of employees. These indicators are explicitly named to show that it is calculated at a share of employees. In tables where some indicators are presented as shares of people in work and other indicators are shares of employees, the denominator is indicated in the names of the indicators, for example “No written employment contract, employees”.

Persons (in 1000)

The estimated number of persons is given in 1000 persons. If, for example, the number presented for the indicator ‘Exposed to 3 or more physical/chemical work environment hazards’ is ‘301’, this means that the estimated number of persons in work who is exposed is 301 000.

The number is rounded to the nearest 1000, and if the estimated number is less than 500, this will be shown as 0. This does not mean that the estimated number is actually 0 people, but that the number is lower than 500.

Definitions of the indicators

Physical and chemical work environment

General information about the indicators: We ask whether the respondents are exposed to various physical/chemical hazards, and how much of the working time one is exposed. The indicators in the table present the percentage who responded that they are exposed to the physical working environment factors half the time or more. From 2022, all the questions about burdens will no longer be asked everyone, people who state that they work in an office almost the entire working time are only asked some of the questions. The percentages are nevertheless calculated as proportions of all employed persons for all indicators.

Exposed to 3 or more physical or chemical work environment hazards: people who, in their daily work, are exposed to three or more of the physical or chemical work environment hazards: poor indoor climate, skin contact with water or skin-irritant substances, very low temperature, very high temperature, contact with biological material, loud noise, vibrations, dust, smoke, gases or steam, passive smoking.

Exposed to poor indoor climate: people who, in their daily work, are exposed to poor indoor climate in the form of drafts, dry air, poor ventilation and other forms of poor indoor climate, half of the time or more.

Exposed to water on skin: people who, in their daily work, have skin contact with water several times an hour, half the time or more.

Exposed to skin-irritant substances: people who, in their daily work, have skin contact with oils, lubricants, cutting fluids, solvents, degreasers, cleaning products, or disinfectants, half the time or more. From 2022, those who work almost all their working hours in an office were not asked this question. The indicator is still calculated as a share of all workers.

Exposed to very low temperatures: People who, in their daily work, are exposed to cold temperatures, for example outdoor work during wintertime, or work in cold rooms or similar, half the time or more. From 2022, those who do work mostly in an office were not asked this question. The indicator is still calculated as a share of all workers.

Exposed to very high temperatures: People who, in their daily work, are exposed to heat of 28 degrees or warmer, half the time or more. From 2022, those who work almost all their working hours in an office were not asked this question. The indicator is still calculated as a share of all workers.

Exposed to biological materials: people who, in their daily work, are exposed to biological materials, half of the time or more. Biological materials include:

• blood, saliva, feces, urine, biological tissue or used medical equipment or the like,
• sewage, sludge, compost, spoiled waste or the like,
• alive or dead animals, poultry or shellfish or materials thereof.

From 2022, those who work almost all their working hours in an office were not asked this question. The indicator is still calculated as a share of all workers.

Exposed to loud noise: People who, in their daily work, are exposed to such loud noise that they must stand close to each other and shout to be heard, half the time or more. From 2022, those who work almost all their working hours in an office were not asked this question. The indicator is still calculated as a share of all workers.

Exposed to vibrations: people who, in their daily work, are exposed to vibrations half the time or more. Vibrations include vibrations that cause the whole body to shake, for example from a tractor, forklift or other work machine, and vibrations from machines or tools you hold with your hands. From 2022, those who work almost all their working hours in an office were not asked this question. The indicator is still calculated as a share of all workers.

Exposed to dust, gas or steam: people who, in their daily work, can clearly observe in the air or smell dust, smoke, gases or steam, half of the time or more. Dust, gas or steam includes:

• dust or smoke from metals (eg. ent, asbwelding fumes, lead, chromium, nickel, zinc, aluminum, copper or tin dust)
• mineral dust (eg. from stone, quartz, cemestos or mineral wool)
• organic dust (eg. from textiles, wood, flour, cloth or animal)
• gas/steam from industrial processes, degradation processes or similar,
• exhaust fumes from machinery/vehicles or smoke from combustion, or
• chemicals or gases (e.g. solvents, oils, fuels, paints, ammonia, chlorine or sulphur gases)

From 2022, those who work almost all their working hours in an office were not asked this question. The indicator is still calculated as a share of all workers.

Exposed to passive smoking: People who, in their daily work, can clearly observe in the air or smell tobacco smoke from someone else's smoking, half the time or more.

Ergonomical working environment

General information about the indicators: Workers were asked whether they were exposed to various ergonomic working environment hazards, and how much of their working hours they were exposed. The indicators include persons who have responded that they are exposed to ergonomic working environment hazards half the time or more. From 2022, those who work almost all their working hours in an office were not asked all the questions about ergonomic work hazards. The indicators are still calculated as share of all workers.

Exposed to 3 or more ergonomical work environment hazards: persons who, in their daily work, are exposed to 3 or more ergonomic work hazards:

• work standing up (those who work in an office almost all the time were not asked)
• squat or kneel (those who work in an office almost all the time were not asked)
• Work with repeated or monotonous movements
• have a working position with the head bent forward
• Work with raised arms (those who work in an office almost all the time were not asked)
• work bowed forward without support
• lifting in uncomfortable positions (those who work in an office almost all the time were not asked)
• lift at least 20 kilograms or more (those who work in an office almost all the time were not asked)
• works so hard that one becomes sweaty or out of breath (those who work in an office almost all the time were not asked)

Work-related health problems, work accidents and sick leave
General information about the indicators: The table includes indicators of physical/mental fatigue after work, various health problems caused by work, and sickness absence and occupational accidents.

Physically worn out after work: share of workers who feel physically exhausted after work, weekly or more often.

Mentally drained after work: share of worker who feel mentally drained after work, weekly or more often.

Have two or more work-related health problems: share of workers who have 2 or more health problems due to work. Respondents are first asked about how bothered they are by various types of health problems. Everyone who answers that they are a little, quite or very bothered, is asked whether the health problem is due to their current job. The indicators show the share of workers who are slightly, somewhat, or severely affected and who say it is due to work. The health problems covered are:

• Pain in neck, shoulders or upper back, due to work
• Pain in lower back, due to work
• Pain in arms, wrists or hands, due to work
• Pain in hips, legs, knees or feet, due to work
• Headache or migraine, due to work
• Troubled by nervousness, anxiety or restlessness, due to work
• Troubled by depression or feeling down, due to work
• Troubled by sleep problems, due to work
• Chest tightness or wheezing, due to work
• Eczema or rash, due to work
• Reduced hearing or tinnitus, due to work

Long-term sick leave: share of persons in work that in the past 12 months have had continuous sick leave of more than 14 days.

High risk of accidents at work: share of persons in work responding that they perceive the risk of accidents at work as high.

Subjected to accident at work, last 12 months: share of persons in work responding that they have been physically injured at work in the last 12 months.

Employment relationship and job security

General information about the indicators: The table includes indicators of employment relationship and employment relationship, perceived job security, downsizing and restructuring at work and how this impact the individual, and membership in trade unions. The indicator of perceived risk of losing one's job is given as a share of all workers, while the other indicators are given as shares of employees.

No written employment contract, share of employees: Share of employees responding that they have not signed a written employment contract.

Average length of employment (year), employees: The average number of years employees have worked for their current employer.

At risk of losing job: Share of workers who respond that they feel they are at risk of losing their job/being without a job within the next 3 years.

Work in a company that has restructured in the last 3 years, employees: Share of employees working in a company that has restructured in the last 3 years.

Employees who have been employed for less than 3 years respond if there has been a restructuring during their employment.

Work in a company that has downsized in the last 3 years, employees: Share of employees working in a company that has downsized in the last 3 years. Employees who have been employed for less than 3 years answer whether there has been a downsizing during their employment.

Work in a company that has restructured and/or downsized in the last 3 years, in total, employees: Share of employees working in a company that has restructured and/or downsized in total, last 3 years.

Restructured/downsized in the respondent's department, employees: Share of employees who, in the last 3 years, have experienced restructuring and/or downsizing in the department they work in.

Have been given new assignment at work due to restructuring/downsizing, employees: Share of employees who, during the last 3 years, have experienced that they have been given new tasks because of restructuring and/or downsizing.

Member of trade union or employee organisation, employees: Share of employees who respond that they are members of a trade union or employee organisation.

Violence, threats and harassment

General information about the indicators: The table includes indicators of violence, threats, sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace.

Subjected to violence, sexual harassment, hate speech/threats or bullying, last 12 months, in total: share of workers who have been subjected to violence, unwanted sexual attention, threats/ hate speech and/or harassment/bullying at work in the last 12 months.

Subjected to violence at workplace, last 12 months: workers who respond to having been subjected to violence at work in the last 12 months.

Violence led to physical or mental health problems: workers who respond yes to having been subjected to violence that led to physical or mental health problems.

Subjected to unwanted sexual attention at work, last 12 months: Workers who respond yes to having been subjected to unwanted sexual attention, comments or the similar at work, last 12 months.

Subjected to threats or hate speech at work, last 12 months: share of persons in work who respond yes to having been subjected to threats or hate speech at work, last 12 months.

Threats or hate speech committed via websites, social media or email: share of persons in work who respond that they have been subjected to threats or hate speech that have been communicated via websites, social media or e-mail.

Threats or hate speech was serious enough to frighten you: share of persons in work who respond that they have been subjected to threats or hate speech that were so serious enough to frighten them.

Subjected to harassment or bullying, last 12 months: share of persons in work who respond yes to having been subjected to harassment or bullying at work, last 12 months.

Exposed to violence/threats/sexual harassment/bullying at work, monthly or more often: share of persons in work who respond that they have been subjected to violence/threats/sexual harassment/bullying, monthly or more often in the last 12 months.

For each of these unwanted incidents, the respondents are also asked about who carried out the actions. It is possible to give more than one answer.

Action committed by a patient, customer, student or similar: share of persons in work who respond that they have been subjected to violence / threats / sexual harassment / bullying last 12 months, and that the action was committed by a person who is not employed at their workplace, such as a patient, customer, student, or similar. The shares are calculated as a percentage of all workers.

Action committed by a colleague: share of persons in work who respond that they have been subjected to violence / threats / sexual harassment / bullying last 12 months, and that the action was committed by a colleague. The shares are calculated as a percentage of all workers.

Action committed by a manager: share of persons in work who respond that they have been subjected to violence / threats / sexual harassment / bullying last 12 months, and that the action was committed by a manager. The shares are calculated as a percentage of all workers.

Conflict and lack of support

General information about the indicators: The table includes indicators of various psychosocial conditions in the workplace, such as lack of support and assistance, workers’ perception of how they are treated, conflict and client contact. Most of the indicators in the table are given as a share of employees, except for the indicators on client contact, which are given as shares of the working population.

Rarely or never receive feedback from superiors on job performance, employees: Share of employees who answer that they fairly seldom, very seldom or never receive feedback from their line manager on how they have performed their job.

Rarely or never get support or help in the job from immediate superior, employees: Share of employees who answer that they fairly seldom, very seldom or never get the support or help they need in the job from the line manager.

Rarely or never get support or help in the job from colleagues, employees: Share of employees who answer that they fairly seldom, very seldom or never get the support or help they need at work from colleagues at work.

Feel that there is low tolerance to express criticism of the working conditions, employees: Share of employees who respond that they feel that there is low tolerance to express criticism of the working conditions.

Employees are seldom or never treated fairly and impartially, employees: Share of employees who answer that they experience that their line manager fairy seldom, very seldom or never treats the employees fairly or impartially.

Receive little information about important decisions, changes or plans in company, employees: Share of employees who respond that they feel that they receive little or no information at all, in timely matter, from the company they work for, regarding important decisions, changes, and plans.

Work achievements rarely or never appreciated by nearest superior, employees: Share of employees who answer that they feel that their work results are rarely, very rarely or never valued by their line manager.

Involved in conflicts with superiors, often or sometimes employees: Share of employees who answer that they, often or now and again, are involved in uncomfortable conflicts with superiors at work.

Involved in conflicts with work colleagues, often or sometimes, employees: Share of employees who answer that they, often or now and again, are involved in uncomfortable conflicts with colleagues at work.

Involved in conflicts with patients, customers, students or similar, often or sometimes, employees: Share of persons in work who answer that they often or now and again are involved in conflicts with patients, customers, students or others who are not employed at their workplace.

Work in contact with patients, customers, students or similar, half of the time or more: Share of persons in work who spend half of the working time or more in contact with patients, customers, students or others who are not employed at their workplace.

Must very often hide negative feelings toward clients, pupils, patients or similar: Share of persons in work who very often must hide their own negative emotions (such as irritation, frustration, anger or the like) towards people who are not employed in the workplace.

Must very often deal with strong feelings of clients, pupils, patients or similar: Share of employees who very often must deal with strong emotions in people who are not employed at the workplace (such as sadness, anger, despair, despair or the like).

Job demands and autonomy

General information about the indicators: The table includes indicators of various psychosocial conditions in the workplace such as expectations and demands on employees, for example related to availability and work pace, opportunities to have control over different aspects of one's own work, role conflict and autonomy in the job. The first 11 indicators in the table are given as shares of the working population, while the remaining 8 are given as shares of employees.

Expected to be available for work-related inquiries outside working hours: Share of persons in work who answer that it is expected by their employer/at work that they are available for inquiries in their spare time.

Have responded to work-related inquiries outside working hours, daily in the last 4 weeks: Share of persons in work who answer that they have answered job inquiries in their spare time every day in the last 4 weeks.

The job takes up so much time or energy that it affects your personal life, weekly or more often: Share of persons in work who answer that their work takes up so much of their time or energy that it interferes with their private life, one day a week, a few days a week or daily.

Could not take a meal break or had to work beyond your normal working hours, several days a week the last 4 weeks: Share of persons in work who answer that, in the past 4 weeks, they have had so much to do that they did not get to take a meal break or had to work beyond their normal working hours, some days a week or daily.

Necessary to work at a high pace, often: Share of persons in work who answer that they have to work at a high pace, fairly or very often.

Too much to do, often: Share of persons in work who answer that they have too much to do, fairly or very often.

Perform repetitive work tasks, half the time or more: Share of persons in work who answer that they perform repeated work tasks, so that they do the same thing hour after hour, half of the time or more.

Mistakes can put one's own or other's lives or health at risk: Share of persons in work who answer that they can put their own or others' lives or health at risk if they make mistakes at work.

Job satisfaction, motivation and development opportunities

General information about the indicators: The table includes indicators of job satisfaction, motivation, attachment, and development opportunities.

Satisfied with the job: share of persons in work who answer that they are fairly or very satisfied with their job.

Dissatisfied with the job: share of persons in work who answer that they are fairly or very dissatisfied with their job.

Often or always feel motivated and engaged in own work: share of persons in work who answer that they quite or very often feel motivated and engaged in their job.

Seldom or never feel motivated and engaged in own work: share of people in work who answer that they fairly seldom, very seldom or never feel motivated and engaged in their work.

Office design and working from home

Includes questions about whether you sit in an office, various office solutions (cell office/landscape/free seating), about the opportunity to work from home and how often you work from home all day and/or outside normal working hours. The questions about working from home are only posed to persons who work daytime (6 AM to 6PM), but the indicators are calculated as shares of all workers. This gives a somewhat lower figure than found in the Labor Force Survey, where questions about working from home are asked of all workers. The questions about how often you work from home full days or outside normal working hours are only posed those who have the option to do some work from home.

All indicators are calculated as a share of all workers, with the exception of the indicators about type of office, which are calculated as a share of those who work in an office all or part of the working time.

Has the opportunity to work from home: share of persons in work who have the opportunity to do some work from home. The question is only asked of employees who work daytime, but the indicator is calculated as a share of all workers.

Work exclusively from home: Share of persons in work who state that they work all day from home every day.

Work full days from home, weekly: share of persons in work who answer that they work full days from home, one or more days a week (but not exclusively).

Work full days from home, monthly or less often: share of persons in work who answer that they work full days from home a few days a month or less often. Does not include those who never work from home.

Work from home outside normal working hours, daily: share of persons in work who state that they work from home outside normal working hours every day.

Work from home outside normal working hours, weekly: share of persons in work who state that they work from home outside normal working hours, one or more days a week (but not every day).

Work from home outside normal working hours, a few times a month or less often: share of persons in work who state that they work from home outside normal working hours a few days a month or less frequently. Does not include people who say they never work from home.

Work in an office, all or part of the workday: share of persons in work who state that they work in an office or office landscape part of the working time.

Work in a private office, share of those working in an office: share of persons who answer that they sit in their own office/cell office. Calculated as a share of those who work in an office all or part of the working time.

Work in an open-plan office, share of those working in an office: share of persons who share an office with 1-2 people, or who share an office, but usually sit alone. Calculated as a share of those who work in an office all or part of the working time.

Do not have a designated desk, share of those working in an office: share of persons who do not have a designated desk in the office. Calculated as a share of those who work in an office all or part of the working time.

Age

Persons are grouped by age at year-end for the completion of the main part of the interview.

Education

Based on information on the highest completed level of education from education registers. For more information about classification, see Norwegian Standard Classification of Education (NUS200).

Education is grouped as follows:

Primary and lower secondary education (NUS-level 0,1,2)

Upper secondary education (NUS-level 3,4,5)

Tertial education, 4 years or less (NUS-level 6)

Tertial education, more than 4 years (NUS-level 7,8)

Unknown or no completed education (NUS-level 9 or missing from registers)

Occupation

The occupational classification is based on Norwegian standard classification of occupations (STYRK-08). This classification has a hierarchical division, from a rough classification of occupational groups at the 1-digit level to a fine-tuning of occupations at the 4-digit level. Due to the size of the sample in the survey, we are not able to go further down than the 2-digit level in the publication of results. The classification of occupational groups at 1-digit level and 2-digit level can be found in Classification of occupations.

Industry

Industry is coded according to the Classification of Standard Industrial Classification (NOS D 383), which is based on the EU's corresponding classification (NACE Rev. 2), see also Classification of Standard Industrial Classification - Statistics Norway (ssb.no).
In the Survey of Living Conditions on Working Environment, industry is grouped by two-digit NACE code as follows:

01-03 = Agriculture, forestry and fishing

05-09 = Mining and quarrying

10-33 = Manufacture

35-39 = Electricity, water supply, sewerage, waste management

41-43= Construction

45-47 = Wholesale and retail trade: repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles

49-53 = Transportation and storage

55-56 = Accommodation and food service activities

58-63 = Information and communication

64-66 = Financial and insurance activities

68-75 = Real estate, professional, scientific and technical activities

77-82 = Administrative and support service activities

84 = Public adm., defence, soc. security

85 = Education

86-88 = Human health and social work activities

90-99 = Other service activities

00 = Unspecified

Name: Working environment, survey on living conditions

Topic: Labour market and earnings

Division for Income and social welfare statistics

National

The Survey of Conditions on Working Environment is conducted every 3 years. Working environment was previously part of the general Survey of Living Conditions, which is conducted annually, where it was included as one of several rotating thematic sections. See 'Purpose and History' for more information about the survey.

Statistics Norway stores collected and audited data in a secure manner, in line with current legislation for data processing. Anonymized files are accessible to researchers and students through Sikt - Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research.

The aim of the Survey of Living Conditions on Working Environment is to map various working environment conditions among employees in Norway. The survey addresses topics such as workplace relations, physical, chemical and ergonomic working environment, psychosocial working environment, occupational health problems and sickness absence, and demands and opportunities for autonomy at work. The statistics cover employed and self-employed persons aged 18-66 years who are resident in Norway.

History

The Survey of Living Conditions with working environment as a topic has been carried out in 1996, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 2022. In 1996, a coordinated system for living conditions surveys was introduced with rotating topics/modules as well as an annual panel survey. Working environment was the topic of this cross-sectional survey in 1996, 2000 and 2003. From 2006, the Survey of Living Conditions on Working Environment was established as a panel survey. This panel design remained until 2019. From 2022, the Survey of Living Conditions on Working Environment will again be conducted as a cross-sectional survey. Comparable data are also available for 1989 and 1993 based on working environment questions in the Labor and Enterprise Survey.

Before 2006, the gross sample in the survey was approximately 5,000 people. In the period 2006-2019, the gross sample was around 20,000 people. In 2022, the sample size was increased to 35,000 gross and for the first time, data is collected using a combination of web and telephone interviews.

The main users are government ministries, directorates, and research communities in the areas of working environment, health care, housing, leisure and local environment and living conditions in general.

Apart from this the statistics serve as a basis for information to the media and others interested in the condition and development in the living conditions.

No external users have access to the statistics and analyses before they are published and accessible simultaneously for all users on ssb.no at 08:00 am. Prior to this, a minimum of three months' advance notice is given in the Statistics Release Calendar. This is one of Statistics Norway’s key principles for ensuring that all users are treated equally.

Survey of Living Conditions on Working Environment aims to assess work environment conditions among the working population. Information from the national population registers, from the register of the population's education, occupation “a-ordning” scheme. This registry information is used to weight aiming to achieve the most accurate representation of the working population as possible and to estimate the number of employed individuals experiencing various work environment factors.

Many topics in the Survey of Living Conditions on Working Environment are closely related to topics from the Labor Force Survey (AKU). An important difference is that participants in the Labor Force Survey answer for a specific reference week, while participation in the Working Environment Survey is not limited to a specific week. In addition, the respondents are given the opportunity to participate in the survey over a longer data collection period. From when the respondents are first contacted, those who don’t answer is followed up again, until the end of the data collection period. If respondents have a greater inclination to participate at a time when they are employed, this can lead to an over-representation of people with a looser connection to the labor market in the Survey of Living Conditions on Working Environment, compared to the Labor Force Survey. Many of the questions in the Survey of Living Conditions on Working Environment also refer to various reference periods, e.g. the working environment in the last 12 months. The Labor Force Survey is better suited to provide figures on the number of employed people, the proportion of temporary employees and different working time arrangements. In the survey, this is primarily used to analyze variations in vulnerability to working environment problems between groups with different working conditions. The Survey of Living Conditions on Working Environment also provides a more in-depth approach about the employees' experience of their own working environment and the relationship between work and health.

The statistics are developed, produced and disseminated pursuant to Act no. 32 of 21 June 2019 relating to official statistics and Statistics Norway (the Statistics Act).

The population of the Survey of Living Conditions on Working Environment include persons in work at the age 18-66 years, who reside in Norway. Employed short-term immigrants and persons living in institutions are not covered by the statistics.

Data sources are interview data the Survey of Living Conditions on Working Environment and various attached registry information.

In 2022, the Survey of Living Conditions on Working Environment was carried out as a cross-sectional survey with a gross sample of 35,000 people. Before 2006, the gross sample in the survey was 5,000 people, while in the period 2006-2019 it was around 20,000 people.

In 2022, the sample is stratified to over-represent persons in work and especially persons in work with low education, in the gross sample. The selection was made in two stages. Firstly, a random sample of 20,000 people was drawn from the target population. An additional selection of 15,000 people was then drawn. This sample was drawn from the population of working people, with oversampling of people without higher education. In the additional selection, 12 times as many workers without higher education were drawn compared to workers with higher education. If you look at the whole sample, workers with low or unknown education had a sampling probability 2.5 times higher than as workers with high education, while the unemployed had a probability 0.9 times higher than workers with high education.

The sample for different years is described in more detail in the documentation notes, see under "Relevant documentation".

The data sources are attached to various registry information from the national register, education registers, income registers, social security and benefits from NAV and information on sickness absence, work, occupation and salary from the “a-ordning” scheme. The register information is documented in the survey's documentation note.

The data collection in the Survey of Living Conditions on Working Environment is for the first time been conducted as a combination of a web form and a telephone interview (Computer Assisted Telephone Interview, CATI). In previous years, only telephone interviews were conducted. The data collection took place from August 2022 to April 2023. Additional information about the data collection across different years can be found in the documentation notes linked under "Relevant documentation".

Prior to the interview, information about the place of work from the “a-ordning” scheme is attached. Respondents are given the opportunity to correct this information. Occupation is surveyed in the interview. Industry and occupation are coded manually in Statistics Norway.

Editing

Editing is defined here as checking, examining and amending data.

The web form and the telephone interviews both take place using a questionnaire that is programmed with checks and warnings to avoid wrong answers or registration errors during the interview.

Limitations

The main sample in the Survey of Living Conditions on Working Environment is drawn so that it reflects the population. The supplementary sample in the survey was drawn in a stratified manner, with persons in work and a greater probability of being drawn for those with a low level of education. This is first corrected with an initial weight that accounts for individuals' sampling probability (dvekt).

As dropout rates vary across segmented groups, the net sample may not be fully representative of the targeted population. In surveys, biases arise due to different propensities to answer. This bias will vary between groups and which variable is being looked at. We created a weight to correct for some of the biases in the gross sample compared to the population. The weight allows people with characteristics that are underrepresented to count more, while people with characteristics that are overrepresented count less. The following characteristics are included in the calculation of the weights in 2022: employment, gender, education level, income group, age, immigration background, region. The weights are calibrated against the population aged between 18 and 66 who live in private households as of 1 January 2023. This is done using the program package ReGenesees, which has been developed by Istat. Before 2022, a drop-out weight was used which weighted the net sample against the survey's gross sample according to the characteristics of gender, age, education and family size.

The unit of analysis is the person.

Interviewers and everyone who works at Statistics Norway have a duty of confidentiality. Statistics Norway has its own data protection officer.

Statistics Norway does not publish figures where there is a risk of identifying individual data about persons or households.

More information can be found on Statistics Norway’s website under Methods in official statistics, in the ‘Confidentiality’ section.

In 2022, the Survey of Living Conditions on Working Environment underwent a major restructuring. The most important difference from previous years is that the data is partly collected using a web form. About two-thirds of the responses were collected using a web form. For some indicators, the responses provided on the web are more negative compared to the responses in telephone interviews. This is described in more detail in the documentation note which is linked under "Relevant documentation". Due to this change in data collection method, the figures from 2022 are not directly comparable with previous years. A change has also been made in the weight.Several changes have also been made to the questionnaire through the years. The Survey of Living Conditions on Working Environment is partly based on the Working Life Surveys 1989 and 1993. Certain time series can therefore be traced back to 1989. Major revisions have been made in 2006 and 2009. In some areas, the time series are thus short.

In 2008, a new Standard Industrial Classification (SN2007) was adopted by Statistics Norway. This is based on the EU's corresponding standard (NACE rev.2). Additionally in 2011, a new Standard for occupational classification (STYRK-08) was also introduced. This is based on the international standard for occupational classification that the International Labour Organization implemented in 2008 (International Standard Classification of Occupations - ISCO-08).

Non-response errors

As dropout rates vary across segmented groups, the net sample may not be fully representative of the targeted population. In surveys, biases arise due to different propensities to answer. This bias will vary between groups and which variable is being looked at. We created a weight to correct for some of the biases in the gross sample compared to the population. The weight allows people with characteristics that are underrepresented to count more, while people with characteristics that are overrepresented count less. The following characteristics are included in the calculation of the weights in 2022: employment, gender, education level, income group, age, immigration background, region. The weights are calibrated against the population aged between 18 and 66 who live in private households as of 1 January 2023. This is done using the program package ReGenesees, which has been developed by Istat. Before 2022, a drop-out weight was used which weighted the net sample against the survey's gross sample according to the characteristics of gender, age, education and family size.

Sampling error

In sample surveys, we cannot know with certainty whether the result we get is the same as we would get if we were able to do a total count. This is called sampling error. To calculate the uncertainty associated with a percentage, we can use the standard error. Using the standard error, it is possible to calculate an interval that with a given probability contains the true value of a calculated quantity. Such intervals are called confidence intervals. The confidence interval is greater if you look at a group with few observations, and it also increases if the observed percentage approaches 50.

The smaller the sample, the greater the uncertainty associated with the results. An example can illustrate the uncertainty associated with analyzing small groups. If we observe that 19.5 per cent of "Protective services workers" have been exposed to violence in the past year and know that there are 143 respondents from this occupational group, we can calculate a confidence interval for the proportion. The standard error of the observed percentage is 3.3 when the number of observations is 143. To calculate the confidence interval, you can use the formula observed percentage ± (2 × standard error). This gives a confidence interval that with 95 percent probability contains the true value in the population. In this case, the "true" proportion of security workers exposed to violence in the past year will be between a confidence interval that extends from 12.9 to 26.1 percent. If you calculate a confidence interval for an observed percentage of 19.5 for all employed people in the sample (N=15387), we get an interval from 19.1 to 19.9 per cent.

Statistics Norway only publishes figures on the working environment for groups of at least 100 respondents. If the number of respondents in a group is less than 100, no figures will be shown for the indicators for this group, because the figures are uncertain.

Sampling errors

The uncertainty of findings based on a sample from the population is often called sampling variance. The standard deviation is a measure of this uncertainty. The size of the standard deviation depends, among other factors, on the number of observations in the sample, and on the distribution of the current variable in the whole population.

Statistic Norway has not made exact calculations to compute standard deviation for the findings. However, in table 1, the approximate size of standard deviation is given for observed percentages.

To illustrate the uncertainty associated with a percentage, we can use an interval to give the level of the true value of an estimated quantity (the value obtained if making observation on the whole population instead of observation based on a part of the population). Such intervals are called confidence intervals if constructed in a special way. In this connection one can use the following method: let M be the estimated quantity, and S the estimate of standard deviation of M. The confidence interval will be an interval with limits (M - 96*S) and (M + 96*S). This method will give, with approximately 95 per cent probability, an interval containing the true value.