How often should you measure the working environment?
The short answer: one main survey a year, and short pulses in between. The main survey documents the state. The pulses show whether the measures work. Here is why – and what an annual wheel can look like.
Updated September 25, 2026 · 4 min read
What the rules say
The Working Environment Act sets no fixed interval. Section 1A-2 of the regulation on the performance of work says the mapping and risk assessment shall be repeated regularly and when changes may matter for the risk in the organisation. A reorganisation, a merger, a new system or a demanding period is therefore a reason to map again, whenever you last did it.
One survey a year shows a state, not a direction
An annual survey gives a snapshot. It tells you where you stand, but not whether last year's measures worked, because so much else has happened between two surveys. Twelve months is also a long time to wait to know whether something helped.
When a year passes between each time, the survey also becomes a project. It is planned, presented and forgotten. That is the most common reason work on the working environment stalls.
Baseline and pulse
An example annual wheel
| Month | What | Time per employee |
|---|---|---|
| February | Baseline: the full question set | About four minutes |
| March | Review, risk assessment and measures with an owner and a deadline | – |
| May | Pulse on the factors with open measures | Under a minute |
| September | Pulse | Under a minute |
| November | Pulse, and planning next year | Under a minute |
July is holiday, and December is busy for many. Keep the surveys out of both.
How long can a pulse be?
Short. A pulse that takes more than a couple of minutes starts to feel like a new survey, and then the response rate falls. Keep it to the factors where a measure is running – often two or three factors with three statements each – and it takes under a minute.
What about the response rate?
More frequent surveys do not lower the response rate by themselves. What makes the response rate fall is people not seeing that the last round led to anything. When the findings are shared and the measures are visible, it is easier to get people to answer again.
- Send at the same time every time, for example the first Tuesday of the month at nine.
- Send one reminder, not three – and let the system send it, not the manager.
- Use SMS or a QR code where people do not sit at a PC.
- Say what happened after the last round before you send the next.
When to measure outside the rhythm
The rules mention changes that may matter for the risk. Typical examples:
- reorganisation, a merger or downsizing
- new management or new managers across much of the organisation
- a move, new premises or a shift to working from home
- new systems or ways of working that change the day for many
- a demanding event or period – an accident, a conflict, a large project
Then it is better to map the affected factors now than to wait for the next baseline. A pulse aimed at, say, workload and role clarity can do the job.
Compare like with like
A baseline should be compared with the previous baseline, ideally measured in the same month. A pulse is compared with the pulse before. Mix the two and you compare different question sets – and then a change may be due to the questions, not the working environment.
Small organisations
In a small organisation it is tempting to drop the pulses. But that is exactly where they are cheapest: a few statements, under a minute per person. Remember that no group should be shown under five answers. If you are few, you see the figures for the whole organisation, not per department.
In Orgpuls the annual wheel plans the rounds itself: one baseline a year and pulses in between, where the pulse only asks about the factors with open measures. Read more about the questions to include.
Sources
- Regulation on the performance of work (Lovdata, Norwegian)
- Regulation on the performance of work, chapter 1A (Arbeidstilsynet, Norwegian)
- Psychosocial working environment (Arbeidstilsynet, Norwegian)
This article is general information, not legal advice. The legal references were checked against Lovdata and Arbeidstilsynet in September 2026.
Set the rhythm once – and it runs by itself
The annual wheel in Orgpuls plans baseline and pulses for the whole year. 15 days free, no card.