New rules on the psychosocial working environment from 1 January 2026

In short

• Chapter 1A of the regulation on the performance of work applies from 1 January 2026.
• The employer shall map psychosocial working environment factors, assess the risk and put measures in place.
• Mapping shall be done together with the employees and their representatives, repeated regularly and documented.
• According to Arbeidstilsynet the rules clarify requirements that already applied – they introduce no new ones.

What the regulation actually says

Chapter 1A has five sections: a fully satisfactory psychosocial working environment (§ 1A-1), mapping and risk assessment (§ 1A-2), measures (§ 1A-3), information and training (§ 1A-4) and the employee's duty to take part (§ 1A-5). In practice, § 1A-2 and § 1A-3 matter most.

The employer shall then assess the risk of harmful effects, both in the short and the long term. The risk assessment shall cover the factors one by one, how they affect each other, and whether together they amount to a risk.

Four requirements for how it is done

The fourth paragraph of § 1A-2 says the mapping and risk assessment shall be:

1. carried out together with the employees and their representatives
2. adapted to the organisation's nature, activities and size
3. repeated regularly and when changes may matter for the risk in the organisation
4. documented and part of the organisation's systematic health, safety and environment work

§ 1A-3 follows on: on the basis of the risk assessment the employer shall draw up the necessary plans and implement the necessary measures to remove or reduce the risk. That too shall be done together with the employees and their representatives.

What is new, and what is not?

The duty to map and assess risk is not new. It is in section 3-1 of the Working Environment Act, and section 4-3 requires the psychosocial working environment to be fully satisfactory. What is new is that the regulation describes how: that the factors are to be assessed one by one and together, and that the work is to be repeated and documented.

Section 4-3, second paragraph, of the Act names among other things unclear or conflicting demands and expectations, emotional demands in work with people, workload and time pressure, and support and help at work. Those are the factors a good mapping should cover.

What this means in practice

1. Look at the factors one by one – and together

One overall wellbeing score is not enough. The regulation asks you to look at the factors one by one and at how they interact. A high workload is one thing. A high workload combined with little support from the manager is a different and bigger risk.

2. Involve the safety and union representatives from the start

Working together means more than reporting the result afterwards. Under section 6-2 of the Working Environment Act the safety representative shall be consulted during the planning and implementation of measures. Let the safety representative see the same basis as management. Read more about the safety representative's role in mapping.

3. Make it a rhythm

«Repeated regularly», it says, but the regulation sets no fixed interval. Many choose one main survey a year with short pulses in between, so they can see whether the measures work. Read more in How often should you measure the working environment?

4. Document as you go

The documentation shall be part of the systematic HSE work. The simplest way is for it to be produced while you work: what was measured, what you assessed, which measures you chose, who owns them, and what the next survey showed.

How Orgpuls covers the requirements

Information, training and the employees' duty

§ 1A-4 says the employer shall give employees the necessary information about the risk factors and the measures put in place, and ensure the necessary training. In practice the result of the mapping cannot stay with management. Employees shall know what came out, and what will be done.

§ 1A-5 goes the other way: employees themselves have a duty to take part in the work for a fully satisfactory psychosocial working environment, with reference to section 2-3 of the Working Environment Act. Answering the mapping and taking part in the follow-up is part of that.

Common questions about the change

Do we have to change tools or write new routines?

Not necessarily. If you already map the psychosocial working environment, assess risk, put measures in place and document it, you are on the right track. Go through the four requirements in the fourth paragraph of § 1A-2 and see whether anything is missing – often it is the follow-up and the documentation.

Does it apply to small organisations?

Yes. The rules apply to every employer. Mapping shall be adapted to the organisation's nature, activities and size, so an organisation of ten can keep it simpler than one of two hundred – but cannot skip it.

Is an annual employee survey enough?

It can be a good part of the mapping, but it rarely covers everything. Arbeidstilsynet recommends several sources, for example safety inspections and appraisal conversations. And a survey without risk assessment, measures and follow-up does not meet the requirement on its own.

Orgpuls measures eleven psychosocial factors with three statements each, and shows the risk per factor. The findings become measures with an owner and a deadline, and short pulses measure whether the measures work. The safety representative sees the same figures as management. Everything is stored with a date, and the report follows the steps of section 3-1 letter c. See what the law requires, and how Orgpuls does it.