Risk assessment of the psychosocial working environment: how to do it
The survey shows how people are doing. The risk assessment says what it means: what could cause harm, how serious it is, and what must be done first. Since 2026 the requirement has been spelled out in the regulation.
Updated October 6, 2026 · 4 min read
What the regulation requires
«On the basis of the survey, the employer shall assess the risk of harmful effects, both in the short and the long term. The risk assessment shall cover the individual factors separately, how they affect each other, and whether together they constitute a risk.»
The survey and the risk assessment must also be done in cooperation with employees and their representatives, be adapted to the nature, activities and size of the business, be repeated regularly and when things change, and be documented as part of your health and safety work.
A survey is not a risk assessment
The survey collects: how are people doing with workload, role clarity, support and the other factors? The risk assessment interprets: which of these could harm health, safety or welfare, and how likely and how serious is that? A survey on its own is therefore not a risk assessment. The risk assessment is what you do with the figures afterwards.
Three things to assess
Arbeidstilsynet also points out that factors can be both straining and protective. A good climate for speaking up and good support are not just an absence of risk – they keep risk down.
Short and long term
The regulation asks you to assess harmful effects in both the short and the long term. Some things are acute: violence and threats, harassment, a conflict that has locked up. Others work over time: a workload that never eases, roles that are never clarified. The latter are easier to overlook, because no single event sets them off.
A simple method in four steps
- Mark the factors and groups that are low or have dropped since last time.
- Assess each one: how serious could it get, how many does it affect, and how long has it lasted? Use the statements behind the number and what employees tell you.
- Look for connections: do some factors reinforce each other in the same group? Is anything protective?
- Conclude with a risk level – for instance low, medium or high – and a short reason, and let the conclusion decide which measures you prioritise.
Do the assessment with the safety representative. They know the working day from a different side than management, and the regulation requires employee representatives to take part.
When to assess again
Regularly, and when changes could affect the risk. Arbeidstilsynet mentions changes in organisation, staffing, tasks, management, technology, working hours or operating conditions. A reorganisation is therefore a reason to look at the psychosocial working environment again – preferably before it happens. Read more about how often to measure.
What to document
The documentation must make it possible to follow the work up and serve as the basis for measures. Its scope can be adapted to the size of the business and its risks. As a minimum:
- what was surveyed, when, and who took part
- which factors and groups were assessed, and the conclusion for each
- the reasoning – why something is high or low risk
- which measures the assessment led to, with owners and deadlines
The next step is the measures. Read more about getting from results to measures.
Sources
- Regulation on the performance of work, chapter 1A, with Arbeidstilsynet's comments (Norwegian)
- Regulation on the performance of work (Lovdata, Norwegian)
- Working Environment Act § 3-1 (Lovdata, Norwegian)
This is general information, not legal advice. We checked what the law says with Lovdata and Arbeidstilsynet in September 2026.
From figures to a risk assessment
Orgpuls gives each factor a risk band and brings the assessment, the measures and the follow-up together in one report. The first 15 days are free.