• Because it's important that different opinions are expressed, from those who are satisfied with the work environment - as well as from those who see a potential for improvement.

• Because your reply can have an influence on improvements in your work environment.

• Because it will help your institution to become a better workplace.

• Because your answer helps build a database that will be valuable for work environment research.

• Yes, because your manager receives ready-made presentations of results, where the information you have provided about age, gender, position category and the like is excluded.

• Yes, because all employees will be considered as a group in analyzes for each unit.

• Yes, because employees are merged into groups in the results presentations, so that individual answers can't be recognized.

• Yes, because the analysis is performed at NTNU after a fixed template which is identical for all units/groups.

• Yes, because the preparation of the results presentations will start after the link between the email addresses and the answers have been deleted.

• Yes, because the information you provide about gender, age, position category and the like will only be used in analyzes of large units/groups and the institution as a whole, so that no individuals can be recognized.

• Yes, because all data collected is stored on a server without internet connection, which is only available to a few people in a research group associated with NTNU, who have confidentiality.

• Yes, because researchers who can access data from the database will only be given anonymous data where no individuals can be recognized.

• The one you have or will have performance appraisal with.

• If you have academic groups at your department, it is the team leader.

• If you are employed at a department without groups, it is the Head of Department.

• If you are employed in a department or section, it is the department manager or section manager.

• If you are Head of a Department, your supervisor is the Dean.

• If you are new or uncertain who is your closest manager, contact the project management at your institution.

No, the survey is made for the entire university and college sector in Norway. It is adapted to our challenges and made for mapping psychosocial conditions in the work environment. The survey has been developed in a collaborative project between the universities in Oslo, Bergen, Tromsø and Trondheim.

• The results will be presented as overviews of average and dispersion figures.

• The results will be presented by people who are trained for this.

• The management at the institution and the individual unit shall ensure that the results of the survey are followed up.  

• Status of follow-up must be reported to co-operative bodies such as a working environment committee.

• The safety representatives will be involved in the follow-up work.

• Managers and safety representatives shall together document implemented measures and conducted processes.

• Yes, managers can get guidance from the HR and HSE Division or the project management at the institution, which in turn receives assistance from project management at NTNU.

• Yes, managers can seek assistance from for example the HR and HSE Division and Corporate Health Services. 

• Yes, management will be able to seek assistance from external consultants if the institution finances this.

• Because measures such as risk assessment, HSE process rounds and occupational hygiene measurements are better suited means for mapping such work environment factors.

• Yes, if you agree to participate in research, your answers will be added to a research database together with data from other universities and colleges using ARK. Such a database will be a rich reference and research material that will enable research on work environment problems that are unique for the university and college sector.

• No, because the link between your response and your email address is deleted well before the research begins.

• No, because researchers will only have access to anonymized data where no individuals can be recognized. 

• The research will not focus on your individual responses. The statistical analysis is done on large groups and the sum of responses from many employees. 

• Researchers who want to use data from the database must apply for this, and state the aim of the research. A group of researchers at NTNU consider these applications.

• The link may have broken over two lines. Try copying the URL and pasting it into the address bar of your browser. Check that there are no spaces between words in the address – space characters between words are not used in URLs.

• Your email client may be set up to read email as plain text. If so, you can change the settings to display messages in HTML format. You can also try displaying the email message on your phone or try from Webmail, if you have it. 

• If you still cannot open the link: Reply to the email with the survey and describe the problem, and we will find a solution together.

No, but it is important for the quality of the survey that you answer as many of the questions as possible. 

This may be because you have clicked the link and looked at the survey. You have then activated your link, so you don’t receive a reminder. Find the email you received with the invitation to participate in the survey, and find your link there. If you have deleted the email and want to reply, get in touch with the ARK contact person at your institution. 

• If you are a safety representative, you have a duty to ask about this. You can ask your manager when information will be provided, when a meeting is to be held or when interventions are planned. 

• As an employee, you can contact your safety representative or manager and ask what the plans are for carrying out the further process. 

Yes, managers should respond on an equal footing with all other employees. When we calculate the results for the individual unit, the responses from the manager of this unit will be excluded from the results. We do this because the manager’s response should not influence the responses for the unit for which the manager is responsible. The manager’s responses will be part of the result for a unit at a higher level, if applicable, and for the institution as a whole.

• Because it is difficult to anonymize responses entered in open fields. 

• Because the things you might have wanted to write here can also be included in the group discussions that you will have in connection with follow-up of the results of the survey. 

• Because any comments about the tool itself should preferably be addressed to ark-kontakt@ntnu.no. 

If you discover this while you are completing the questionnaire, that is, before you click “Send” on the last page, you can return to the previous pages and change your responses.
If you have clicked “Send” in the last page, you need to send an email to ark-kontakt@ntnu.no and request that the form be reopened. 

Send an e-mail to ark-kontakt@ntnu.no, and ask for your response to be deleted. To make it possible to delete your response, you need to provide the email address where you received the invitation to participate in the ARK survey. You must do this within a week after the deadline for responses at your institution has passed. After this, the email addresses are removed from the data material and thus the link between the email and the response.

• Your role will depend on the organizational level for which you are a safety representative.

• If you are a senior safety representative or the local senior safety representative for a faculty, a department or a campus, your role will primarily be to support the local safety representatives. It may also be relevant to create a basis for sharing experiences. In cases where the organization of the safety representatives is not in parallel with the organization chart, one must find practical solutions that work in the individual setting. For example, units that do not have their own safety representative can elect a representative from the employees who can participate in the ARK process in the same way as a local safety representative. 

• As a local safety representative or an employee representative at the unit, in implementing an ARK process you need to: 
  • Participate in the preparations for conducting the ARK survey at your unit. 
  • In practice, this means that you must participate in discussions with the manager on how you can use the opportunity that a working environment survey provides to achieve development in the direction that you all want. Your role is then to introduce the employees’ perspective in the discussions. 
  • Participate in planning the analysis meeting to which all employees must be invited. 
  • In the analysis meeting, the results from the survey will be reviewed. They are intended to form the basis for discussions about what you want to take care of and improve in the work environment, to achieve development in the direction that you want. In the planning of the analysis meeting, your role is to introduce the employees’ perspective.  You might see situations in different ways from the manager because you have a different point of view. It may be important to present this as a basis for a good meeting. For example, you may have different explanations for why a result from the survey is the way it is. You might also know about aspects that are not made visible through the results but that you still believe it is important to take into account. For example, there may be conflicts or friction between one or more colleagues, past incidents, something you experienced as very good, factors that you know have an impact in a positive or negative direction. In the planning process, it is important that both the manager and any facilitator get an impression of how employees perceive the situation.  This will help ensure that the meeting is well adapted to the issues relevant to the unit. 

• In small units, the follow-up meeting may be planned jointly with all employees. Then you will participate on an equal footing with the other employees. 

• In the follow-up meeting itself, you will participate in the same way as all other employees. 

• You will participate in completing the form for summarizing and evaluating the implementation of ARK at your unit. In completing the form, you will help to ensure that the perspective of both management and the employees is taken into account in the responses to the questions that are asked. 

• Regardless of the organizational level or structure of the safety representatives, you should encourage employees to participate in all aspects of the process. High participation leads to better results. 

• If you want to keep a record of your answers, you can copy or print the screenshots as you fill in the form.

• If you open the link to the questionnaire after you have submitted your responses, you will be able to see your responses on the screen.