DEBATT, the article was published in Arbetsvärlden 5/11-2020. Read the article at arbetsvarlden.se here
Today, almost every second student between the ages of 18 and 29 experiences mental illness. Among working people of the same age, the figure is one third. The fact that students are feeling so much worse than working people indicates a systemic failure that can and should be addressed. Interventions are needed for those who are already sick or feeling unwell, but we must also work preventively. Students should not become ill because of their study situation.
At the end of the year, the government is expected to present the new work environment strategy that will be valid until 2024. The previous work environment strategy from 2016 did not include the work environment of students. The government now has the chance to raise the level of ambition: state in the work environment strategy that the work environment of students needs to be prioritized and that the Swedish Work Environment Authority needs to provide better support to our universities and colleges. This is necessary to make the work environment of students visible as a special problem that requires specific efforts.
We want all universities and colleges to be tasked with reporting on how they work with students' work environments.
For the work to have an impact in practice, Matilda Ernkrans, Minister of Higher Education and Research, also needs to be given better tools to be able to follow up on the issue. We want all universities and colleges to be given the task of reporting back on how they work with students' work environments in order to then be able to demand improvements from those higher education institutions that are not doing enough.
The fact that students are feeling unwell can have consequences long after their studies. Some drop out of education, which is a loss for a labor market that is crying out for the right skills. Others have had elevated stress levels for several years, which means that they risk not being able to cope when they go out into the working world. Instead, mental ill health continues to worsen and becomes a task for employers to manage, even though the cause came earlier.
It can also involve factors such as sexual harassment or offensive discrimination.
There are several factors that can explain students' mental health problems, and the causes differ between different education programs. For some students, it is because the requirements are unclear or the workload is unreasonably high during parts of the semester. For others, it is due to fierce competition between students combined with a lack of support from teachers. It can also be due to factors such as sexual harassment or offensive discrimination. All of these factors are known psychosocial risk factors.
It is possible to minimize the major and common risk factors in the student work environment. Often it is a matter of simple things like not taking multiple exams in the same week. It is also important to make clear how much time the student is expected to spend on a task and what results they are expected to achieve.
Even though universities and colleges are now required to work systematically to improve the psychosocial work environment, the work is not prioritized. At a central level, it is unclear what should be done and individual teachers have neither the time nor the resources to develop the students' work environment. Improvements are lacking and the problem persists. Therefore, proper follow-up of the work is required from the government or the Swedish Work Environment Authority.
400,000 people participate in higher education every year. That almost half of them should feel unwell during their studies, may not be able to graduate on time and risk getting sick when they enter the workforce is not acceptable. A change must happen now. Include students in the work environment strategy and set higher demands on follow-up from the higher education institutions. A good and sustainable work environment for students is a win for both the individual student and society as a whole.
Linn Svärd, Vice President, SFS