Workplace environment issues require expertise rather than media storms

A poor psychosocial working environment can have a severe impact. Proposed solutions come from various sources and share a common theme: they highlight a growing need for help in resolving working environment issues within the cultural sector, so that individuals are not left without support. We in the Danish Artist Union support this, but we miss a re-examination of the principles of solidarity, which should be a shared commitment across the music and performing arts communities.

The arts and culture sector is teeming with freelancers and small independent businesses, where tasks and responsibilities shift between individuals on a daily basis. Often, working relationships are not grounded in a shared understanding of who is employed by whom, or indeed, if an employment relationship exists at all.

The consequences of this are that help and solutions to occupational health and safety problems often require a very in-depth understanding and analysis of the working relationship and the context, as in many places there is no organisation whatsoever for preventive occupational health and safety work, let alone any professional knowledge about it.

It is important to state that everyone, by law, fundamentally has a responsibility for the psychosocial working environment. And that you don't get very far with prevention and improvement if you believe it's solely about bad employers on one side and particularly sensitive artists on the other. Media stories and opinion pieces therefore don't solve anything in themselves. This is especially the case because it concerns interpersonal relationships, where experiences can vary greatly from the same situation.

A safe working environment requires a significant effort in most cases, and a specialised knowledge that, as mentioned, is only found in parts of the arts and cultural sector. In addition to lacking the safety-promoting structures necessary to both address and prevent issues, we need to steer the problem-solving efforts towards areas with opportunities for action and the necessary support.

The working environment is complex, time-consuming and requires specific expertise.
If you are a member of a trade union, you are part of a community that pays for professional help and expertise, including on occupational health and safety issues. However, it is also important to state that the trade union does not step in and fix everything – it neither can nor should. But we can highlight problems that no one else dares to come forward with, and we are also happy to help with how management can approach improving the working environment if they wish. We can also help individuals manage their own challenges or refer them to the Danish Working Environment Authority – or the police in particularly egregious cases. This expert knowledge is essential, and we utilise these referral options.

In solidarity, we offer advice to everyone
At the Danish Artists' Union, we have had an open working environment advisory service for everyone in the music and performing arts industry for eighteen months, even if they are not members. The board has chosen to prioritise this, recognising that the industry as a whole needs a boost in this area. A sort of "help to self-help" in the long run.

After eighteen months, a clear pattern is emerging: there is a need for the knowledge and help we offer, there is a great need for courage out there to step forward, and there is a need for more people to join trade unions so that we can further enhance this area. It makes good sense that the advice is closely linked to the trade unions' other work through collective agreements, framework agreements, and so on, and that we can achieve good results between the specialist areas that work environment issues often touch upon across different professional disciplines and employees.

Membership gives influence
The trend of declining trade union membership is global, and the debate on workplace issues also indicates a need to renew the conversation about why trade unions exist and what their purpose is. The Danish Actors' Guild, among others, has addressed this by this post.

There is fundamentally nothing wrong with workplace environment issues appearing in the media, quite the contrary. It has driven important agendas at a societal level that individuals have spoken out about poor psychosocial work environments. However, we must be aware that it is difficult to rebut on social media, that often beneath the cases lies knowledge and complexity that does not emerge even in a thorough journalistic product, and that some actors – such as trade unions, for example – are bound by principles of confidentiality, proportionality, and law, which fundamentally should act as protection in both directions.

Furthermore, public debates rarely solve the fundamental problem in themselves, as that requires a completely different kind of patient, long-term effort. The need to remain anonymous while not being organised makes it difficult for us to undertake the task with respect for these principles.

Cultural changes and structural changes are not quite the same.
The artists' own trade unions are run by artists and governed by a member democracy. We encourage everyone to join and thereby shape, contribute to, and use the community, so that no one has to stand alone.

We are ready to expand the advice on working environment if more actors come forward with finances to lift it even wider and with more offerings.

If, at a political and industry level, you want to help trade unions and artists in general in their work for a better working environment, a first step could be funding for the training of middle managers within the culture sector, including artists themselves. In our experience, it is knowledge of legislation, responsibility, and management that is broadly lacking.