The KI Work Environment Award to NVS head of department and head of administration
NVS Head of Department Maria Ankarcrona, together with Head of Administration Carin Ullman, received KI’s Work Environment Award 2024 at the Work Environment Day on December 12. They received the award for their persistent efforts on work environment issues, with a particular focus on safety.
“I was very surprised when I found out that we had won the award,” says Maria Ankarcrona. “At the same time, happy and proud!”
“I would say the same thing,” continues Carin Ullman. “I was also moved.”
What does work environment mean to you? Is it something you place great importance on?
“Absolutely,” answers Maria Ankarcrona. “Personally, I think we do even more than I realize. We incorporate both the psychosocial and physical work environment into almost all the issues we work on. It becomes very clear and noticable what we have done regarding safety work: Inviting all employees to training on Ongoing Deadly Violence, having the Swedish Security Service (Säpo) lecturing for the management group, the crisis plan we have developed, and SOS-stickers for the access cards. We incorporate it into much of what we do. Additionally, we have a good and proactive HR-group at NVS".
“I agree with what Maria says,” adds Carin Ullman. “It is present at all times, I would say, in everything we do. I would also like to add that we have good communication work. It’s one thing to create documents and checklists, but it must also be disseminated within the organization. It must be applied, and people must be aware of it in practice. We work with communication in many ways through our communications officer, HR, and others who are meeting staff in our daily operations. We must not forget the division heads, who also have done a great job with this. They have worked with scenarios at staff meetings, trained, discussed, and broken it down to their own level; what does this mean for us?”
“They have really done a lot of the work,” emphasizes Maria Ankarcrona. “We can’t be everywhere.”
Carin Ullman believes that work environment work is about building security and preparedness. There should be checklists to rely on if something happens.
“When you are forced to act and maybe are upset and scared, and there is no time to think, preparedness should be in your backbone,” she says. “These are the people you should call; these are the contacts you should make. The security of having planned ahead should give you comfort”.
Maria Ankarcrona says she learned a lot about this during the pandemic.
“We were relatively new, both of us and then the pandemic hit. We had to sit down: Now it’s for real. What should we do? We learned a lot from that. Every cloud has a silver lining.”
What does this award mean, what’s next?
“We continue our work as usual with these issues,” answers Maria Ankarcrona. “But we are certainly happy to receive the award, and it is great that our work can spread and inspire others.”
“It is nice that it is recognized, and it strengthens us for future work. It confirms that what we have done has been right and good,” says Carin Ullman.
“Yes, it feels like recognition. You stand a little taller,” Maria Ankarcrona adds.
Is there a plan for the prize money?
“We haven’t had time to think about that yet. But it will certainly benefit the operations at our department, and hopefully during 2025 while the award is fresh in our memory,” they conclude.
Text: Annika Clemes
The jury's motivation
"Maria Ankarcrona and Carin Ullman are awarded the Work Environment Award, with a focus on safety as a recognition of their many years of dedicated work in enhancing safety at NVS. Through their strategic and inclusive leadership, they have elevated safety efforts and created a secure work environment characterized by participation and job satisfaction.
Their initiatives, which include a new crisis management plan, easy-to-read risk flowcharts, and practical tools such as SOS stickers, have made safety issues accessible and integrated into daily work. By inspiring and involving employees, they have built a culture of engagement and security, making them well-deserving of this award."
KI's Work Environment Award was established in 2014 and is intended to recognise good examples and stimulate development in work environment and health work at KI. The award consists of SEK 30,000 for continued work environment work within the group/unit/department/equivalent.