If you suspect that you are experiencing stress, it is important that you take your symptoms seriously and respond to them by taking a dialogue with your leader about workload and prioritisation of tasks. You can also use your network, a colleague, the Department's work environment representative or union representative and if necessary AU's psychological counselling service  

At AU HR's webpage about stress, you can find useful information about preventing and dealing with stress: AU HR's webpage about stress

See also AU's leaflet about stress. The leaflet contains a stress test, which can help you identify whether you are at risk of suffering from stress and to what extent: 

• English version: Leaflet on preventing and dealing with stress at AU
• Danish version: Folder om forebyggelse og håndtering af stress

AU has entered an agreement with Dansk Krisekorps, a health advisory company, to provide acute psychological counselling for all the University's employees to combat stress, crisis and cooperation problems in situations which could affect the employee's capacity to work. 

The counselling services are free of charge for AU employees.

In order for you to be able to use the counselling scheme, you must either contact your leader, who can refer you to the relevant counselling service, or you can contact the counselling services anonymously.

Anonymous counselling: You will be offered three sessions to begin with. If, after the three sessions, you and your psychologist assess that more sessions are required, you must contact your leader.

Counselling by referral: You will be offered five sessions to begin with. You start by contacting your leader. You can also choose to involve your union representative at this point.

Read more about psychological counselling

The AU Culture and Well-being initiative can be used in connection with your own efforts to promote well-being.

AU HR’s webpage on culture and well-being contains links to process tools that be can used to improve the working environment, e.g. appreciation, good communication, preventing conflict, cooperation, trust.

AU Culture and Well-being

Offensive behaviour, including bullying, harassment and discrimination, is not accepted at AU at all. Everyone at the University is responsible for ensuring that offensive behaviour does not occur.

Leaders, supervisors, teaching staff and others in a mentor role or similar have a particular responsibility to act professionally and objectively in situations in which they are part of an asymmetrical (unequal) collaboration, relationship and power balance.

Your manager is responsible for helping you and dealing with the situation in case you experience offensive behaviour. You can speak with your manager in confidence. However, note that if you wish for confidentiality, this may limit your manager's ability to take matters further. Your manager is obligated to take action in particularly serious cases. 

You can also contact your union representative  or your work environment representative. Both will treat the matter confidentially, and they can advise you with regard to the next step. If you experience serious incidents of bullying or harassment, you can also report it to the whistleblower scheme at AU.

If you need advice from a third party, please contact the Danish Working Environment Authority's bullying and harassment hotline. If you need professional psychological help, contact the Psychological Counselling Service.

Read more about preventing and dealing with offensive behaviour at AU

You are always welcome to contact the Department's work environment representative or union representative and, if necessary, AU's psychological counselling service. You may also use AU’s whistleblower scheme in case you experience bullying or other forms of serious violations.