’Work’ is a key institution in society. With work environment and the legal regulation of the same as prism Kurt Jacobsen takes a closer look at how values, the view of human nature and the understanding of work have changed over the last 150 years. What has the notion of ‘the psychological work environment’, which has not been aim for regulation previously, meant for regulation and work environment. And what has the founding of The Danish Work Environment Service meant for the work environment in corporations, work and society?