Political and social issues

Globally, OSH standards and incident rates vary enormously. Countries with few OSH-related laws or enforcement, and a high proportion of high-hazard industries, present high levels of risk to workers.

In contrast, developed countries are experiencing decreasing levels of risk in high-tech industry and increasing regulation for psychosocial risk management. For example, changes in 2023 to the Australian Work Health and Safety Regulations give more specific details on how to meet duties and protect workers from psychosocial hazards and risks.

Aside from the regulation of psychosocial risk, some developed countries are minimising or removing regulation and liberalising restrictions on industry. The loss of regulation as a driving or limiting force may decrease overall activity and oversight of OSH in business, giving professionals less leverage to influence. We may also see the emergence of opt-in OSH best-practice guidance (national and international) driven by organisations.

Rapid changes driven by technology, population and climate shifts may outstrip the adaptive capacity of prescriptive standards. Internationally consistent, principle-based OSH standards will create greater consistency between countries and regions. Agreement of such standards will require international collaboration of OSH professionals and best practice knowledge-sharing across borders.

There will also likely be greater harmonising of standards across industry so they can be delivered in a more convenient and accessible way for workers.

More remote working, a greater appreciation of health and wellbeing at work, deficiencies in public healthcare systems and possible future pandemics point towards greater blurring of lines between clinical and occupational health in the future.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought public and clinical health and their management directly into the workplace. This created new streams of work (such as organisation of in-workplace testing and management of workplace capacity), and new relationships between regulators, health practitioners and the workplace. In the UK, Public Health England began policing the pandemic response in the workplace, representing a departure from previous involvement, largely in cases of injury.

Professionals were not necessarily trained to respond to these developments and did not have medical training. However, they may still be best placed to respond to future pandemics and other, similar, large-scale health threats.

Older populations are the world’s fastest-growing demographic group. Europe, Australasia and East Asia are experiencing the most significant ageing populations. As people live longer and retire later, the composition of the workforce changes. Some organisations are employing four or five generations of workers.

However, in regions such as the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, youth populations are growing. They are typically more educated than past generations, want better jobs than their parents had access to, requiring a transformation of the economy and improved employment security.

Older and younger workers will need distinct health, safety and wellbeing controls and interventions. For example, slips, trips and falls are more common among older workers while a youthful workforce is more vulnerable to mental health issues. Young people also tend to be over-represented in temporary, precarious and agency work, particularly in the service sector where there is less supervision and training.

Industries are affected differently by mental health issues. UK construction workers are three times more likely to take their own lives than workers in other sectors. Factors such as lone working, unsociable hours, work pressures and a male-dominated workforce or workplace culture combine to increase the risk.

A focus on organisational wellbeing is changing OSH professionals’ responsibilities. There is greater focus on psychosocial risks – aspects of the design, management and social and organisational context of work, including stress, that could cause psychological or physical harm.

OSH professionals can support a range of preventive actions and structural organisational changes:

• management capabilities
• culture
• resourcing
• job design
• flexible working
• the use of healthcare technology (such as wellbeing apps or health surveillance to monitor potential issues and prevent progression to longer-term health problems).

Yet many employers focus on individual-level interventions that address symptoms rather than resolve chronic workplace stress. A lack of rigorous research on cause and effect, means it is difficult to find the interventions that really work.

Some groups are more exposed to health, safety and wellbeing risks than others. One study found that women, migrant and LGBTI workers in Europe are all at heightened risk of developing occupational health issues and musculoskeletal disorders.

ILO data on global accident rates show that younger and older workers are particularly vulnerable to injuries – which is particularly relevant to the many countries with ageing populations.

Organisations will increasingly find their OSH policies challenged from the perspective of fairness, inclusiveness and equity. Who is making the decisions, based on what data, and who is affected by the outcome? Equalising voices and strengthening advocacy, awareness, and research into marginalised groups’ vulnerability to OSH hazards and risks will support the removal of existing structural inequity.

The International Labour Organization defines a ‘just transition’ as “greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind”. 

For a just transition, all levels of government will need to establish policy and regulatory frameworks. Businesses also have a significant role to ensure that labour and human rights (including fundamental principles and rights at work) are respected as new industries and jobs arise.

The green transition and drive towards Net Zero result in a labour market shift, reducing employment in some sectors (such as fossil fuel extraction) while opening up new job opportunities in nature-based solutions and technologies to reduce and remove carbon. 

New health, safety and wellbeing risks, challenges and opportunities will be introduced. Low-carbon materials and fuels come with their own health and safety risks. Health and safety knowledge around these new materials, fuels and methods may lag behind.