27.01.2006
More challenges for occupational safety and health in the future, EU experts warn
Current trends in society and work organisation are creating new risks and putting new demands on occupational safety and health research
The future is not all rosy according to EU occupational safety and health experts. An overview of what we are in for has just been published by the European Agency for Safety and Heath at Work in a working paper for the European Commission entitled Priorities for occupational safety and health research in the EU-25.
'The nature and organisation of work are changing, becoming more client- and knowledge-driven' explains Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. 'Europe's workforce has also been changing; it is ageing, less male-dominated, more precarious and more difficult to monitor, as it has spread out into small companies. As a consequence, health issues have become more complex and we need to find new ways to approach occupational safety and health research and prevention'.
For instance, workers' difficulty in achieving a balance between working and non-working time has been a growing concern. The problem is compounded by the increasing proportion of households with 'dual careers' and dependent older relatives. It is also affected by what has been termed 'atypical work': temporary agency work, part-time work or jobs with 'unsocial hours'. All this can easily contribute to work-related stress and also act as a barrier to the recruitment or retention of certain groups into the workforce.
The report also mentions the necessity to conduct more research into preventing psychological violence at work, i.e. all types of harassment or mobbing. The European Commission has recently highlighted the importance of the topics addressed in this section of the report by publishing a call for research proposals to investigate 'work-related stress including physical and psychological violence such as harassment, bullying, and mobbing'.
But the future risks are by no means limited to the psychosocial issues only. Other concerns include musculoskeletal disorders and risks caused by dangerous substances. The rapid growth of nanotechnology, for instance, has led to the exposure of workers to nanoparticles, while exposure assessment and measurement methods are still very much at an experimental stage.
The complete report can be downloaded free of charge from the publications section Agency's website at http://osha.europa.eu/
Press enquiries:
Marek Kosarczyn, Press Officer, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, email: kosarczyn@osha.europa.eu, tel: +34 94 479 43 86.
Other enquiries:
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Gran Via 33, E-48009 Bilbao, Spain, email: information@osha.europa.eu, fax: +34 94 479 4383.
Notes to editors:
1. The English version of the paper can be downloaded directly from http://osha.europa.eu/publications/reports/6805648.
2. More information about the Commission's call for proposals on stress and violence at work is available at http://osha.europa.eu/news/local_news/news_article.2006-01-09.9535909630
3. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work was set up by the European Union to help meet the information needs in the field of occupational safety and health. Based in Bilbao, Spain, the Agency aims to improve the lives of people at work by stimulating the flow of technical, scientific and economic information between all those involved in occupational safety and health issues.
'The nature and organisation of work are changing, becoming more client- and knowledge-driven' explains Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. 'Europe's workforce has also been changing; it is ageing, less male-dominated, more precarious and more difficult to monitor, as it has spread out into small companies. As a consequence, health issues have become more complex and we need to find new ways to approach occupational safety and health research and prevention'.
For instance, workers' difficulty in achieving a balance between working and non-working time has been a growing concern. The problem is compounded by the increasing proportion of households with 'dual careers' and dependent older relatives. It is also affected by what has been termed 'atypical work': temporary agency work, part-time work or jobs with 'unsocial hours'. All this can easily contribute to work-related stress and also act as a barrier to the recruitment or retention of certain groups into the workforce.
The report also mentions the necessity to conduct more research into preventing psychological violence at work, i.e. all types of harassment or mobbing. The European Commission has recently highlighted the importance of the topics addressed in this section of the report by publishing a call for research proposals to investigate 'work-related stress including physical and psychological violence such as harassment, bullying, and mobbing'.
But the future risks are by no means limited to the psychosocial issues only. Other concerns include musculoskeletal disorders and risks caused by dangerous substances. The rapid growth of nanotechnology, for instance, has led to the exposure of workers to nanoparticles, while exposure assessment and measurement methods are still very much at an experimental stage.
The complete report can be downloaded free of charge from the publications section Agency's website at http://osha.europa.eu/
Ends
Press enquiries:
Marek Kosarczyn, Press Officer, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, email: kosarczyn@osha.europa.eu, tel: +34 94 479 43 86.
Other enquiries:
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Gran Via 33, E-48009 Bilbao, Spain, email: information@osha.europa.eu, fax: +34 94 479 4383.
Notes to editors:
1. The English version of the paper can be downloaded directly from http://osha.europa.eu/publications/reports/6805648.
2. More information about the Commission's call for proposals on stress and violence at work is available at http://osha.europa.eu/news/local_news/news_article.2006-01-09.9535909630
3. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work was set up by the European Union to help meet the information needs in the field of occupational safety and health. Based in Bilbao, Spain, the Agency aims to improve the lives of people at work by stimulating the flow of technical, scientific and economic information between all those involved in occupational safety and health issues.
