Part II. Challenges in organizations to achieve a safer and healthier working environment. 

Authors: D. Pena and C. Valenzuela 

The current way in which workplaces are perceived by society has led organizations to incorporate, as fundamental aspects within their policies, the health, safety, and welfare of workers. These aspects, in addition to demonstrating their commitment to society, enable organizations to improve their productivity, competitiveness, and economic performance. 

Several studies have shown that organizations that can identify current safety and health challenges in their workplaces are among the most successful and competitive in the long term, as they tend to have the highest employee retention rates.[1] 

The ISO standardization body, in its article entitled “Challenges for a Safer and Healthier World of Work,” groups classifies current challenges related to worker safety and health into four pillars: climate change, psychological health and well-being, new technologies, and demographic changes. 

In this blog, we will focus on two of these pillars: New technologies and psychological health and wellness. In our last blog, we already addressed climate change and demographic changes. 

CHALLENGES IN ORGANIZATIONS TO ACHIEVE A SAFER AND HEALTHIER WORKPLACE. Part I 

• New technologies. 

Technology presents the opportunity for the use of drones instead of people in hazardous environments, as well as the use of smart personal protective equipment with real-time monitoring technology, which provides workers with greater physical protection.  

Artificial intelligence (AI) has significant potential to help organizations analyze data more efficiently, identify problems quicker, and make more informed and data-driven decisions [2]. 

Virtual reality enables worker safety and health training and development. 

Technology continues to change the way we work, creating opportunities and challenges related to employee health and safety. Its use will help reduce risks, if risks from hacks or malfunctions can be addressed and the right balance is struck between embracing innovation and maintaining proven safety practices ([3]). 

• Psychological Well-Being. 

In recent years, concepts such as unemployment, precarious working conditions, job instability, and underemployment, among others, have led today’s society to characterize the world of work as conflictive, generating greater awareness among workers of the potential impact of work on their psychological health and well-being. This situation brings with it the expectation that organizations could and should do more to manage this impact. 

Mental health risks at work are related to specific characteristics of the workplace, career development opportunities, excessive workloads or pace of work, understaffing, excessively long working hours, lack of control over work design or workload, and unsafe or poor physical working conditions, among others ([4]). 

This new scenario, perceived as stressful, has a profound impact on the psychological well-being of workers. While some individuals can cope with these situations better than others, it becomes necessary for organizations to develop strategies to manage this scenario. 

Bibliography: 

[1] OMS. Ambientes de trabajo Saludables: un modelo para la acción. 2010. Recuperado de: Healthy Workplaces_Template_Spanish.pub (who.int) el 28/06/2024. 

[2] American Society of Safety professionals, Tackling Today’s Safety Challenges. 2024. Recuperado de: https://www.assp.org/about/tackling-todays-safety-challenges el 28/06/2024. 

[3] C. Martin. Los numerosos desafíos para conseguir un mundo laboral más seguro y saludable. ISO. Recuperado de GUEST ARTICLE_Occupational health and safety_Martin Cottam_TEMPLATE FINAL_Avec image (ES).pdf (iso.org) el 07/06/2024.  

[4] OMS. La salud mental en el trabajo. 2022 visto en línea en La salud mental en el trabajo (who.int) el 28/06/2024.