UNIVERSITY OF MEDITERRANEAN KARPASIA INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES POSTGRADUATE PROGRAM, DEPARTMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY COURSE: ADVANCED TOPICS IN SAFETY MANAGEMENT MAN626 (original) (raw)
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Digitalisation and its impact on psychosocial risks regulation
Digitalisation and its impact on psychosocial risks regulation Ivan Williams Jimenez University Carlos III Madrid, Spain “Digitalisation creates new working models where previous standards on social security, working hours, place of work and OSH are no longer valid.” (Breuer, 2015) The world of work is being affected by new ways of work and challenges, Work 4.0, “Internet of things”, new forms of companies, the irruption of technology and digitalisation are evolving concepts that require of clearer research on OSH impact. For these new changes we require suitable OSH legal systems that can guarantee protection to workers on the same basis as in the 20th century with other traditional risks and to review if those legal formulas that were successful in the past may be applied to the new evolving requirements that emerging psychosocial risks defies. Technology and new forms of work raise important occupational safety and health concerns that policymakers should face if they want to avoid the dark side of “the Internet of things”; underestimating the issue is fostering new threats and challenges to workplaces with harmful results as there’s evidence that these emerging forms of violence stand out for their increasing risk of harm compared to traditional forms mainly due to three reasons (Franks, 2010): - The potential audience, as targets, participants, and witnesses, is virtually unlimited; - The scope is no longer limited; - Is not limited by time anymore. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) revolution has the potential to change the face of how we understand and tackle emerging psychosocial risks which now may include new forms such as online harassment, cyberbullying, technology work-related stress or evolving forms of violence protecting from the legal/labour law basics matters (working time, labour contracts, rest periods) to the more complex workers psychosocial factors. Labour and occupational safety and health law has not been adapted to these new realities in workplaces which is the reason why research has an obligation to help to address the following research questions: Should policy and the legal framework adapt to the evolving nature of emergent/new psychosocial risks? And if so which policy and legal framework could be the most suitable to tackle the regulation of emergent psychosocial risks. The established protective mechanisms of policy and law should also apply in full to digital work. The legal framework should therefore be reviewed to see how the adapting process to emerging psychosocial risks is fit for purpose. Breuer, J. (2015). DGUV Kompakt. News from the German Social Accident Insurance. Franks, M. A. (2010). Denver Law Review Online, The Banality of Cyber Discrimination, or, the Eternal Recurrence of September. Retrieved from Denver Law Review Online: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract\_id=1569202
The “Digital Disconnect” on the Back of Occupational Health and Safety
Journal of Leadership, Accountability, and Ethics, 2023
The importance of digital disconnection in the workplace cannot be overstated, as it plays a crucial role in preserving the physical and mental well-being of employees. In today's hyper-connected world, the constant use of digital devices and online communication has blurred the boundaries between work and personal life. This continuous connectivity can lead to a range of health issues. Physically, excessive screen time and sedentary work can result in eye strain, headaches, and musculoskeletal problems. Additionally, a lack of time for relaxation and exercise can contribute to a host of chronic health conditions. Mentally, the relentless notifications and information overload can lead to burnout, stress, and anxiety. Continuous workrelated communication, even after office hours, disrupts personal lives and makes it challenging for individuals to recharge and spend quality time with loved ones. Promoting digital disconnection by setting boundaries, encouraging regular breaks, and respecting off-hours can help employees maintain a healthier work-life balance. Ultimately, these practices enhance physical and mental health, leading to happier and more productive workers. Employers and employees must recognize the significance of this disconnect to create a sustainable and healthy work environment.
Discussion paper, 2023
Digital platform work is typically linked to lower access to occupational safety and health provision than more traditional forms of work. With over 500 digital labour platforms (DLPs) currently active in the EU, there is an ever-pressing need to effectively protect platform workers in online and on-location platform-mediated work. This study reviews significant OSH initiatives undertaken by a range of actors, including policymakers, DLPs, social partners and platform workers themselves, aimed at improving the working experiences and wellbeing of platform workers. Furthermore, it draws together and outlines a series of policy recommendations. Discussion paper funded by The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.
American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2020
The future of work embodies changes to the workplace, work, and workforce, which require additional occupational safety and health (OSH) stakeholder attention. Examples include workplace developments in organizational design, technological job displacement, and work arrangements; work advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, and technologies; and workforce changes in demographics, economic security, and skills. This paper presents the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's Future of Work Initiative; suggests an integrated approach to address worker safety, health, and well-being; introduces priority topics and subtopics that confer a framework for upcoming future of work research directions and resultant practical applications; and discusses preliminary next steps. All future of work issues impact one another. Future of work transformations are contingent upon each of the standalone factors discussed in this paper and their combined effects. Occupational safety and health stakeholders are becoming more aware of the significance and necessity of these factors for the workplace, work, and workforce to flourish, merely survive, or disappear altogether as the future evolves. The future of work offers numerous opportunities, while also presenting critical but not clearly understood difficulties, exposures, and hazards. It is the responsibility of OSH researchers and other partners to understand the implications of future of work scenarios to translate effective interventions into practice for employers safeguarding the safety, health, and well-being of their workers.
International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
Purpose Older employees are often thought to be vulnerable to negative effects of information and communication technology (ICT). Our study aims to examine associations between work-related ICT exposure (i.e. ICT use or digital work intensification), physical health, mental health and work ability (WA). We examine whether these associations are modified by socio-economic position (SEP). Methods We analysed cross-sectional data from 3180 participants (born in 1959 and 1965) in wave 3 of the representative German lidA cohort study. We performed hierarchical multiple regression to assess the distinct associations of ICT use and digital work intensification with mental and physical health and WA. We stratified analyses by SEP and controlled for age, sex, and digital affinity. Results 92% of participants reported ICT use at work. Almost 20% reported high levels of digital work intensification, while a similar proportion did not experience digital work intensification. In bivariate analys...
Healthcare Digitalisation and the Changing Nature of Work and Society
Healthcare, 2021
Digital technologies have profound effects on all areas of modern life, including the workplace. Certain forms of digitalisation entail simply exchanging digital files for paper, while more com-plex instances involve machines performing a wide variety of tasks on behalf of humans. While some are wary of the displacement of humans that occurs when, for example, robots perform tasks previously performed by humans, others argue that robots only perform the tasks that ro-bots should have carried out in the very first place and never by humans. Understanding the im-pacts of digitalisation in the workplace requires an understanding of the effects of digital tech-nology on the tasks we perform, and these effects are often not foreseeable. In this article, the changing nature of work in the health care sector is used as a case to analyse such change and its implications on three levels: the societal (macro), organisational (meso), and individual level (micro). Analysing these transformations by using a layered approach is helpful for understand-ing the actual magnitude of the changes that are occurring and creates the foundation for an in-formed regulatory and societal response. We argue that, while artificial intelligence, big data, and robotics are revolutionary technologies, most of the changes we see involve technological substitution and not infrastructural change. Even though this undermines the assumption that these new technologies constitute a fourth industrial revolution, their effects on the micro and meso level still require both political awareness and proportional regulatory responses.
Digital occupational health systems: What do employees think about it?
Information Systems Frontiers, 2019
A high rate of work-related accidents or diseases around the world not only threatens the health and wellbeing of employees, but also causes a considerable annual economic burden for organizations. One promising use of information technology would therefore be the management and prevention of occupational accidents and employee absenteeism. Although some companies are starting to introduce digital occupational health initiatives, there is scarce evidence about the inhibiting factors which may discourage the wide adoption of such systems in the workforce. This paper presents qualitative and quantitative data of an exploratory study, which delves into the perceptions of employees towards the use of digital occupational health systems. Our results show that employees are usually aware of the enhanced possibilities for managing and improving their health and wellbeing through such corporate initiatives. However, privacy concerns and the additional mental pressure caused by such systems, significantly diminishes an employee's willingness to adopt them.