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The Charter is hosting ‘The Future of Health and Safety’ conference in July this year, and I was keen to explore how the Charter’s vision aligns with what the rest of the world is experiencing. A bit of a google search on global health and safety trends coughed up the following;
- The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Renewed Focus on Psychological Health & Wellbeing
- The Rise of Healthy Buildings
- Advances in Digital Health & Predictive Analytics
- An Aging Global Workforce
The COVID-19 pandemic is still not over. I have weekly occurrences of friends and associates getting re-infected, and if anything, the main trend is that we have become somewhat complacent about it. There is no denying that it has had a major impact on workplace health and safety. The important thing for me is that it has promoted the use of health and safety language into normal conversation, and increases our ability react to any further infectious diseases or disruptive emergency situations.
Renewed Focus on Psychological Health & Wellbeing
Even before the pandemic, issues like work-related stress, anxiety, depression and burnout were on the rise globally. The collective trauma and isolation of COVID-19 only increased these challenges. In response, organisations are placing greater emphasis on mental health. This includes expanding employee assistance programs, providing stress management and resilience training, encouraging healthy boundaries between work and personal life, and fostering psychologically safe cultures where people feel supported. Psychological safety is emerging as a key priority.
The Rise of Healthy Buildings
There is growing recognition that the built environment has a significant impact on human health, wellbeing and cognitive performance. This has given rise to the healthy building movement, which leverages architectural and engineering strategies to optimize indoor environmental quality. Healthy building best practices include maximizing natural light, improving air quality through ventilation and filtration, incorporating biophilic design elements, enabling physical movement, and providing thermal comfort. Leading organisations are pursuing third-party healthy building certifications as a commitment to their workforce.
Advances in Digital Health, Predictive Analytics, and AI
New technologies are enabling a more data-driven, personalised and predictive approach to occupational health. Wearable devices allow for real-time monitoring of workers’ location, movement and biometric data. Meanwhile, advances in machine learning are being applied to vast amounts of workplace safety data to uncover leading indicators of injuries and proactively intervene. Digital health tools like telemedicine and mental health apps are also making care more accessible and affordable for workers.
An Aging Global Workforce
Demographic shifts are dramatically changing the face of the global workforce. People are living and working longer than ever before. By 2030, workers aged 55+ will make up 30% of the workforce in many Western countries. Health and safety practices will need to evolve to accommodate older workers, who have different physical capabilities, injury risks and chronic health concerns than their younger counterparts. This could include providing ergonomic workstations, flexible scheduling, and age-friendly policies. Organisations that embrace age diversity and inclusive design will be well-positioned to thrive.
Here in New Zealand, we are part of the global village, and the trends highlighted here affect us all as health and safety professionals. It is encouraging to see that the Charter’s Conference in July will tackle many of the issues and challenges identified.
Paul Duggan, General Manager
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