Safety and Health in the Workplace: Emerging Trends

Safety and Health in the Workplace: Emerging Trends
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Safety and Health in the Workplace: Emerging Trends
The workplace has undergone several changes in the last two decades. First, the integration of technology has helped to shape the way employees work and deliver tasks. Secondly, the composition of employees has shifted from mainly baby boomers and Generation Xers to millennials and Generation Zers. These two changes have greatly influenced workplaces in the world because of the demands posed. For example, technology brings about efficiency and enhances the abilities of the employees. On the other hand, the change in workers’ composition brings about new demands like remote working and an increased focus on health and safety. Today, any company that wishes to attract more millennials and Gen Zers must fully embrace technology and be willing to adapt to their needs. Currently, health and safety are considered key elements that influence the choice of the workplace for Gen Zers and millennials. Therefore, this has brought about emerging trends in the workplace that influence health and safety. Provided herein is an in-depth discussion of health and safety trends, including smart safety and PPE, retraining, adoption of a holistic view of health and safety, and predictive analytics. Other trends that will be discussed include the employment of safety professionals, the redesign of workstations, and the development of a health and safety culture.
Smart Safety and PPE
Technology has greatly influenced the workplace. Changes to the way employees work, how they deliver tasks, and the procedures they follow have rendered the workplace quite efficient. Currently, the world is coming to terms with the idea of smart safety. HIMA (2022) defines smart safety as the ability of companies to run their operations and plants more safely. In manufacturing companies, production processes are becoming increasingly complex, and it is crucial for safety mechanisms to be just as complex and smart. For example, in an organization that heavily deals with chemicals, it would be prudent for employees to have wearable technologies that help track their vitals. Health and safety should take a preventive approach through the adoption of such technologies. The PPE kits or the Personal Protection Equipment kits that were popularized by the COVID-19 pandemic can also be enhanced or upgraded. According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (2020), the traditional idea of PPE kits can be enhanced to make smart PPE kits. The agency says these can enhance workers’ protection through their ability to track vitals such as blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature. Further, there are more advanced kits that can detect toxic gases, which can help keep employees safe. Therefore, smart safety and PPE kits are a major trend that is greatly shaping the safety features of manufacturing companies, healthcare organizations, and other organizations with a keenness on safety.
Retraining
Organizations invest a lot of money and time in training their employees on the latest technologies and equipment. Such training is crucial as it helps ensure that employees are well versed in their working environment...