August 30, 2002—Decentralization, teleworking, and other trends in work, including the growing use of short-term employment contracts, could increase accident rates and other occupational safety and health (OSH) problems, according to two new reports from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. In one publication, The Changing world of work: trends and implications for occupational safety and health in the European Union, the Agency identifies five key developments in work and their possible OSH impacts:
- The emergence of new types of employers: The growth in the number of small-to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which have the highest accident rates, will place additional demands on labor inspectors. There is also a danger that the increase in subcontracting will lead to confusion about who is responsible for OSH management: the contractor or sub-contractor?
- The rise of the virtual firm: Decentralization, teleworking, and the emergence of virtual networks of employees could fragment and dilute good OSH practice, as well as lead to a sense of loss of control, increasing stress.
- Increased time pressures: Tighter schedules and more intense workloads have raised the risks of stress and accidents.
- Information and communication technologies: The exponential growth in use of these tools has reinforced the need to design ergonomically sound software and equipment to combat the risk of musculoskeletal problems and stress, among other potential problems.
- Workforce composition: The increasing proportion of older workers raises important questions about OSH training and the time required to learn good practice. Also, what can be done to eliminate the threat of workplace violence and harassment to women, another growing group of employees?
The Agency’s other new publication, Research on new forms of contractual relationships and the implications for safety and health, assesses the impact of the growth in short-term employment contracts. One of the biggest increases has been in the use of part-time employees, but there is also a growing reliance on the self-employed and sub-contractors.
Various implications for occupational safety and health spring from these upheavals, according to the Agency. One of the most significant is an increased sense of job insecurity, often associated with work-related stress and its potential human and economic costs. This can be amplified by lack of control, reduced access to training, and other issues associated with staff on non-permanent contracts.
There is also a risk that companies’ rising dependence on short-term external labor will dilute their in-house OSH knowledge and expertise. This could place temporary staff, and some part-time employees, in particular danger as they tend to be less informed about potential risks. They also have fewer opportunities to gain these insights, due to lack of training and the short horizons of their employment with individual companies.
“Increasingly it appears that safety and health risks are being transferred to non-permanent employees and sub-contractors,” says Marc Sapir of the European Trade Union Confederation. “But this does not mean that the organizations that use these types of staff can abdicate responsibility for those risks. Public authorities should ensure that these categories of workers have access to the same basic rights in health and safety as other workers – representation, information, and training—and are effectively covered by occupational health services.”
“There are several possible solutions,” adds Agency Director, Hans-Horst Konkolewsky. “At a general level, there is a need to develop OSH management strategies that reflect the new contractual complexity of employment in Europe. More specific solutions might include encouraging organizations that use sub-contractors to incorporate minimum OSH standards into their tendering and contract management processes. They could also share their in-house OSH resources with contractors, perhaps by providing training and other support before the contract is implemented.”
The two new Agency publications, together with related information, can be downloaded from a dedicated Changing World of Work section on the Agency’s Web site.
