The world is currently passing through a phase of sudden change. The way we're seeing and perceiving our surroundings now may not be seen the same in the next few years to come. We have a lot to witness.
A pandemic came last year that took us on an adventure called 'Work from Home', which was obviously uncalled.
Even when the workplaces are fully functional, the system will go through a revamp in the coming days. In fact, it is.
You can already see companies' strict rules and regulations to follow the necessary guidelines given by central health agencies due to covid.
In particular, Occupational Health & Safety too, is going to change in the coming years. Reasons are the demographic changes due to globalization, new ways of working as we see during the pandemic, upcoming technologies, and a few other factors.
In this article, you're going to read about some practical changes that might come in the next ten years in Occupational Health & Safety:
Automation & Robotics:
Automation is likely to get introduced at the workplaces and in the OHS practices and procedures as well. Many industries have already begun the process of automation in their industries. State-of-the-art technologies like Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality is likely to occur in almost all industries. Many industry experts are confident that the routine tasks that are risky to human life would be replaced by AI or robotics.
Some large industries like Agriculture, Construction, Manufacturing & Production have already started working on automation and accommodating it.
Safer Machines & Equipment
You would like to see safer machines and equipment at the workplace, for sure. Wouldn't you?
Well, the near future is going to bring an overhaul to the system. Most of the machines and equipment are of older versions and run until the last nail falls from it.
Now, a good amount of research is going on in inventing machines that are the most advanced in application and safer for humans.
Data based Safety Management System
Data is one of the crucial factors in the decision-making of organizations. In OHS, a data-based system is the need of the hour, keeping in mind multiple factors involved with employee behaviour and workplace safety.
Many companies who started leveraging the data are getting excellent results. Data Science Experts will help companies get the data at the micro-level and specific to the goal. In fact, data science would become an essential part of Occupational Health & Safety.
Changing scenario of the job market
You might have to see some radical changes in the jobs in different sectors in the upcoming times. Due to the consistent and frequent changes coming into the OHS, the practitioners will need to keep themselves updated and upskilled as per the latest requirements.
In all types of organizations, technical knowledge will be demanded. Emotional Intelligence will be a rewarding skill for professionals. From the perspective of Health & Wellness, the professions like Life Coaches, Yoga Teachers, and different jobs related to life skills, psychology, and human science would grow. Organizations have already started adopting policies that make the workplace and workforce better in terms of physical, mental, and psychological well-being. And, that is, for sure, a welcome change.
Concern for Environment
Occupational Health & Safety, you would witness, is going to be more concerning of environmental causes. The environmental factors at the workplace are highly effective to the mood, health, and efficiency of workers. We can see the infections and diseases contacting the workers due to bad management of chemicals and other toxins. Factories and companies affect the environment through chemicals or wastage that harm the climate, eventually harming people. In the coming days, organizations will be more responsible for working towards cutting the carbon footprints, a huge factor in global warming.
In future, there might be some interdisciplinary research conducted in OHS that will lead to a paradigm shift in the way we look at it. Professionals are becoming more aware of these practices, and it's very much likely to become prevalent at the personal level of workers. You can see a vast scope of research in Occupational Health & Safety based on disciplines like ergonomics. In the 21st century, as you see a paradigm shift in every sector we could place our eyes upon, the shift in OHS seems no wonder.
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