Eusebio Rial GonzálezHead of the Prevention and Research Unit

The OSH situation in the EU

An overview

“How to make the working environment more human friendly?”

6 October 2011, Ljubljana

Overview

EU-OSHA and its network

Contextual factors affecting the future of OSH

Exposures and outcomes

Overall trends• A fragmented future

Some needs identified from the data available

Aim of the Agency

“In order to improve the working environment, (…) the aim of the Agency shall be to provide (…) technical, scientific and economic information of use in the field of safety and health at work.”

Tripartite Governing Board, with all 27 Member States represented + EC

European Agency for Safety and Health at Work

A network agency: Focal Points

EU Focal Points

EEA/EFTAFocal Points

Candidate & Potential Candidate Countries

Eurofound

Eurostat

ECHA

Introduction

Key issues

• Important not to lose sight of contextual factors & underlying trends that give rise to different patterns of exposure to risks

• Employment issues impact on OSH (e.g., gender segregation: different jobs, different risks)

• OSH status impact on employment (e.g., are we healthy enough to work until we are 67? How do we achieve the Lisbon objectives, or sustainable/smart growth?)

Employment and contextual factors:workforce

rates of employment • long-term trend, despite the economic crisis

rates of female employment • but still unequally distributed across the workforce

ageing reduced pool of workers need to improve workability of those who may

have previously easily gone into early or medical retirement. Health issues > accidents

migrant workers, likely to continue despite recent dip due to the crisis• Double demographic drive: older EU & extremely

young populations in emigrant countries (with weak economies, unable to generate jobs for them)

‘The greying of Europe”EU27: 2010 and 2060 (Demography report 2010, EUROSTAT)

Younger immigrant populations alleviate the problem – for now

Population change by component, EU-27, 1961-2009(Demography report 2010, EUROSTAT)

Median age of the total population, EU-27, 1990-2010(Demography report 2010, EUROSTAT)

Population age structure by major age groups, EU-27(Demography report 2010, EUROSTAT)

Non-standard employment• Part-time jobs, especially among women• Multiple jobs (especially in personal services). Likely

growth area: need for child & elderly care, State provision from large public sector providers to private sector SMEs harder to monitor, inspect, etc.

• Self-employed: 4%-21% depending on MS; average 16%; stable % of the whole workforce (2004-09)

• Increase in ‘economically dependent workers’ (or pseudo self-employed): lack of information about their potential specific OSH issues

• Undeclared work: usually performed by the most (socially & economically) vulnerable groups: women, migrants, unemployed. Often concentrated in some sectors.

Tertiarisation

Employment and contextual factors:labour market

Changes in industrial structure

Distribution of employment by activity branches, 2000-2009, EU-27. Agriculture, industry and services (%).

7,3 7,1 7,0 6,9 6,5 6,3 6,0 5,8 5,6 5,5

26,8 26,6 26,1 25,7 25,4 25,2 25,1 25,1 24,9 23,9

65,9 66,2 66,9 67,5 68,1 68,4 68,9 69,1 69,5 70,5

0

20

40

60

80

100

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Agriculture Industry Services

Source: Eurostat

- Employment decreasing in agriculture- Impact of the economic crisis

0,90,4 0,4

0,7 0,9

1,7 1,8

0,9

-1,8

-1,1

-1,7-1,4

-4,7

-1,3

-4,0

-1,8 -1,6

-3,6

-0,1

0,2

-1,6-1,2

-0,3

0,0

1,2

1,9

0,0

-5,5

1,5 1,4 1,21,6 1,5

2,42,1

1,5

-0,4

1,5

-1,7

2,6

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Total employment Agriculture Industry Services

Annual employment growth, 2000-2009, EU-27. Total, agriculture, industry and services (%).

Source: Eurostat

Impact of the economic crisis – only personal services on the increase

The gender dimension

There is still significant gender segregation across sectors, occupations, and tasks• Need to challenge assumptions about ‘typical’ female jobs

and their risks/exposures accident statistics may under-estimate the impact for

women (public sector health & education; agriculture; undeclared work)

Also differences across the age cohorts• different sectors & with different educational attainment

Over-represented in part-time or temporary jobs• Lower pay, less access to training, limited professional

development & preventive services ‘Combined vulnerability’, at higher risk of social exclusion

• Older, female, migrant workers (e.g., cleaners) Gender should be a transversal aspect

• in policy, implementation (e.g., gender-sensitive risk assessment), data collection/analysis…

Exposures and outcomes (1)

Accidents still a (decreasing) concern, but the figures are worse for health problems

Top concerns: MSDs & psychosocial• e.g., BAuA 2009 report on OSH: early retirement due to work

incapacity increased by 8.1%; notably in mental and behavioural disorders (2006-2009: 32.5% 37.7%), women are particularly concerned (43.9% of all incapacities among women linked to these causes);

Road traffic accidents Accident and health data need closer analysis

• Effects on ‘vulnerable groups’ may be masked in the (improved) headline figures

Effects of reduced workability or incapacity on individuals, companies and the EU/MS economy• Psychosocial issues have a larger effect: usually longer-term

absence + more frequent in younger cohorts

Exposures and outcomes (2)

Forecast reports on physical, biological, psychosocial and chemical emerging risks

‘New’ risks, but traditional risks still a concern• Need to strike a balance when tackling old & new

risks: different actions needed, depending on degree of knowledge (causes & solutions)

• e.g., BAuA 2009 report on OSH, workdays lost: 22.8% linked to MSDs, 14.8% respiratory disorders; 12.2% accidents and injuries; 11.4% mental health

REACH does not replace workplace legislation Combined factors: e.g., MSDs + psychosocial

• Tackle underlying issues & risk factors (both physical & organisational: work organisation)

Overall trend: a fragmented future

Fragmented working lives, workplaces and workforces

• Large impact on occupational health and public health

Overall trend: a fragmented future

Fragmented working lives, workplaces and workforces

Longer working life, but no longer a job for life• A challenge for effective health surveillance risk

of weaker evidence base of harm to worker health• Working beyond 65 effects of work-related

diseases become more apparent• ‘Atypical careers’: harder to balance private &

working life (particularly, still, for women)

Overall trend: a fragmented future

Fragmented working lives, workplaces and workforces

Atomised industrial structure: MSEs Multiple worksites, especially in growth

sectors (e.g., personal care) Teleworking “Mobile workers” Global workplace ICT: 24/7 availability, work home spillover

How do we maintain effective prevention?

Overall trend: a fragmented future

Fragmented working lives, workplaces and workforces

Diversity: more women, migrants, older workers, workers with disabilities, workers with chronic illnesses…• New risks, and old risks in new guises• How do we help enterprises to manage this

increased complexity to ensure a sustainable working life and a healthy workplace for all?

• 3 needs…

1. Need to have a more accurate picture of what’s happening

Unlikely to have more resources for data collection in the near future• Make better use of existing resources

‘Statistics in focus’: strong statistical rigour + good OSH knowledge to interpret the data

Check behind the headlines• Detailed analyses, e.g, for vulnerable groups

Maintain time series: trends Complement official/administrative data with

surveys, scientific studies and estimates Better analysis more targeted and effective

prevention

2. Need to have a better idea of what helps or hinders implementation

Process and implementation indicators Enterprise-level OSH management

• Large variation; worse as enterprise size decreases• RA too focused on traditional risks, misses out some

key factors (and emerging risks) Drivers and barriers

• Drivers: legal obligation; supply chain• Key factor: employee representation• Need to encourage better management involvement• Main barrier: lack of awareness of risks (esp. MSEs)

OSH resources & needs• What expertise is used/available/needed• Need help with tools and implementation of

measures

3. Need to make implementation (prevention) easier

The moral case The legal case? The tools: especially using the Internet, digital

tools, multimedia information

Trends: then and now

What next? A more ‘human-friendly’ work environment?

?Due to the (understandable, historic) emphasis on risks, we often miss: how do we promote a positive work environment?• Management leadership + worker participation• Better trained managers• Enhance salutogenic factors

Management commitment

Prevalence of a documented policy, established management system or action plan on health and safety

% establishments98 97 96 95

91 90 89 89 88 8785 83 83 81

79 78 7876 74 73 73

70

65 64 63 6359

54 53

46

38 38

76

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

33% of managers state that the policy has a large impact and 52% that it has some impact

- 24% and 56% in Slovenia -

Management commitment

Health and safety issues raised regularly in high level management meetings

% establishments

0

20

40

60

80

100

Hvala za vašo pozornost

rial@osha.europa.eu

http://osha.europa.eu