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Michel Guillemin Chem Ing. – PhD

Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Postgraduate studies Professor

Occupational Hygiene Director

Teaching

Institut de Santé au Travail

In 1998 : Yant Award

In 2012 : Lifetime Achievement Award

International recognition :

Roundtable : “Return to Work : Heading to the Future” – June 24th 2014

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The Association is non-profit-making and is politically independent and denominationally neutral. Its purpose is to promote an expanded vision of work where spiritual values involved in the mental and social health and well-being of individuals are affirmed.

It has been created at the end of 2013 in order to organize the First International Conference on Work and Spirituality at the University of Lausanne in September 2014

Are there new avenues to make work more attractive and profitable ?

Michel P. Guillemin

Professor Emeritus

University of Lausanne, Switzerland

Roundtable : «Return to Work : Heading to the Future June 24th , 2014 – Geneva, Switzerland

Are there new avenues to make work more attractive and profitable ?

OUTLINE

I. Scope and objectives

II. Occupational Health Prejudice and unsuspected dimensions

III. New avenues New actors

Urgent need of values

IV. Conclusion

Are there new avenues to make work more attractive and profitable ?

SCOPE

Occupational Health in the global framework of our Society.

Focus on the so-called “developed countries”

OBJECTIVES

To emphasize the emerging trends in the field of

Occupational Health which offer new opportunities to make

work an instrument to generate well-being and promote

positive development of individuals and of society

OUTLINE

I. Scope and objectives

II. Occupational Health Prejudice against Occupational Health

Its unsuspected dimensions

The political paradox

III. New avenues New actors

Urgent need of values

IV. Conclusion

Environ. Health

Education - Communication

OH

Occupational Health is interfacing with other important domains and is almost invisible

The only visible part is the health and safety rules and legal requirements

OH

Enterprises Management

Lack of visibility (I)

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Etymology of the French word

« travail » :

tripalium (latin) = torture instrument

Ancient Greek : ponos = work

Modern Greek : ponos = suffering

In the Bible, Adam is driven out of

the Garden of Eden : «Soil is now

damned because of you ! In the

suffering you will live on it every

day of your life. »

The cultural influence Lack of visibility (II)

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The social components

Depreciation of the disciplines related to Occupational Health !

To take care of Occupational Health is working against

economy and industry ! David Cameron - January 2012 ….

Prevention and health & safety are not sciences but only good

sense

Prevention is too expensive for the SMEs !

Etc.

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The administrative barriers

between domains The limits of the social

insurance system

The prejudices !

and also

Occupational Health is trapped in a ghetto !

Lack of visibility (III)

“…waging war against the excessive health and safety culture that has become an

albatross around the neck of British business.”

0

50

100

150

200

250

Billion $

Illnesses

Injuries

Economic Burden of Occupational Injury and Illness

in the United States

Reference : JP Leigh, The Milbank Quarterly 89: 728-772 (2011)

Total of occupationally related

diseases : a hudge part is hidden

Officially recognized occupational diseases = peak

of the iceberg

4 – 10 % of occupational contribution

5 – 20 % of occupational contribution for

cardiovascular diseases 15 % of

occupational contribution

«Ignored» scientific and economic evidences (I)

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Obvious links between the occupational and the

general environment

3. Major accidents are quite often related to a failure in the occupational risk

management : Seveso (1976), Bhopal (1984) et AZF-Toulouse (2001), etc.

1. Emissions from the workplaces in air, water or soil, as well as transport of

wastes and toxic chemicals illustrate clearly the relationships between the

occupational and the general environment.

Industry Agriculture

2. Indoor air is both an occupational and a public health problem.

This is why the scope of Occupational Health

is extended to the general environment

Annals of Occupational Hygiene – Jan. 2009

Vineyards

Agriculture

«Ignored» scientific and economic evidences (II)

Recent studies prove that for the investment of

The benefit is at least of 3 $ and

can reach 10 $, or even 30 $

Numerous publications on the cost-benefit ratio of prevention

A booklet issued by the WHO and theTNO (NL)

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«Ignored» scientific and economic evidences (III)

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The growing fear of risks

Agents Chemicals REACH and indoor air quality

Nanomaterials Nanoparticles and nanotubes of carbon

Electro-smog Electro-magnetic fields from multiple sources

Biohazards Genetically modified organisms – viruses – endotoxins...

Psychosocial problems A continuous increase

Effects Cancer

Cardiovascular diseases

Musculoskeletal diseases

Mental health

...

Main topics of concern :

The political paradox (I)

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The actual political paradox

There is a growing fear of the risks (perceived risks

by the population) but there is no support to the

professionals able to deal with and to control

these risks

European examples of these last years :

Sweden : closure of the National Institute for Working Life (2007)

Switzerland : closure of the Institute for Work physiology and

Ergonomics at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich

Italy : dissolution of the National Institute into the National Insurance

Company

France : dissolution of a dedicated Agency into a non specific one

United Kingdom : strong decrease in the enforcement of OH&S laws

Etc.

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Source: Prof. G. Ahonen, adaptation J. Takala - 2014

Imbalance between the costs of inadequate working

conditions and the allocation of resources to improve

health (Europe)

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0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Work intensity (UE 15)

Repetitive mouvements

Very tight deadlines

The challenge of psychosocial hazards

Three relevant stress factors recorded in the European Surveys of the

European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

Percent

OUTLINE

I. Scope and objectives

II. Occupational Health Prejudice against Occupational Health

Its unsuspected dimensions

The political paradox

III. New avenues New actors

Urgent need of values

Salutogenesis

Factors that make work attractive

IV. Conclusion

Societal and cultural changes

have to be taken into account

3. Emerging new values

1. Misuse of management standards When quality means only “profits” “restrictive” indicators

Forgetting the “human dimensions”

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2. Unethical conducts are increasing

The “delay game”

Denial of scientific evidences chrysotile and mesothelioma

Unfair business risky jobs exportation

Conflicts of interest; whistleblowers, etc…

This drifting away of moral conduct by some important stakeholders and

“experts” should be considered as an alert !

New actors in Occupational Health - Participative approach -

Economists Management

Human

resources

Insurances

Stakeholders -

politicians

Health

psychologists

Lawyers

The leader with

heart

Sociologists

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Social partners

HOW TO CONTROL THE PSYCHOSOCIAL

PROBLEMS ?

Solutions do exist

at different levels

At the political level Social partners’ awareness and commitment

At the level of the work organization Education and training of managers and application of the scientific

knowledge (good validated models do exist)

At the individual levels Meaning of work – Ethics - Stress reduction techniques, etc.

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The meaning of work

The respect of the human being Age and painful tasks

Work life balance

Vulnerable populations and readjusting- reintegration

…..

The “human” management Managers’ education (impact of working conditions on business)

Empathy about workers’ health problems

The “citizenship” of enterprises The sustainable development

The fair trade

Social responsibility ISO 26’000

Equity and solidarity

....

The emerging values

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Disabled, injured, unemployed, …

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This science focuses

on factors that support

human health and well-

being, rather than on

factors that cause

diseases

The Whitehall study has

detected such factors at

the workplace

We have not only to fight

against the negative factors

but also to promote the

positive ones !

The science which develops good

health

Michael Marmot

Antonovsky – 1987

Sense of coherence

The Whitehall study has detected factors

that improve health (and productivity) at the

workplace

Michael Marmot

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Autonomy and support at work

Social environment, organization and salary

« Subjective social status»

« Effort – reward » balance

Work organization and management

Psychosocial environment

These are the salutogenic factors

relevant for the Return to Work

Private support (Family, Friends, etc.)

Health status (Subjective, Objective)

Work values (Meaning, Equity, …)

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Occupational Health shall become visible !

Social and public health problems related to work must be

emphasized

Environ. Health

Education - Communication

OH

Enterprises Management

Occupational Safety and

Health

BOHS - Cardiff - April - 2012 25

The new generation is

sensitised to ecology

Work is beautiful, useful, important

and can be done safely

They are the workers and

the stakeholders of

tomorrow

But not to work and the

working environment

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TO DARE A DREAM

OF A BETTER SOCIETY

IS A STEP TOWARDS

ITS CONSTRUCTION !