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The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) continues to actively address the evolving landscape of occupational safety and health (OSH) as an official campaign partner of the Healthy Workplaces Campaign (HWC) 2023-25 'Safe and healthy work in the digital age'. Underlining the transformative effects of digitalisation on the workplace, IOSH has contributed valuable perspectives through a recent magazine article and a podcast episode.

In IOSH Magazine, the organisation highlights key insights from their report “Towards a safe and healthy future of work”, jointly published with the sustainable development consultancy Arup. The article goes on to discuss how technological advancements such as AI, robotics, and the growing gig economy are reshaping OSH practices. It explores opportunities for enhancing worker safety using real-time data, while also addressing new challenges such as legal uncertainties and the necessity for OSH professionals to adapt to swift technological developments. The piece also directly references the campaign and features a quote from Mireya Rifá Fabregat of the European Network of Safety and Health Professional Organizations (ENSHPO), another important campaign supporter, who comments on AI regulation in the EU and potential biases in An explicitly defined set of instructions describing how a computer or a human could perform an action, task or procedure or solve a problem. -driven platform work.

Complementing the magazine’s focus, IOSH’s Trailblazer Talks podcast episode, “AI for Worker Management”, further explores the implications of AI in the workplace. Special guests from EVCargo and TechUK delve into the rise of A worker management system where simple (i.e. without ‘intelligence’) algorithms and digital technologies (e.g. worker-monitoring devices, computers or face recognition software) are used to manage workers in an automated or semi-automated manner. It provides the means to automate a large number of worker management tasks (e.g. schedule-making, shift- making and worker monitoring through wearable devices). AI-based worker management involves the intelligence simulation necessary to deal with uncertainty (e.g. providing different outputs based on changes in the environment), whereas algorithmic management is deterministic in nature (i.e. it always provides the same output, given the same input). , discussing both its risks and benefits. They emphasise the psychological effects on employees, particularly concerning worker autonomy and mental health, aligning with key themes of the campaign.

Through these contributions, IOSH reinforces its commitment to helping OSH professionals navigate the challenges presented by digitalisation, supporting the broader dialogue in the field. 

Both the full magazine article and podcast episode produced in English are available on the IOSH  magazine platform.