Occupational Health and Safety: Risks, Prevention, and Agencies

Posted on Nov 15, 2024 in Social sciences

Work and Health

Work and health are closely related. Work provides financial resources for basic needs, fosters social relationships, contributes to satisfaction and fulfillment, and allows us to develop skills and qualities. However, work also presents risks that can negatively impact health. Before analyzing these risks, let’s define health.

Defining Health

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. This definition establishes a multidisciplinary concept of health, encompassing three aspects:

  • Physical health: Relating to bodily integrity.
  • Mental health: Indicative of emotional balance.
  • Social health: Referring to positive relationships with others.

When analyzing working conditions that may pose a risk, we must adopt a holistic perspective, considering all aspects of health. Therefore, a work condition is now seen as any job characteristic that may significantly influence the generation of safety hazards and worker health. These characteristics include:

  1. General features of premises and facilities: Ceiling height, space per worker, emergency exits, housekeeping, sanitation, safety signs, environmental conditions, etc.
  2. Equipment, products, and tools: Moving parts, sharp edges, fuel, etc.
  3. Presence, nature, and concentration of agents:
    • Physical: Acoustics, lighting, temperature, vibration, radiation.
    • Chemical: Airborne dust, gases, etc.
    • Biological: Viruses, bacteria, fungi, etc.
  4. Procedures for using and handling agents.
  5. Organization and management of labor: Workload (physical and mental demands), repetitive motion, awkward postures, manual handling, level of care, responsibility, work rate, information quantity and quality, response time, scheduling, task allocation, etc.
  6. Any other characteristic that generates risks.

The best way to ensure worker safety and health is to identify and evaluate risk factors. This allows for appropriate preventive and protective measures.

Occupational Risk

Occupational risk is the possibility of a worker suffering harm from a particular work activity. The Law on Prevention of Occupational Risks considers work-related injuries, illnesses, or injuries suffered by reason of or during work. This includes accidents at work (AT), occupational diseases (PD), and other diseases.

Occupational Disease

Technical definition: Gradual deterioration of worker health due to repeated exposure to unhealthy situations in the work environment.

Legal definition (Social Security Act): Contracted during employment due to activities listed in a regulatory table, provided that the action results from substances or elements indicated for each disease in the table.

Elements of the legal definition:

  • Applies to employees and self-employed workers who contribute to social security.
  • Must be a condition listed in Royal Decree 1299/2006 and caused by listed substances or elements.
  • Contracted by performing activities listed in Royal Decree 1299/2006.

Classification of occupational diseases:

  • Caused by chemical agents
  • Caused by physical agents
  • Caused by biological agents
  • Caused by inhalation of substances not included in other sections
  • Skin diseases caused by substances not included in other sections
  • Caused by carcinogens

Accidents at Work

Technical definition: Abnormal, unintended, and unwanted event that disrupts work continuity, occurs suddenly and unexpectedly, and causes harm to individuals and/or property.

Legal definition (Social Security Act): Any injury suffered by an employee during or as a consequence of work.

Elements of the legal definition:

  • Applies to employees and self-employed workers who contribute to social security.
  • Must be a causal link between work and injury.
  • Must result in actual bodily injury.

Extension of the definition:

  • Work accident while traveling: Injuries suffered while going to or returning from work. Requires three conditions:
    • Occurs on the normal route.
    • No interruption between work and the accident.
    • Happens during the usual route (flexible, considering weekend trips or detours due to strikes).

Other Work-Related Diseases

Bullying or Harassment

Extreme psychological violence inflicted systematically and over a prolonged period by a person or group on another person in the workplace.

Burnout

Stress specific to professions with constant, direct contact with beneficiaries in a helping or service relationship. Symptoms include reduced personal accomplishment, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization. Common in professions like medicine and teaching.

Public Agencies Overseeing Occupational Safety and Health

International Agencies

International Labour Organization (ILO)

  • United Nations agency.
  • Aims to improve safety, health, working conditions, and lives globally.
  • Develops assistance and advisory programs.
  • Helps countries build democratic and accountable institutions.
  • Tripartite structure: Representatives from governments, employers, and workers.

European Agency for Safety and Health at Work

  • Established in 1996, based in Bilbao.
  • Aims for safer and more productive workplaces in Europe.
  • Coordinates a network of national focal points.
  • Tripartite: Governments, employers, and employee representatives.
  • Tasks include information dissemination, good practice promotion, research on hazards, and legislation clarification.
  • Includes the European Risk Observatory, which identifies new and emerging risks.

National Agencies

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health at Work (INSHT)

  • Scientific and technical body of the Central Government.
  • Analyzes and studies safety and health at work, promoting and improving them.
  • Provides technical assistance and develops guides.
  • Advises on legislation development.
  • Conducts training, information, and outreach activities.
  • Develops research.

Autonomous Communities may develop specific functions and create their own Institutes, cooperating with the INSHT.

Inspectorate of Labour and Social Security

  • Technical body of the Administration.
  • Monitors and controls compliance with labor standards and risk prevention.
  • Conducts company visits to assess compliance.
  • Can order work cessation in cases of serious and imminent threats.
  • Counsels and advises companies and workers.
  • Issues violation reports and proposes penalties.
  • Reports to the labor authority on fatalities and serious incidents.