Open HSI menu
Subscribe Login

Home / Articles and Press Releases / Press Release / Shaping the Future of OHS

CATEGORIES

  • Latest Issue
  • Above The Neck Protection
  • Chemical Protection
  • Confined Space
  • Construction
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Energy, Oil and Mining Industries
  • Eye Protection
  • Fall Protection
  • Gas Detection
  • Hand Protection
  • Hazardous and Explosive Atmospheres
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Hearing Protection
  • Heat and Flame
  • Lighting and ATEX
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Safety Footwear
  • Safety Technology
  • Safety Training
  • Slips, Trips and Falls
  • Wellbeing at Work
  • Working at Height
  • Working Rights

MORE

  • Press Releases
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Magazines

COMPANY

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
Open HSI menu
Subscribe

Home / Articles and Press Releases / Press Release / Shaping the Future of OHS

CATEGORIES

  • Latest Issue
  • Above The Neck Protection
  • Chemical Protection
  • Confined Space
  • Construction
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Energy, Oil and Mining Industries
  • Eye Protection
  • Fall Protection
  • Gas Detection
  • Hand Protection
  • Hazardous and Explosive Atmospheres
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Hearing Protection
  • Heat and Flame
  • Lighting and ATEX
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Safety Footwear
  • Safety Technology
  • Safety Training
  • Slips, Trips and Falls
  • Wellbeing at Work
  • Working at Height
  • Working Rights

MORE

  • Press Releases
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Magazines

COMPANY

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Newsletter
  • Contact

CATEGORIES

  • Article
  • Press Release
  • Above The Neck Protection
  • Chemical Protection
  • Confined Space
  • Construction
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Energy, Oil and Mining Industries
  • Eye Protection
  • Fall Protection
  • Gas Detection
  • Hand Protection
  • Hazardous and Explosive Atmospheres
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Hearing Protection
  • Heat and Flame
  • Lighting and ATEX
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Safety Footwear
  • Safety Technology
  • Safety Training
  • Slips, Trips and Falls
  • Wellbeing at Work
  • White Papers
  • Working at Height
  • Working Rights

Press Release

Shaping the Future of OHS

By IOSH

| Read Bio

Published: September 11th, 2017

Share this article

Line managers who supervise remote or distributed workers should work closely with occupational safety and health (OSH) practitioners to control the risks they face, a new study recommends.

Nearly half of all workers in Western Europe (129.5 million) spend at least some time working away from a main office or location, a number that seems to be increasing.

With limited regular face-to-face contact, problems accessing safety and health resources, and having more than one place of work – where risks might be harder to predict and control – managing the health and safety of distributed workers presents significant challenges.

Findings, advice, case studies and practical resources published by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), which sponsored this work by researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA), Kingston University London and Affinity Health at Work, show the vital roles managers have in helping assure their remote workers’ safety.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind explored existing research, leadership styles and models, elements of management and communication, and direct contact with safety and health practitioners.

The researchers found no evidence for the idea that OSH good practice can be ‘cascaded’ effectively to distributed workers, and line managers’ attitudes and behaviour towards safety and health tended to have more influence over the remote workers they managed than direct contact and ‘role modelling’ by OSH practitioners.

Its conclusions indicate that line managers should initiate and develop closer one-to-one relationships with the remote workers they manage as well as OSH practitioners to ensure their safety, health and wellbeing is well looked after.

Professor Karina Nielsen, Professor Kevin Daniels and Rachel Nayani at UEA conducted the research with Emma Donaldson-Feilder and Dr Rachel Lewis from Affinity Health at Work and Kingston University London, where the report and toolkit was launched by the team.

Professor Daniels, Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia says: “Remote or distributed working is now a well-established pattern of working. What is surprising, is that before this research, very little was understood about how effectively to manage the health, safety and wellbeing of remote workers.

“This research is the first large scale and comprehensive programme that has looked at the issue. In the research, we have been able to bring together knowledge from some of the leading organisations on the health and safety of remote workers with field studies of remote workers and their managers. The research marks a massive step forward for managing the health and safety of remote workers.”

At the outset, the research team asked three main questions:

  • Are current OSH leadership frameworks applicable in the context of distributed working?
  • What other frameworks or models may be applicable to, or optimal for, the OSH leadership of distributed workers?
  • Can OSH practitioners apply appropriate frameworks in distributed working contexts to ensure effective OSH leadership from line managers?

Nearly 1,000 individuals were surveyed across 19 organisations and 41 occupational safety and health practitioners were interviewed about OSH leadership behaviours and enablers of (and barriers to) good OSH practice for distributed workers across a range of different occupations and industrial sectors where there is high incidence of distributed work.

The consortium then identified skills and competencies underpinning effective leadership behaviours facilitating good safety and health practices among distributed workers.

Kate Field, Head of Information and Intelligence at IOSH, says: “This research into leadership and management of occupational safety and health as it affects distributed or remote workers sheds new light on areas that have been under-researched.

“Issues relating to psychosocial risks including stress, dissatisfaction and poor work-life balance have been investigated in the past, but research on distributed workers facing major physical hazards or ergonomic hazards such as computer-based work is less frequent. What is even more important in this research is an examination of the role of the line manager, as well health and safety professional.

“The findings show that simply ‘cascading’ OSH information to remote workers is not effective. Strong relationships with line managers well informed about OSH is more likely to have a positive impact (even more than contact with the health and safety professional).

Share this article

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

IOSH

IOSH is the Chartered body for health and safety professionals. With more than 47,000 members in over 130 countries, we’re the world’s biggest professional health and safety organisation.

Visit Website

POPULAR POSTS BY IOSH

From peat bog rescues to beating back injury, safety awards have it all

Press Release

From Peat Bog Rescues to Beating Back Injury, Safety Awards Have It All

Iosh urges businesses to look after their workers to secure long-term prosperity featured

Press Release

IOSH Urges Businesses to Look After Their Workers to Secure Long-Term Prosperity

Istock 1263847899 - hsi -

Press Release

Workplace Strategies that Could Prevent Suicide

Eye protection iosh thumbnail

Press Release

Eye Protection

Istock 1307276101 e1617708299223 - hsi -

Article

Eye Protection

Iosh 2021- creating safer, healthier and more sustainable workplaces thumbnail

Press Release

IOSH 2021: Creating Safer, Healthier and More Sustainable Workplaces

Get email updates

Sign up for the HSI newsletter

Keep up-to-date through the power of email with Europe's largest audited safety magazine - delivering the latest news and products to satisfy all your occupational safety needs.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

FEATURED ARTICLES

Article

 Thameslink Traffic Management Programme

Press Release

‘Working At Height’ Remains Biggest Danger

Press Release

“Uncertainty and Ignorance” Risks More Asbestos Deaths

Advertisement

SOCIAL MEDIA

HSI on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/HSIMagazine/

Advertisement

SOCIAL MEDIA

HSI on Twitter

hsimagazine HSI Magazine @hsimagazine ·
25 Jan

Global gas sensing leader @ionscience has today formally announced the addition of a high-specification Particulate Matter (PM) sensor to its portfolio.

Read all about this exciting addition!
https://www.hsimagazine.com/press-release/worlds-best-performing-particulate-matter-pm-sensor-now-available-from-ion-science-ltd/

#hsimagazine #ionscience #particulatematter

Reply on Twitter 1618280038557970432 Retweet on Twitter 1618280038557970432 Like on Twitter 1618280038557970432 Twitter 1618280038557970432

Advertisement

SUBSCRIBE

Stay up to date with our newsletter

    • Keep up-to-date with Europe’s largest audited safety magazine

 

    • Delivering the latest news and products to satisfy all your occupational safety needs

 

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Subscribe

SUBSCRIBE TO HSI MAGAZINE

5 reasons to subscribe to our digital and print package

  • Stay up to date from anywhere in the world, with instant access to the latest issue straight from your phone, tablet or laptop.
  • Trust that you’re getting the best content from our range of internationally accredited authors.
  • Get full access to our archives and see how occupational safety has evolved with us over the years.
  • Enjoy our monthly newsletter curated with up-to-the-minute news and a selection of editor’s top picks.
  • Hot off the press and straight to your door – look forward to your own glossy copy of HSI, delivered five times a year
Subscribe View Subscription levels

STAY SAFE & INFORMED

Subscribe to the best health & safety articles, news, products and regulations

Find out more

Stay up to date with our newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

ABOUT

  • About HSI International
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us

YOUR ACCOUNT

Sign In Register Account Subscribe to HSI

RESOURCES

Request Media Pack

CONNECT

ACCREDITATIONS

Copyright Bay Publishing 2023. All Rights reserved.

Designed & Built by:
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT