What Occupational Health Means
A plain definition of occupational health and the two questions it always asks.
8 min
Activities: 0 of 2
Health and safety are not the same thing
Safety is about sudden harm: a fall, a cut, a burn. You usually see it happen. Occupational health is about harm to the body or mind that work causes more slowly — for example lung disease from dust, hearing loss from noise, skin disease from chemicals, or back pain from heavy lifting. It is also about making sure a person is well enough to do their job safely.
Occupational health always asks two questions:
- How can the work affect the worker’s health?
- How can the worker’s health affect the work?
What occupational health covers
Finding health hazards at work and controlling them before anyone becomes ill.
Two examples
Example 1: the welder. Amir has welded steel for ten years. He has never had an accident. But he breathes welding fume every day and has started to cough in the mornings. This is an occupational health problem. No single event caused it.
Example 2: the driver. Sara drives a forklift. She has a medical condition that sometimes makes her dizzy. Her health could affect the safety of the work and of the people around her. Occupational health helps decide whether she can drive safely, and what changes would help.
Which of these is mainly an occupational health issue rather than a safety issue?