Future of work: Emerging global trends in EHS

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March 2, 2023 - The world is undergoing a rapid transformation. Technological advancements, climate disruptions, digital threats, globalization, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives are all reshaping how and where we work.

In our Future of Work series, we uncover the evolution of governance and compliance and the convergence of ESG and EHS (environmental, health, and safety) with technological innovations that are radically transforming the world of work. Here, we identify ways organizations will adapt to new workplace challenges.

BSI Consulting recently polled EHS professionals on the technologies they expect to incorporate in 2023 to supplement staffing shortages: 45% of respondents said artificial intelligence (AI) will be utilized, and 26% of respondents agreed that risk-assessment software will become increasingly important to ensure the security of operations. See below.

Through automating repetitive tasks, AI technology has the potential to revolutionize the way we work, freeing up human workers to focus on more complex and strategic tasks. We are already seeing these types of technologies exploding onto the market with ChatGPT, ChatSonic, and Google’s LaMDA. AI can improve the accuracy of risk assessments by analyzing data and identifying potential risks before they occur, helping organizations to make better-informed decisions about their operations.

In addition to incorporating tech tools, forward-thinking EHS leaders are increasingly aligning their programs with overall business goals and ESG-related efforts to create greater organizational value. Conversely, sustainability leaders are leveraging EHS data, systems, and successes to help promote ESG initiatives.

This paradigm shift toward an EHS emphasis, particularly with well-being, is forcing global companies to become more proactive versus reactive within their corporate culture and safety programs. In doing so, this approach allows stakeholders and EHS leaders to create value-added programs within broader corporate strategies to achieve enterprise-wide integration and forward-thinking EHS initiatives.

External market pressures from customers, investors, and other stakeholders have made sustainability a top business priority for most businesses. Although EHS gained some visibility during the COVID-19 pandemic, sustainability efforts still hold greater visibility to the C-suite. Most large corporations have standalone EHS teams separate from sustainability, whereas the two may be integrated at small to mid-size companies.

However, in either instance, these departments must pay careful attention to shifts within their current workforce as well as to changes in global workforce trends that will impact both EHS and ESG, such as the following:

The pandemic has accelerated and changed adoption and acceptance of hybrid working models for many corporations as well as the geographical demographics of their workforce.
The globalization of markets and the labor force will continue to evolve, becoming more diverse and distributed (Africa, for example, is anticipated to grow as an outsourcing destination for the technology sector.)
Labor shortages, remote work, and efficiency/productivity drivers will result in an increase of digital surveillance and automated worker-management tools (AI-based worker management technology or AIWM). These systems will have the ability to both identify and manage worker health and safety, introduce new and unforeseen risks, and address worker privacy concerns.
Developing technologies such as safety-monitoring systems and AI software will assist EHS with identifying and managing risk for both the organization and its suppliers.
As the workforce ages in developed countries, older workers will need reskilling or upskilling to keep pace with an evolving workplace while also experiencing diminished physical capacity, decreased working memory, more difficulty with hearing and vision, higher rates of musculoskeletal conditions, and chronic diseases. This will have a greater impact on EHS risk and management strategies.
Education and training for EHS professionals today focuses primarily on serving large, fixed sites in traditional manufacturing or construction with insufficient content on the changing nature of work and the new science on mental health and psychosocial risks.
Institutional bias is defined as “those established laws, customs, and practices which systematically reflect and produce group-based inequities in any society,” some of which disproportionately impact the occupational health and safety of certain groups. Global corporations are increasingly needing to address these institutional biases that cross over into the EHS and ESG space.

New, multi-disciplinary education is needed for EHS on business acumen and the societal, digital, physical, well-being, and psychosocial risks associated with technology and global change.

To adapt and rival the rapidly changing landscape of organizational EHS, professionals will need to become more informed, engaged, and proactive with their corporate strategic-planning process to better anticipate future EHS and ESG challenges.

Read Xavier Alcaraz's continuing HSW series, including Surviving To Thriving: Foundational Steps to Support a Thriving Business, Tech Fusion: Future of Health, Safety, and Well-Being is Now, and Surviving to Thriving: Tackling Workforce Mental Health and Well-Being addressing the future of worker health and safety. Follow along with these and other EHS topics that should be at the top of your list at BSI’s Experts Corner. For more insight into the residual challenges created by the pandemic that companies are facing, take a look at BSI's Prioritizing people initiative.