Digital Occupational Health: Opportunities and Challenges for the Workplace.

Abstract

This paper discusses the role of the workplace in digital occupational health as part of an increasingly digitalized working life. Digital occupational health can be considered to consist of at least the following digitalized components: a) occupational health services and data, b) human resource data, c) group-level field data collected from the work environment and employees, and d) individual-level field data collected for personal use only. These data and related processes form a basis for so called data-driven management of occupational health and safety. To collect such data and keep it updated, it is important to pay attention to: a) worker acceptance, b) user friendliness, c) data validity, integrity, and protection, d) adequate resources, and e) ethical and effective use of the data. The current literature suggests that there are promising mobile and wearable devices and eHealth solutions to support worker health. To use them effectively, it is good to pay attention to the implementation process in the workplace. Ultimately, trust and collaboration among all parties are the cornerstones for gaining benefits from digital occupational health.