THE EFFECT OF NEW TRENDS OF THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT ON WORKPLACE RISK AND ITS MODELLING

Abstract

The acceleration of global competition has brought very important changes in the working environment. Some of these changes, such as increasing part-time, temporary or self- employment (either virtual or true), intensification of labour productivity, etc. have a significant impact on workplace risk. This impact is multilateral and complex, since the changes affect a number of different features and factors of workplace and its risks. This paper aims to identify and sort these changes in three categories (changes in production patterns and tools, changes in size of workplace and changes in employment patterns) and to explore their impact in workplace through their impact in riskaffecting factors (greater complexity in the workplace, greater potential for risky behaviour and more drivers of unconscious undesired behaviour). The main conclusion is that the approach to risk modelling has to change taking individual-level factors and individual economic motives more explicitly into account.

Keywords

• New work environment, safety, risk assessment

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