12/12/2005.

Changes in society, work organisation and production methods are leading to new types and new combinations of occupational risks which demand new solutions, concludes a recent survey.
The survey was carried out among a panel of over 60 safety and health experts in fourteen European countries and the US. Its results have now been published in a report by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.
The report looks into emerging physical risks, i.e. risks which are both new (or changing) and increasing.
'The world of work is changing rapidly and work-related health issues are changing too', explains Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, the Agency's Director. ‘Our report sheds new light on these changes by defining top ten emerging physical risks and major trends behind them.'

The top emerging risks include lack of physical activity, the impact on workers of increasing complexity of new technologies, and a greater vulnerability of low-status workers. A new underlying trend is also visible: work health and safety is increasingly affected by multifactoral issues. In places like call centres, for instance, staff can be exposed to a combination of interacting risks, such as prolonged sitting at desks poorly adjusted to their personal needs, background noise, inadequate headsets, low job control, high time pressure, high mental and emotional demands. This, in turn, may lead to a combination of health problems, ranging from musculoskeletal disorders, varicose veins, nose and throat diseases and voice disorders to fatigue, stress and burnout.

'The report clearly indicates that multifactoral and combined risks are a growing concern', concludes Hans-Horst Konkolewsky. 'The resulting message for policymakers and health and safety experts is that we can no longer treat individual risks separately. What we need is a holistic approach to risk prevention.'
This publication is the first report of a risk observatory set up by the European Agency to monitor emerging risks.

• Risk Observatory website
• The press release
• The report