ABSTRACT
CHAPTER 14 Screening New Employees John Harrison
Occupational health is concerned with the promotion and maintenance of health at work. Historically, its focus has been occupational hazards and their association with the occurrence of occupational diseases. Assessment of fitness for work was concerned with the identification of pre-existing medical conditions that would render workers incapable of performing their duties or that would make them at increased risk of a further deterioration in their health. The risk assessment demanded a comprehensive understanding of the work environment: the activities of the job, the way in which the activities were carried out and the measures in place to protect workers from the hazards. Whilst this approach is still the cornerstone of practice, the remit of occupational health has extended to include wider issues related to employability and performance at work. In 1995, the World Health Organisation revised its definition of occupational health so as to focus on three objectives:
• the maintenance and promotion of workers’ health and working capacity • the improvement of work environment and work to become conducive to safety and
health; and • the development of work organisation and working cultures in a direction, which
supports health and safety at work, and in doing so also promotes a positive social climate and smooth operation and may enhance productivity of the undertaking. The concept of the working culture is intended, in this context, to mean a reflection of the essential value systems adopted by the undertaking concerned. Such a culture is reflected in practice in the managerial systems, personnel policies, principles for participation, training policies and quality management of the undertaking1.
