Table 2.

Systems approach to occupational safety and health (OSH) pressing issues *.

Challenge	Proposed Changes	Unintended Adverse Consequences
Technological disruption Innovations that have significantly altered the way consumers, industries, or businesses operate	–Build a shared understanding of tech disruption, antecedents and consequences of new tech adoption –Adopt practices and policies that support and empower workers (e.g., bottom-up decision making, flexible work, continuing education and skills building, job security, organized labor, regulations for workload or work time)	–Increased divide of high and low skilled jobs; reinforced and accelerated social divide; under/unemployment –Blurred work-life boundaries; reduced work hours and benefits; increased workload –Changes in competition (e.g., businesses closures); loss of profits, knowledge, and jobs
Global competition Competing organizations serving international customers	–Support organized labor and provide protections for whistleblowers and intellectual property –Develop systems that both recognize success and support those who struggle –Advocate for global standards for care, worker benefits, and OSH regulations –Foster personal and professional growth and well-being for workers	–Decline in unions and decline in trades; loss of union and workplace rights –Culture destruction; loss of cultural identity; cross-cultural miscommunication and misinformation –Increasing disparities at the organizational, corporate, and social-ecological levels
Changing worker demographics Shifts in historic worker characteristics	–Provide sufficient compensation and benefits (e.g., family care options, paid time off (vacation and sick), reasonable accommodations) –Diversify the workforce through inclusive hiring practices –Allocate funding to represent taxpayer needs and interests –Balance profits with corporate social responsibility programs, philanthropy, and volunteer efforts; and foster initiative-driven community-based partnerships –Train workers on OSH to meet a given workforce’s needs –Build mentorship capacity and provide access to goal-directed reskilling and upskilling opportunities –Provide transparent evaluations and continuous feedback at the worker and organization levels –Offer work flexibilities that enhance quality of life for workers and their families	–Wasted resources due to ‘fixes’ that fail to meet workers’ needs –Over- or underuse of benefits –Perceived favoritism of certain groups; nonverbal/implicit bias during hiring; increased discrimination –Disengagement; loss of confidence in management; waning loyalty to employer –miscommunications due to inadequate or excess communication; language barriers –Vacated positions due to reskilling and upskilling –Litigation; increased benefits packages –Blurred work-life boundaries

* Issues, Changes, and Consequences reflect an integrated summary of the input provided by workshop breakout groups.