Occupational hazards - November 2020

IN MY experience, OSH is largely made up of people who are nearing the end of their career, so it’s important to get the next generation in. The established professionals can nurture the younger talent, impart their knowledge and help them learn the ropes.

Younger OSH professionals start to bring in values that are more pertinent to their generation, such as a greater focus on diversity, inclusivity and mental health.

You are limiting your pool without younger employees and their arrival stops the profession going stale. You need that fresh blood and the innovation this brings. 

Younger OSH professionals also relate to younger members of the workforce and the challenges and issues they have – for example, lack of experience, which is a risk in itself. Your hazard perception is still developing because you don’t have the experience others have developed over the years.

Getting more younger people into the profession sparks a positive trend because it then makes OSH more appealing to other young people, who see it as a viable career path. For many people I’ve encountered, OSH is a second career or not their career of choice. We need to change this. There are lots of opportunities, OSH is very versatile, and I don’t think that’s something young people always recognise or is promoted to them.

I studied for a law degree and my first job was as an OHSE officer. It brought together work done during my degree, such as legislation, with hands-on experience. It involves engaging with the whole workforce and such factors need promoting.

If you’re aspiring to enter the profession and want to develop yourself, it’s just about getting involved. You don’t necessarily have to be in an OSH role. Approach your employer to see if there are duties you can undertake and express your interest that way. 

Your technical skills are very important but it’s power skills – such as leadership and communication – that the modern OSH professional needs to develop. Being a member of the IOSH Future Leaders Steering Group has been fantastic in that sense, as there are other members who challenge my thinking and inspire me. IOSH webinars have also covered this. Learning comes in many forms, so that can also be on the job. 

Being curious can take you a long way. It’s just asking questions, and asking the silly questions as well, because I’ve found that just because things have always been done in a certain way doesn’t mean it’s always the best or most efficient way. 

I advise getting a mentor, someone who can give that good advice and chat about career options and developing yourself. I think that’s very helpful and you can do that with IOSH or where you work.

I also recommend seeking feedback and acting on it. Particularly earlier on in your career, getting feedback, understanding it and not seeing it as a negative will allow you to develop professionally. It’s helped me to see what I could do better and what I do well.

Take advantage of networking opportunities, such as with the Future Leaders Community. There are people in similar positions, so reach out to them. It can also be reaching out on LinkedIn or talking to the people we work with – it doesn’t have to be at a big intimidating event.

There are lots of qualifications out there. I’m doing an OSH diploma, which has helped me, but also understand that learning doesn’t always come in a classroom. In places where I’ve worked it’s about going out on the sites and finding out about the processes, so you get a feel for where your work needs to be focused.

It’s also about challenging your thinking. There’s more than one way of doing OSH and you learn by watching others and really thinking about how it can influence your own behaviours.

The take-home message is to develop those power skills, which I believe define a future leader. Skills such as resilience are particularly important now as the focus of OSH moves to health because of Covid-19. The current climate is changing perceptions and I think it’s making organisations really value the OSH professional.

Hayley Wright is a member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) Future Leaders Steering Group and OHSE Audit & Assurance Lead at Defence Equipment & Support, Ministry of Defence. For more information, visit www.iosh.com