Abstract
The last two decades have seen increasing attention to professional ethics in the field of occupational health in industrialized and developing countries, partly reflecting the changing world of work, demographic shifts and new technologies. These changes have led to the revisiting of traditional ethical principles and the emergence of ethical issues related to occupational health. This article looks at the problems raised by these ethical concerns and proposes some solutions. We revised the existing literature on the ethical conflict in occupational health in order to identifying drivers and barriers for correct professional ethics. The ethical choices are not only based on balanced risk and benefit assessment for various stakeholders, but there are a number of deontological aspects as well that go beyond the mere benefit domains. There is still no systematic approach for analysing the true extent of these issues and their solutions.
Highlights
Over the past decades many new issues have come to the fore, reflecting changes in the world of work, fragmentation, economic difficulties, demographic shifts, new technologies and, more generally, the impact of globalization
About 2500 years ago, a Greek philosopher and doctor, Hippocrates, crystallized the key principles of professional ethics in his famous Hippocratic Oath, which has survived through centuries and still constitutes the core of medical ethics [12]
In the 11th century, Western medical ethics inherited the moral values of Catholicism and the focus shifted to the duties and principles a good doctor must adopt in his professional conduct
Summary
Over the past decades many new issues have come to the fore, reflecting changes in the world of work, fragmentation, economic difficulties, demographic shifts, new technologies and, more generally, the impact of globalization. The organization of work itself can influence the level of psychological stress that workers experience and can increase health problems (e.g., musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome and diabetes) related to exposure to occupational hazards, which can lead to injuries or illnesses [3,4]. These call for radical changes in occupational health, considered an important element in the social dimension of working life, in line with a broader concept of global and integrated promotion of well-being at work, giving rise to many new challenges for workers and their representatives, employers, managers, health service providers, government authorities, professional associations and social partners alike.
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