Work Organisation and Psychosocial Factors

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The ICOH Scientific Committee on Work Organization & Psychosocial Factors (WOPS) was first formed as a Working SC in 1993 at Nice, France, and it was approved as a formal SC in 1996 in Stockholm, Sweden. The first WOPS conference was held in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1998. Subsequent conferneces were held in Okayama, Japan (2005), Quebec, Canada (2008), Amsterdam, the Netherlands (2010), and Adelaide, Australia (2014). Past Chairs included Professor Michiel Kompier (Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Nentherlands) and Professor Norito Kawakami (The University of Tokyo, Japan) while past Secretaries included Professor Amanda Griffiths (University of Nottingham, UK) and Professor Judith Sluiter (University of Amsterdam, Coronel Institute of Occupational Health, the Netherlands).

WOPS aims to promote awareness, research and education, to disseminate good practices, and to influence policy development in the area of work organization and psychosocial factors. Psychosocial factors concern aspects of work organization, design and management. If managed well they can lead to individual, organizational and societal well-being and sustainability. However, in the opposite scenario, they may have negative impact at these three levels.

Our SC has contributed to the development of key policies, research, guidance and standards in this area for the European Commission, the Europen Agency for Safety & Health at Work (EU-OSHA), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour Organization (ILO).

ICOH-WOPS maintains close collaboration with other ICOH SCs, in particular Cardiology in Occupational Health, Ageing and Work, Musculoskeletal Disorders, Occupational Health and Development, Unemployment, Job Insecurity and Health, Women Health and Work, Neurotoxicology and Psychophysiology, and Shiftwork and Working Time.

WOPS has also established collaboration in the area of psychosocial factors at work with WHO, ILO, the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology (EAOHP), the Society for Occupational Health Psychology (SOHP), the Asia Pacific Academy for Psychosocial Factors at Work, the Latin American Research Network of Researchers on Psychosocial Factors at Work (RIFAPT), and the Ibero-American Network for Work-related Psychosocial Risks (RIPSOL).

For further information on our SC and its activities and to get involved, please contact our Chair and Secretary.