New Perspectives in Workplace Safety and Employee Well-Being in the Age of Technology, Sustainability, and Digitalization

Increasing interest exists regarding occupational medicine due to the potential significant impact on workers’ health and well-being. Professional diseases affect workforce welfare, considerably impacting individual quality of life and workplace efficiency and effectiveness. Moreover, by engaging with cutting-edge technology and emerging types of work activities, basic and experimental research should adapt to the needs, collecting scientific contributions on occupational diseases, risk factors, social security management, and primary and secondary prevention strategies for work-related risks—especially as these risks relate to rapidly evolving technology-related occupations, challenges of sustainability, and the ongoing processes of digitalization.

Considering these points, this research topic aims to explore occupational risk aspects concerning gender, newly introduced work activities in the production market (e.g., delivery riders), and biological, chemical, and physical agents. Of particular importance, this collection places specific and targeted emphasis on identifying and understanding potential health risks associated with technology-related occupations, sustainability, and digitalization. For instance, unique risks in digital and tech-driven environments are expected to become increasingly prevalent, making an in-depth assessment and mapping of emerging health hazards in these fields both timely and essential.

This research topic also aims to promote understanding of the prevention of work-related stress risks because of the ongoing incidence of psychopathological outcomes such as burnout, workplace bullying, and various forms of occupational distress in this occupational context. This includes a strict evaluation of the psychological variables that could contribute to a better understanding of the individual condition and possibly predict the risk of the onset of medical diseases or complications, with a focus on stressors unique to technology-driven and digitalized work environments, as well as the sustainability challenges faced by today’s workforce.

The interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary contributions provided may help refine guidelines in the fields of occupational medicine, forensic medicine, insurance medicine, and clinical psychology. Additionally, contributions can support the development of updated algorithms for risk assessment—especially those tailored to technology-related occupations and digitally transformed workplaces—and strengthen preventive measures aimed at workplace safety and worker health protection in the context of sustainability and digital evolution, ultimately leading to a significant reduction in risks.

The editors of this collection are interested in both empirical and theoretical contributions related to:
o Occupational diseases, with an emphasis on risks from technology-related and digitalized work, as well as sustainability initiatives;
o Workplace risk assessment, including emerging health risks linked to digital technologies and sustainable practices;
o Prevention and promotion of worker well-being, focusing on hazards unique to tech-intensive and sustainable jobs;
o New technologies and occupational exposure, especially health risks from digitalization and automation;
o Gender and occupational risk, considering differences within technology-driven and sustainable roles;
o Time management and worker well-being in the context of digital platforms and sustainability demands;
o Legal and forensic aspects, addressing implications of technology-mediated, digitalized, and sustainable work environments.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Workplace Safety, Clinical Psychology, Workplace Risk, Occupational Medicine, Forensic Medicine, Technology, Sustainability, and Digitalisation

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.