Canadian Occupational Safety

14 www.thesafetymag.com/ca F E A T U R E 2021 OHS TREND REPORT Our experts weighed in on the topic and found eight key trends to look out for in 2021. Spoiler alert: COVID-19 will continue to be a bit of a big deal. president of Occupational Health & Safety Consulting. "The key thing with risk everyone needs to understand is a risk to the work force is by extension a risk to the organization," he says. "Vaccines are not the magic bullet that will instantly fix the problem in the short term." One big challenge many safety professionals will continue to deal with in 2021 is handling ever-changing public health rules and navigating the ever-shifting requirements of the pandemic, says Laura Rourke, manager of Environment, Health & Safety at Tigercat International. 2. Risk management and support for businesses With the continued threat of the pandemic in mind, it will be important to support small businesses. They have struggled more than larger businesses this year due to limited funding and/or access to additional help on the health and safety front. This has certainly been a struggle for those businesses but also a wake-up call: "If you don't build a safety program you're out of business," says Strand. Indeed, according to independent senior safety advisor Guy Chenard, "The number one [trend] is going to be managing risk, and, specifically looking at the pandemic… we need to get a good grasp of it." He says companies that have a risk-based management system need to consider COVID-19 as one of those risks and see what they are doing to mitigate the pandemic. Although some larger companies may be able to do this well and can cope with risks or targets, some smaller companies may have a little more of a problem dealing with risks. "I think that people need to be aware of the legislative requirements that are out there," says Chenard. "We need to keep looking for information." 3. Mental health in the workplace "Because of COVID, we've seen an increased focus around mental health or psychologically healthy workplaces — I see that that is going to be even more so in 2021," says Eldeen Pozniak, director of Pozniak Safety Associates. That focus will continue post- pandemic also. Strand says there will be an "echo pandemic" that "will cause big challenges for employers." Indeed, "The key thing with risk everyone needs to understand is a risk to the work force is by extension a risk to the organization." Dave Gouthro, Occupational Health & Safety Consulting IN this current climate, the future is very much a question mark. It is difficult to tell what the situation will be from one day to the next, let alone make any concrete statements about the next few months. Luckily for us, to glean which trends are going to dominate the OHS space in 2021, we had an ace in our pocket. To compile this list, we looked to our esteemed editorial board for their valuable knowledge and insights. These safety pros highlighted a number of trends to look out for this year and this will not come as a shock to any of you, but COVID-19 will absolutely continue to dominate health and safety conversations. The virus has burrowed its way into every aspect of how we live and work and this will certainly also be the case this year. This has been a watershed year for the sector, and health and safety professionals have too often been the unsung heroes of this pandemic, ensuring the safety of workers around the country. Now, they offer up what they think will be the key trends to look out for in 2021 and beyond. 1. Learning to live with COVID-19 "We're not out of the woods with COVID — it's so pervasive," says Dan Strand, director of Prevention Field Services at WorkSafeBC. "We are in this for the long haul and will need to be vigilant for some time. This is another area safety people need to be knowledgeable of not just generally aware but have a full understanding so they can guide their employers," says Dave Gouthro, KEY TRENDS FOR 2021 Learning to live with COVID-19 now that the pandemic has been going on for more than a year Managing risk and supporting businesses, especially small businesses The rising importance of mental health in the workplace Organizations adapting to working from home in the long term

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