HISTORY OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SINCE THE MIDDLE AGES - JOB - 2025

The history of occupational health and its development in the world had its beginnings in the Middle Ages. However, it began to be applied after the Industrial Revolution, undergoing important transformations throughout the 20th century.

Occupational health refers to the care of the physical and mental well-being of workers within the performance of their work. It is a practice crossed by different disciplines that affect the protection of people within their work environment.

Occupational health regulations and provisions now exist throughout the world that are designed to protect workers. However, there was not always an agreement on the preponderance of human life over business development.

Throughout the advancement of occupational health, measures have been taken to guarantee the well-being of workers in accordance with the needs that arose in each era. For this reason, knowing its history is essential to understand its reason for being.

Key moments in the history of occupational health

Its origins: the Middle Ages

In ancient times and the Middle Ages, mining was a fundamental economic activity. However, there was no kind of precaution or care towards the mine workers, mainly because they were slaves or convicts.

The first approaches to what is now known as occupational health were published by Paracelsus in a book entitled On the evil of the mines and other diseases of the miners.

Paracelsus

This work, published in the year 1556, related the increase in occupational diseases with the development of industrial exploitation.

According to Paracelsus, all mines should have adequate ventilation and that workers should wear masks to protect themselves from the spread of diseases. However, the limited development of science did not allow to establish clear relationships between diseases and their causes.

On the other hand, the value of equality was not as important as it is today. This really gained importance after the French Revolution and thanks to this workers began to occupy a different role in society.

The industrial Revolution

The machines that were used in the early days of the industry were extremely dangerous for operators. At that time, the devices were designed exclusively to speed up production and did not consider the safety of the workers.

On the other hand, there was no interest in identifying the potential risks of the machines or the different work implements. For this reason, occupational injuries, and even death, were real and constant threats to employees in the industry.

Furthermore, there were no security provisions or compensation schemes like those that currently exist. Thus, workers were at high risk of losing their livelihood.

Back then, it was common for an employee to be injured completely losing the ability to work in any factory. In those cases, employers had no responsibility, therefore people were completely adrift.

The end of slavery in the UK

The UK was one of the first countries to show progress in occupational health. The end of slavery in this country was a first starting point in the process of improving the treatment of workers.

Precisely in the United Kingdom the Factories Act (1833) was signed, a first legislation that determined minimum conditions of hiring.

Based on this law, an inspection committee was created to review factories to prevent injuries to textile workers. Later, in 1842, the Mines Law was created, which was aimed at preventing accidents in coal mines.

The beginnings of occupational health laws

As time went by, the growth of labor movements brought into the public eye the worrying frequency with which accidents occurred at work. Thanks to this, the first occupational health laws appeared in the world.

In 1880, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers was created in the United States. The objective of this entity was to regulate the manufacture of machinery after a report stated that 50,000 deaths a year occurred in the country due to work accidents.

Later in Germany two fundamental laws were developed: the first social insurance law in 1883 and the first workers compensation law in 1884.

Occupational health in the 20th century

The 20th century began with a fundamental change: the creation of the International Labor Organization in 1919. Convention 155 of this organization refers to the safety and health of workers and is accepted by all member countries.

In 1956, a case occurred in Australia in which a group of employees hoisted buckets of hot bitumen to the roof of a five-story building. As the hot bitumen spilled, it fell on one of the workers, causing him severe burns.

The affected worker sued his employer and the case went to the High Court of Australia. Finally, the court determined that the employer should take the necessary precautions to avoid unnecessary risks to the lives of its employees.

These events set a fundamental precedent: companies must value the lives of human beings above economic benefits. From then on, occupational health laws began to be developed around the world.

The evolution of occupational health

With the advancement of technology, professional risks have also been transformed. For this reason, in the 20th century, problems appeared that had never been presented before and that required new regulations in occupational health.

The first regulations were aimed at direct accidents that occurred within job performance. Immediate events such as explosions, falling heavy objects, burns, or cuts.

However, with the passage of time, indirect or long-term health problems were recognized. Chronic pain that develops over the years, illnesses as a result of exposure to chemicals, and even mental problems.

For example, X-rays were discovered in 1985. A few years later, radiologists around the world began to die from continued exposure to radiation.

For this reason, the legislation has had to progressively adjust to the characteristics of the new diseases that were caused at work.

References

1. ATC. (SF). History of Health and Safety in the Workplace. Recovered from: atcrisk.co.uk.
2. Cowie, W. (2013). History Of Occupational Health And Safety. Recovered from: inspireeducation.net.au.
3. Effective software. (SF). A short history of health & safety. Recovered from: effective-software.com.
4. Kazantzis, G. (2011). Kazantzis. Recovered from: britannica.com.
5. Molano, J. (2013). From occupational health to the management of occupational health and safety: more than semantics, a transformation of the general system of occupational hazards. Recovered from: magazines.unal.edu.co.