Evolution of Occupational Health: From Industrial Medicine to the Digital-Era

The conceptualisation of occupational health has evolved substantially over the past three centuries, transitioning from narrow industrial medicine approaches focused on physical injuries and acute health problems to broader frameworks addressing physical, mental, social, and organisational wellbeing. This article explores the historical evolution of occupational health definitions, highlighting milestones from the World Health Organisation and International Labour Organisation (WHO-ILO) Joint Committee in 1950 to the expanded 1995 definition, analysing scientific, socio-political, and economic drivers for change. The article proposes that occupational health requires a further conceptual expansion in order to address the challenges posed by digitalisation, platform-based gig work, and artificial intelligence to address algorithmic management, data rights, and non-standard employment arrangements. The article concludes with proposed recommendations on an improved framework on occupational health in the 21st century, which integrates principles of digital fairness, human oversight, and universal access to preventive services, aiming to safeguard worker health, dignity, and equity in an increasingly technology-mediated world.