I have been reading this debate with interest, I worked for
a large UK organisation, as their manager of OH Development
(76,000 staff and no OH provision!!) I was initally employed
through the H&S Department, but after a month was changed to
HR, and my remit was to assess the OH needs of the
organisation.
What I quickly found from a helicopter view was that OH
percieved roles were split into Benefits (insurance company
managing absence but from a distance with, at that time,
little OH provision), Equal Opps, H&S and HR, and my task
was to persuade all the various groups that in order to move
forward that we needed to review whether this was the most
effective method in terms of the shareholders/organisational
needs /high costs etc.
Needless to say that after 7 months of thinking why I am a
fool to think that I can persuade the organsiation to make
the necessary changes, if in the long term it was about job
protection for certain departments- I resigned. (My line
manager was shocked as she could not understand why the
salary, car, benefits etc were not keeping me happy in the
job)
The last straw was when I was at a meeting with HR, H&S,
Benefits and they said that their were eqivilent to 27 F/T
staff mainly HR who they called occupational health 'staff'.
I am afaid that at that stage I explained that in a court of
law the only qualified OH specialist was myself- is that
right??
Oops I feel that I may have let off a little too much steam-
but could not help myself but add a bit to the debate.
But I feel that sometimes as OH professionls we are seen
as 'extras' and no-one quite knows where to put us.
Cheers
Clare
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