The situation caused by the pandemic demands addressing new problems that emerge in the workplace psychosocial scenario. Biological risks and biosafety conditions at work are not new topics, but, without a doubt, they acquire a relevant importance in the current circumstances.
As the International Labor Organization has recognized, due to previous similar situations, workplaces are key to preventing and controlling transmission. Appropriate safety and health measures at work can help contain the spread of the disease and thus protect workers and society in general.
We are currently experiencing a fifth wave of infections, and we see how current measures have evolved. The decrease in restrictions is not an invitation to continue without preventive measures, such as the use of face masks in closed spaces. In the conditions of the post-Covid stage, or the return to what has been called a “new normality”, to convey the return to a daily life that is urgent to be rescued, the need to incorporate biosecurity measures in a very specific way prevails. and permanent in all work contexts, monitor the daily behavior of oneself and of the work team, recognizing vulnerability due to latent biological danger and protection as the only safe way to behave in the face of it.
In this sense, it is imperative to promote a culture of biosafety in the workplace, incorporating the inherent standards as part of the role played, to prevent possible outbreaks. On the other hand, it is suggested that the prevention of occupational risks is not limited to the management of individual protection equipment and we add, compliance with biosafety protocols, but also, and just as importantly, includes monitoring of the effects of the occupational psychosocial risks resulting from the impact of the changes that have occurred on mental and physical health, as diverse are the current situations to which the working population must respond, so it must be contextualized at the time and place, with flexibility, creativity and basically with skills to manage these risks.
However, there are general aspects that can be detected and where actions should be directed that, in a general sense, are aimed at promoting and maintaining a safe work environment with a culture of health protection and… well-being. The publications of the experiences that have been obtained from his course in other countries have been reviewed. Initially these come from China, —since they started with the pandemic— due to the emotional impact on health personnel who worked directly with patients, and those related to the effects of confinement at home and guidance to the various population groups also appear. to mitigate the damage. In addition, the measures adopted by the country in this area have been observed, as well as unstructured open interviews and participant observations carried out in our context.
The situation caused by the pandemic has impacted all areas of life and has also become a problem for occupational health. The psychology of occupational health as a discipline participates to mitigate the psychosocial consequences of the situation generated as a result of the high psychological demands to which the personnel who work in person are exposed, in the conditions of biological risk resulting from the pandemic.
The pandemic has left us with many lessons that are still being studied, but it has also left us with another type of collateral damage that should not be overlooked. We will see in the immediate future.
