Mori Koji, Nagata Tomohisa, Kajiki Shigeyuki, Hino Yoshiyuki, Nagata Masako
Department of Occupational Health Practice and Management, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan.
Sangyo Eiseigaku Zasshi. 2013 Aug 21.
Objectives: It has become necessary for Japanese corporations to manage occupational health (OH) programs consistently throughout their organizations. Corporations need to clarify their health policies, develop standardized programs, assign OH staff, and ensure that they communicate with each other. To realize such conditions, many occupational physicians (OPs), who have the skills to lead corporation-wide OH activities, are now being assigned to head offices of corporations and referred to as corporate OH managers. However, there has been no research to date in Japan on their actual situation and function. We conducted an interview study of corporate OH managers to clarify their functions and positions in corporations. Subjects and Methods: We conducted semi-structural interviews with 14 corporate OH managers in large corporations employing more than 5,000 workers and multiple OPs. Interview scripts were coded to identify their functions as corporate OH managers and the context of their positions within corporate-wide OH management systems. Results: Five contexts were suggested. 1) Corporate OH managers played central roles in developing corporate health policies, standards and plans. 2) Head office department managers who supervised the sites distributed the policies and standards, and corporate OH managers instructed site OPs and OH staff. 3) In some corporations, corporate OH managers participated in the evaluation process of OH programs as part of occupational safety and health management systems or business audits. 4) Corporate OH managers led communications among OPs and OH staff by facilitating corporate OH meetings, and provided technical training. 5) Corporate OH managers in positions that enabled them to report directly or indirectly to decision makers (i.e., directors in charge) on human resource issues. Discussion: The results of this study suggest that companies that promote consistent company-wide OH programs also utilized the professional knowledge of OH managers as well as their decision-making skills and direction processes. They also suggest that these companies play significant roles in securing qualified OH professionals and reaching a common understanding of corporate OH systems. It is necessary to study cases of corporate OH managers to clarify their essential competences and to develop appropriate training programs.
日本企业有必要在整个组织中持续管理职业健康（OH）项目。企业需要明确其健康政策，制定标准化项目，安排职业健康工作人员，并确保他们之间相互沟通。为实现这些条件，许多具备领导全公司职业健康活动技能的职业医师（OPs）现在被分配到企业总部，并被称为企业职业健康经理。然而，迄今为止，日本尚未对他们的实际情况和职能进行研究。我们对企业职业健康经理进行了一项访谈研究，以阐明他们在企业中的职能和职位。
我们对14名在拥有5000多名员工且配备多名职业医师的大公司任职的企业职业健康经理进行了半结构化访谈。对访谈脚本进行编码，以确定他们作为企业职业健康经理的职能以及他们在全公司职业健康管理系统中的职位背景。
提出了五种情况。1）企业职业健康经理在制定企业健康政策、标准和计划方面发挥核心作用。2）监督各部门的总部部门经理分发政策和标准，企业职业健康经理指导各部门的职业医师和职业健康工作人员。3）在一些企业中，企业职业健康经理作为职业安全与健康管理系统或业务审计的一部分，参与职业健康项目的评估过程。4）企业职业健康经理通过组织企业职业健康会议来促进职业医师和职业健康工作人员之间的沟通，并提供技术培训。5）企业职业健康经理所处的职位使他们能够就人力资源问题直接或间接向决策者（即主管董事）汇报。
本研究结果表明，推行全公司一致的职业健康项目的公司还利用了职业健康经理的专业知识以及他们的决策技能和指导流程。这些结果还表明，这些公司在确保有资质的职业健康专业人员以及达成对企业职业健康系统的共识方面发挥着重要作用。有必要研究企业职业健康经理的案例，以明确他们的基本能力并制定适当的培训项目。
