Occupational safety and health (OSH) faces complex challenges related to im/migration, social vulnerability and economic precarity that accompany the fundamental reorganization of work during the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Objective
To identify limitations of current approaches and facilitate the reintegration of a biosocial approach to OSH through the adoption of more holistic models of im/migration, work, and health.
Methods
Through the lens of Mexican labor im/migration to the United States, this paper explores a series of examples that highlight some of the conceptual limitations guiding research at the nexus of migration, work, and health.
Results
The reductionist approach to cause and effect of the biomedical model limits the ability of OSH to address the challenges related to the radical restructuring of the world of work. The externalization of the costs of maintaining and reproducing the workforce is guiding the restructuring of the world of work resulting in the growing vulnerability and insecurity that many workers face today. The legacy of colonialism continues to influence occupational health research and hinder efforts at reducing occupational health inequities.
Conclusions
Reintegration of a biosocial approach is essential to addressing the complex challenges related to current radical reorganization of the world of work.
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