A wave of retirements is coming in the next three to five years, the likes of which we have never seen in the past. Plus, each of us knows at least one or two EHS professionals who either lost their jobs, took advantage of early retirement options or left the field entirely in the 1990s, a period in which vast numbers of employees had to face the economic realities of downsizing, outsourcing and organizational restructuring.
Many of the remaining EHS professionals are now inundated with work. In today's competitive marketplace, staffing levels are essentially static and budgets are remaining constant. Significant progress in solving many safety and health concerns has led industry and government managers to feel quite content about safety and health issues - even though we know that much more demanding challenges are on the horizon, if not already in our backyards.