Amid a sometimes violently choppy sea of transition taking place today at work, environmental safety and health professionals must prove their relevancy in business terms. They must go above and beyond what is perceived to be "their job," best-selling author and business consultant Dr. Oren Harari told attendees at a workshop this week sponsored by the American Society of Safety Engineers.

Many Fortune 500 companies from the 1980s no longer exist, Harari said. "It is predicted that by the year 2020 the average life of a Fortune 500 company will be 10 years."