The EAOHP

EAOHP has its roots in discussions that began in 1997 between Tom Cox and colleagues at what would later be known as the Institute of Work, Health and Organisations, University of Nottingham (UK) and the departments of Occupational Medicine at Skive Syghus and Herning Syghus (Denmark). Those discussions led to the establishment of an organising committee, empowered by an enabling document signed in 1998, which was dedicated to bringing about “an institution [that is] urgently needed in Europe to bring together and support those concerned for research, teaching and practice in relation to psychological, social and organisational issues in occupational health, and to promote excellence in such activities”. EAOHP was formally constituted in 1999 at the First European Workshop on Occupational Health Psychology in Lund, Sweden, organised by the Universities of Lund and Kristianstad.

In 2006 the Academy was registered as a charity under English law, a move that served to ensure its continued growth as a formal, transparent and democratic operation that exists for the benefit of its members and the advancement of the discipline. To this end, EAOHP engages in a number of activities, including its biennial conference, the publication of its flagship journal Work & Stress, the publication of its newsletter the Occupational Health Psychologist, awarding fellowships to individuals who have made an exceptional contribution to OHP, as well as awards such as the Andre Bussing Memorial Prize to honour early career researchers and the Eusebio Rial-Gonzalez award for innovators and practitioners (in collaboration with EU-OSHA). EAOHP also jointly established the International Co-ordinating Group for Occupational Health Psychology (ICG-OHP) in 2000 to encourage collaboration between existing and emerging representative groups in shaping the future of OHP. In 2013 the EAOHP became a learned society member of the Academy of Social Sciences.