Proposals are welcome from researchers, practitioners, and students across the many fields that study and improve working life. WSH 2027 asks how changes in work, including AI, automation, and new forms of work organization, can be guided by evidence, worker voice, and a commitment to health and dignity, so that work serves people and not the other way around.
Key dates
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Proposal deadline: posters, papers, symposia, panels, idea development sessions | November 9, 2026 (extended from November 1) |
| Notification of decisions (emailed to the corresponding presenter) | January 2027 |
| Award competition manuscripts due (nominees only) | February 2027 |
| Late-breaking research proposals | March 1, 2027 |
| Early registration ends | March 30, 2027 |
| Preconference Doctoral Consortium | Monday, June 21, 2027 |
| Main conference | June 22–24, 2027 |
| Post-conference activities (e.g., mid-career retreat) | June 25, 2027 |
Four thematic pillars
Each proposal is linked to one or more pillars.
1. The Basics, Revisited
Core occupational health psychology science, such as job demands and resources, stress and health, safety, burnout, and recovery. What do we know with confidence, and what have we overlooked?
2. The Human and the Machine
AI, surveillance, algorithmic management, and platform work, studied as a lens on worker health and dignity rather than as a separate technology track. Who benefits from claimed efficiency gains, and what do they cost workers?
3. Coloring Outside the Lines
Interdisciplinary, innovative, and boundary-crossing work, including research with historically underserved workers such as those in manufacturing, agriculture, domestic work, migrant labor, and the informal economy.
4. From Evidence to Change
Intervention science, policy translation, practitioner application, and organizational implementation. How well do current efforts work, and how can they improve?
Submission formats
| Format | Structure | Session length |
|---|---|---|
| Poster | Grouped by topic in dedicated poster sessions, with no competing sessions. Same review standards as papers. | Poster session |
| Paper | Individual papers assembled into themed sessions with a chair; up to four presenters per session. You can say whether you would accept a poster instead. | Presentations followed by 10–20 min Q&A |
| Symposium | One chair (who may also present), three to four presenters, optional discussant. Submitted as one proposal. | 70 or 90 min (90-min slots limited); 15–20 min Q&A |
| Panel | One chair and four to eight panelists; about half the session is interactive discussion. Well suited to practitioners. | 70 or 90 min (90-min slots limited); 15–20 min Q&A |
| Idea Development Session (new!) | 8–10 minutes to present a project and get developmental feedback from experienced discussants. Priority to early career scholars. | Paper-session format |
| Late-Breaking Research | Very recent results; considered mainly for posters, some for papers. Deadline March 1, 2027. | Poster or paper |
What to prepare
- Title: no more than 25 words.
- Abstract: no more than 250 words; it appears in the online program.
- Topics: up to three primary topics, each with up to three secondary topics.
- Pillar(s) and the relevant two-digit NAICS industry sector(s).
- All authors in presentation order, with roles, affiliations, and contact information.
- Optional: research-design focus, award nomination, and Idea Development checkboxes.
- Review file (Word or PDF), up to 800 words excluding title, references, tables, and figures, with no identifying information.
The review file should include:
- Purpose and objectives, with hypotheses or research questions where applicable
- Background: the literature, context, and gaps the work addresses
- Methods: design, sampling, measures, procedures, and analyses, with a clear statement of how far the work has progressed
- Findings, with tables and figures where helpful. Analyses must be complete by the conference, or the proposal must describe the plan for completing them
- Discussion: interpretation, strengths, limitations, comparison with prior work, practical implications, and future directions
Presenter guidelines
- Submitting a proposal is a commitment to present at the conference. Presenters must attend at their scheduled time or arrange a suitable substitute.
- Rule of Three: each person may be lead author or presenter on no more than three submissions, in any format.
- Work that is already published, presented at another conference, or accepted for publication should not be submitted unless the planning committee invites it.
- Review is anonymized. Do not include author information in the abstract or review file.
- If you have religious or other scheduling constraints, note them when you submit.
Awards
- Best Intervention Competition recognizes outstanding intervention evaluations in which researchers partner with industry and/or labor to prevent injury and illness and promote safety and health.
- Best Student Research Competition recognizes outstanding student research in occupational health psychology.
Opt in using the award checkbox when you submit. Nominees will be asked for a full manuscript in February 2027.
Who should submit
WSH brings together the behavioral and social sciences; business and industry (labor, management, HR, law, safety, insurance, and workers’ compensation); medicine (occupational and environmental medicine, occupational health nursing, psychiatry); public and occupational health (epidemiology, industrial hygiene, safety engineering, health promotion); social services (social work, employee assistance, crisis counseling); and the military, emergency response, and public safety.
Questions?
- Program and submissions: Dr. Kimberly French, Program Chair — programwsh@sohp-online.org
- General conference questions: Dr. Ashley Nixon and Dr. M. Gloria González-Morales, Conference Co-Chairs — wsh@sohp-online.org
- Sponsorship: sponsorwsh@sohp-online.org