Jean-Pierre Brun

Jean-Pierre Brun held the Chair in Occupational Health and Safety Management for two decades. A pioneer in his field, he established the world's first specialized MBA in occupational health and safety management and has been a trusted advisor to numerous government agencies, businesses, and unions.

Pioneering a new discipline

Professor Brun's commitment and skills were instrumental in establishing the Faculty of Business Administration (FSA) as a centre of excellence in occupational health and safety (OHS) management. His pioneering work was recognized as early as 1998, when he won FSA's Hermès Award for Research Excellence. In 2000, he was awarded the Chair in Occupational Health and Safety Management and broke new ground by creating an MBA in the field. Today this internationally renowned MBA program is the pride of the FSA, which is now home to five other professors specializing in organizational health.

In 2002, Professor Brun founded the Quebec Occupational Health and Safety Research Network, which brings together more than 100 researchers in the aim of supporting knowledge development and providing a framework for collaborative research in OHS.

He also trained more than 200 students and supervised 29 graduate students in the field of OHS management over the course of his career.

Taking concrete action to promote worker health

Recognized for his innovative scientific achievements, Professor Brun has conducted research on OHS management in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), recognition at work, and stress prevention strategies. In 2005, he published a series of fact sheets entitled La reconnaissance au travail, with over 5,000 copies in print and more than 10,000 downloads. He has also written five books, including Le pouvoir de la reconnaissance (The power of recognition at work), which won the HR Recognition Award for «Book of the Year» from Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agréés. He recently co-authored Santé psychologique au travail et COVID-19 (COVID-19 and mental health in the workplace) to promote wellness in the workplace during the pandemic.

Professor Brun's expertise has frequently led him to work with organizations and public decision makers, particularly to improve OHS prevention strategies. He served as member of the college of experts of France's National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies' to help define national guidelines for the prevention of psychosocial workplace hazards and has also acted as scientific advisor to the Commission des normes du travail on the prevention of workplace psychological harassment, and to the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail on provisions to prevent psychosocial hazards in the workplace. His contributions to the world of work earned him a Canada Award for Excellence in the Healthy Workplace category from the Canadian Healthy Workplace Council in 2005, and a professional achievement award in 2020 from Société québécoise de psychologie du travail et des organisations.