Occupational epidemiology has a long and proud history, dating back to the early 1700s. Many of the core techniques and methods we use in epidemiology were originally developed to solve methodological problems arising during studies of the health of workers. Since the 1970s however, there has been less and less interest and activity in the field of occupational epidemiology. I will discuss reasons why this might be, and talk about why the work-health connection still matters to you and your research and how it will matter even more beyond 2018.