I met Desai Link over a Linkedin post where he discussed his ‘unease’ with what is often asked of safety people. I found his questioning uplifting and encouraging. So, we made contact and began a series of conversations over a few months and in the end decided to record one of our discussions (https://vimeo.com/1183987273).
In many of our previous discussions we just explored some open questions about the nature of working in safety, the moral and legal ignorance of the industry, the cognitive dissonance the industry maintains and, a practical way forward in thinking and acting on risk.
We start our discussion with the nature of belief and what safety ‘believes’. This includes belief in: slogans, the myth of objectivity, faith in procedures, anchoring to compliance and a silence on ethics. We use the metaphor of ‘hotbed’ where the seeds of these beliefs are sewn.
Desai came from a career in Law to safety and discusses his perceptions of the industry including, a sophisticated understanding of compliance. This leads to a discussion of ethics and morals in the context of how Safety understands itself.
We discuss the nature of ‘rights’ and the belief that Safety has a right to override other rights. Indeed, simply because one believes one works in a ‘noble’ occupation. We then discuss the purpose of safety and the nature of safety work. Are people Safety? Does Safety ‘save lives’? What is the duty of Safety? We finish the podcast on the note of legal and moral significance and perhaps a follow up discussion on these matters and the nature of Justice.
You can see our discussion here:
Prof. Robert Long
Latest posts by Prof. Robert Long (see all)
- Weick’s Expectations of the Unexpected - May 13, 2026
- The Non-Revolution in Safety - May 12, 2026
- Suspending Your Agenda to Begin Learning in Risk - May 11, 2026
- The De-Ethicization of the Object in Safety - May 9, 2026
- Weick’s Organising as ‘Consensually Validated Grammar’ - May 9, 2026
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