Well, you have to hand it to the zero industry. Going into the abyss in a tissue box armed with a Cert 4 OHS. And what is this minefield? ISO 45003:2021 OHS Safety Management – Psychosocial Health and Safety at Work – Guidelines for Managing Psychosocial Risks. Only the industry of zero, metrics, … [Read more...] about Welcome to the Nightmare, Safety Creates its Own Minefield (as usual)
Psychological Health and Safety
Psychological health and safety is arguably the number one emerging issue for organisations. What are you doing to understand and support your people?
Some Christmas Reading for Risk and Safety People
Some Christmas Reading for Risk and Safety People (editors note: Try “Fallibility and Risk” by Dr Rob Long – its free to download here: https://safetyrisk.net/free-safety-ebooks/ ) Christmas and New Years is often a time to catch up on some reading and relax on the beach or by a river and take … [Read more...] about Some Christmas Reading for Risk and Safety People
Toxic Positivity in Safety Doesn’t Help Anyone
Image Source There is much to be said for having a positive attitude to things but there is no great value in being naïve or maintaining a delusion. It’s all about striking a balance and this is what we do in SPoR. The purpose of criticism and deconstruction in SPoR is to improve something and … [Read more...] about Toxic Positivity in Safety Doesn’t Help Anyone
A Picture Tells a Thousand Lies in Safety
‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ ‘Seeing is believing’ These are common aphorisms about photographic media and images. Unfortunately, these aphorisms have never been true. No image is objective or neutral but rather carries a story that must be interpreted. Now, more than ever with … [Read more...] about A Picture Tells a Thousand Lies in Safety
Shock and Fear in Safety
Shock and Fear in Safety There is a naïve belief in the safety industry that shocking people and the dynamics of fear are effective. We see this in the many ‘horror’ photos and clips in the sector as well as the countless injured people who are trotted out with the message ‘don’t be like me’. Even … [Read more...] about Shock and Fear in Safety
Sexual Harassment and Safety Cosmetics
Sexual Harassment and Safety Cosmetics Understanding an Ethic of Risk (https://safetyrisk.net/ethics-morality-and-an-ethic-of-risk/) is not about ‘duty’, we see this in the failed deontological ethic of the AIHS BoK Chapter 38.3 … [Read more...] about Sexual Harassment and Safety Cosmetics
Six Tips to Improve Your Safety Conversations
Six Tips to Improve Your Safety Conversations Whilst discussion and conversation is well intentioned it is also important to ensure that our discourse promotes effective culture. I was in a mine recently when I saw a document posted on the walls entitled ‘Six Tips to Improve Your Safety … [Read more...] about Six Tips to Improve Your Safety Conversations
Mental Health and the Safety Habitus
Mental Health and the Safety Habitus How is the safety industry equipped to tackle the challenges of mental health? What assumptions about personhood and ‘mind’ dominate the safety sector? Do these assumptions help or hinder an holistic approach to tackling mental health at work? These questions … [Read more...] about Mental Health and the Safety Habitus
Understanding Psychological Terminology
Understanding Psychological Terminology and Applying it to Safety and Risk. More Detail Here: Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk And SafetyAll professions (intentionally and unintentionally) create language, acronyms and discourse that create territory and challenges for understanding. This … [Read more...] about Understanding Psychological Terminology
Psychosocial Controls and Measures for Who?
The fixation and psychosis of the safety industry with ‘controls’ and ‘measures’ creates the delusion that psychosocial issues can be controlled and measured. When it comes to psychosocial issues, the last thing that helps is quantitative language and simplistic mythology. And the latest Worksafe … [Read more...] about Psychosocial Controls and Measures for Who?