Safety is a mono-disciplinary endeavour, anchored to the philosophies of Rationalism, Positivism and Behaviourism. If you seek out knowledge from this industry, that’s the methodology that generates all that follows. The method that follows has been the same in safety since 1931. These dominant … [Read more...] about If You Want to Know About Culture, Don’t Start With Safety
behaviourism
Tolerance
Matt and I recently had a chat about the relationship of learning to zero (https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/890883153) and why zero ideology is anti-learning and anti-resilience. This was followed by another video where we discuss the nature of belief (https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/890886064) which … [Read more...] about Tolerance
Understanding Safety Incentive Schemes, A Question of Balance
There is no doubt that the darling of the safety industry is Behaviourism. Just look at the language of traditional safety and so called ‘safety differently’ and it’s all about capacity, people as objects, performance, measurement. Metrics, numerics and outputs. Behaviourism is a 1930s worldview … [Read more...] about Understanding Safety Incentive Schemes, A Question of Balance
Culture is NOT a Product nor a Construct
When culture is viewed through the lens of behaviourism and safety, it is asserted that culture is a ‘construct’ and ‘product’ (p.50). This is the assertion of Cooper in his chapter in Safety Cultures, Safety Models. When the lens is behaviourist safety, one can assert that risk is best tackled … [Read more...] about Culture is NOT a Product nor a Construct
Motivation and de-Motivation in Safety
One of the delusions of Behaviourism is that guilt and punitive consequence are motivational. The opposite is the case. There is endless research to demonstrate that the assumptions of Behaviourism don’t work. It’s quite straightforward: humans are not machines and not the sum of inputs and … [Read more...] about Motivation and de-Motivation in Safety
How Workers Really Make Decisions
How Workers Really Make Decisions Latest video by Dr Rob Long as a follow up to his previous article: How Do Workers Make Decisions? Video Transcript (video below this): I’m asked many, many times this question: “how do workers make decisions?” And, I decided I'll answer that with a brief video. … [Read more...] about How Workers Really Make Decisions
Cultural Orientation in Risk
One of the challenges for the safety industry is the myth of objectivity and the seduction of order and control. When one holds a thirst for power (through engineering and behaviourism) the last thing one wants to be told is that some things are ‘wicked’ … [Read more...] about Cultural Orientation in Risk
Ego First, Safety Second.
Ego Is Not a Dirty Word was the second studio album released by Australian pop rock band, Skyhooks, in July 1975. The lyrics of Skyhooks state (watch video below): If I did not have an ego, I would not be here tonight If I did not have an ego, I might not think that I was right If you did … [Read more...] about Ego First, Safety Second.
Safety Starts with Us
When you don’t get language and discourse, don’t understand linguistics (https://safetyrisk.net/culture-silences-in-safety-linguistics/ ) or semiotics or, culture (https://safetyrisk.net/category/safety-culture-silences/ ), videos like this make sense … [Read more...] about Safety Starts with Us
What is the Human Body for in Safety?
What is the Human Body for in Safety? The body-mind problem (https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/mind-body-problem ) ought to be a concern for anyone interested in how organisations tackle risk. The first thing to note is that whilst Safety is concerned about the body and how it gets … [Read more...] about What is the Human Body for in Safety?