A sequel to: I’m just not that into safety anymore Our most popular article this year! Why do you think that is? Rob's courage and honesty has certainly touched some nerves! I’m just not that into safety anymore I have spoken with a number of Managers over the past few months who have argued with … [Read more...] about I’m Still Not That Into Safety
paradox
Coping With Paradox and Ambiguity in Safety
One of the temptations of working in safety is to portray a ‘wicked problem’ as black and white, simple and easy (https://safetyrisk.net/risk-and-safety-as-a-wicked-problem/ ). A wicked problem is any problem that cannot be ‘fixed’ or ‘solved’ and the more one attempts to do so, the more ‘wicked’ … [Read more...] about Coping With Paradox and Ambiguity in Safety
Culture Silences in Safety – Ritual
Talking about ‘ritual’ in safety is a bit like talking about the war (see video below). Safety is so often noisy about petty risk and so silent about the many critical indicators of culture (https://safetyrisk.net/category/safety-culture-silences/ ). Just search for safety+culture+ritual and see … [Read more...] about Culture Silences in Safety – Ritual
The Paradox of Conformity and the Challenge for New Ideas
The Dynamics of Conformity The pressure to conform is the underlying dynamic of belonging to a group. If you don’t conform you soon become part of an out-group or shift to another in-group. In-groupness and out-groupness is a foundational study in Social Psychology ; … [Read more...] about The Paradox of Conformity and the Challenge for New Ideas
The Zero Safety Paradox
Found this interesting article posted recently by Jason Kunz and just wallowing in the Linkedin mud (HERE): The Zero Safety Paradox This is instalment four in a twelve-part series on the future of the Safety and Health (S&H) profession, and the Safety and Health professional. Insights are based … [Read more...] about The Zero Safety Paradox
The Compliance Conundrum
The challenge of compliance is also a challenge to critical thinking, this is one of the many paradoxes in risk and safety. When we comply or an organization seeks compliance this is all well and good only while things stay the same. When things change and adaptability is required to keep … [Read more...] about The Compliance Conundrum
The Paradox of “Lifesaving Rules”
The Paradox of “Lifesaving Rules” Guest Post by Danny Fay As part of my assignment in Unit 5 of the Diploma in Social Psychology of Risk, I am evaluating the paradox of “Lifesaving Rules” against the five principles of collective mindfulness as developed by Professor Karl Weick. Collective … [Read more...] about The Paradox of “Lifesaving Rules”
Happy New Year and the ‘Good Life’ Paradox
Happy New Year and the ‘Good Life’ Paradox “Happy New Year! I hope that for you and your family, it is a year of much happiness, health and success!” This salutation, and many versions of it, flood our social media feeds on this, the first day of 2019. It is a customary greeting (at least in our … [Read more...] about Happy New Year and the ‘Good Life’ Paradox
Safety Hits a Snag
Safety Hits a Snag The media and social media in Australia recently lit up over the overcooked Bunnings directive that sausage sizzle volunteers must place onions beneath the sausages in order to prevent slips and falls in their stores – supported by the trite platitude that safety is their “number … [Read more...] about Safety Hits a Snag
Safety, mental health and the safety paradox
It's great to see such a focus on mental health at the moment and the activities being conducted for RU OK day etc. However, I do wonder if perhaps we are over doing it and if such an overt, theatrical or contrived approach may have unintended, harmful by-products for people with mental health … [Read more...] about Safety, mental health and the safety paradox
