SafetyInsights.org

I re-read the AIHS’s OHS BOK chapter on “Organisational Culture: Reviewed and Repositioned” from David Borys.

I found the two attached redrafted extracts pretty interesting – highlighting the apparent empirical and practical challenges of safety culture.

The chapter also included a brief but interesting discussion around how climate and culture “are metaphors we use to describe the complex social systems that are organizations” and that there are “no clearly demarcated components called climate and culture. Rather they are perspectives on the same entity—the complex system” (p4).

Further, this perspective of metaphor is that neither safety culture nor safety climate “are ‘things’ that can be done to an organisation. Rather, they are ways of thinking about, talking about and understanding the complexity of work and the social systems at work within which risk exists”.

The question is then raised on why, in health and safety, is culture and climate “treated as ‘things’ to be managed rather than as metaphors for the complex social systems”? (pp7-8).

Pointedly, Borys suggests that perhaps “Safety culture qualifies as a myth because it has become a popular belief that appears to be an unfounded, false notion” and “Now may be the time to gently cast aside the construct of ‘safety culture”  (p17).

Although the empirical fuzziness between safety culture constructs and performance fits my reading of the literature, many –and fairly enough—challenge this view; with some published work suggesting that the safety culture construct may be better supported than other constructs.

In any case, it seems that the notion of “culture’s confusions” (p1) is still an apt description now as it was 20 years ago.

Source: Borys, D. (2020). Organisational culture: Reviewed and repositioned. In The Core Body of Knowledge for Generalist OHS Professionals. Tullamarine, VIC: Australian Institute of Health & Safety.

Link: https://www.ohsbok.org.au/2117-2/#1548328004983-899b528e-01e4/

Link to the LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benhutchinson2_i-re-read-the-aihss-ohs-bok-chapter-on-activity-7069797913115197440-W7H0?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop