Citation

Le Coze JC. Int. J. Occup. Safety Ergonomics 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Centralny Instytut Ochrony Pracy - Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10803548.2023.2298561

PMID

38153757

Abstract

Something is not right in the safety profession. Many books written by professionals in the 2010s express a strong discontent. These professionals are highly critical of their situation, practice, role and identity. In these books, they express what this article describes as the "blues of safety professionals". Although varying in writing style, tone, theoretical inspiration, emphasis, and experience, they address similar issues which relate to practices corresponding, in their eyes, to outmoded, inadequate, or even perverse ideas. The aim of this article is to introduce, summarise, explain, and problematise the significance of this literature. Following a methodological section, the 'safety professional blues' is introduced. It is argued in another section that the 'blues' pinpoints what these authors consider to be flawed assumptions about many of the core ingredients of the safety profession. The roots of this discontent are the topic of another section, while a final section problematises the 'blues'.

Language: en