TY - JOUR
T1 - Safety
T2 - A collective and embedded competency. An ethnographic study of safety practices at an industrial workplace in the Netherlands
AU - Biermann-Teuscher, Dorit
AU - Thissen, Lotte
AU - Horstman, Klasien
AU - Meershoek, Agnes
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was financially supported by ZonMW and SBCM. The funding source had no involvement in the collection, analysis, interpretation of the data, or decision to submit the article for publication.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s)
PY - 2024/2
Y1 - 2024/2
N2 - Introduction: Organizations place strong emphasis on the standardized occupational health and safety procedures to reduce work-related illnesses and workplace accidents. However, standardized procedures are not always followed up in daily work practices. Organizations must cope with the differences between standardized procedures and local adaptation by employees. Methods: This ethnographic field study at an industrial workplace in the Netherlands provides insights into employees’ everyday work practices, how these work practices are shaped, and how they relate to local occupational health and safety procedures. Acknowledging safety as a competency embedded in work practices, as introduced by Gherardi and Nicolini (2002), offers a theoretical point of view for looking beyond the dichotomy of standardization and local adaptations. Results: The results show that a standardized and noncontextualized occupational health and safety management system that focuses on accident-free days and compliance actually leads to ignorance of practical and tacit competences of workers and no learning and improvement of safety procedures can take place. However, our findings also illustrate how employees in their informal everyday work practices reduce the risks produced by the safety system itself. Conclusion: Overall, the results indicate that social interactions among employees, leaders, and management within the organization play an important role in workplace safety. The analysis highlights the value of vulnerability and trust in relationships at work to be able to learn and develop safety procedures that align with local demands. Practical applications: This study emphasizes the need for participatory approaches in creating safer and healthier workplaces. The cocreation of occupational health and safety (OHS) rules and procedures, however, can only function if they are combined with a responsive leadership style.
AB - Introduction: Organizations place strong emphasis on the standardized occupational health and safety procedures to reduce work-related illnesses and workplace accidents. However, standardized procedures are not always followed up in daily work practices. Organizations must cope with the differences between standardized procedures and local adaptation by employees. Methods: This ethnographic field study at an industrial workplace in the Netherlands provides insights into employees’ everyday work practices, how these work practices are shaped, and how they relate to local occupational health and safety procedures. Acknowledging safety as a competency embedded in work practices, as introduced by Gherardi and Nicolini (2002), offers a theoretical point of view for looking beyond the dichotomy of standardization and local adaptations. Results: The results show that a standardized and noncontextualized occupational health and safety management system that focuses on accident-free days and compliance actually leads to ignorance of practical and tacit competences of workers and no learning and improvement of safety procedures can take place. However, our findings also illustrate how employees in their informal everyday work practices reduce the risks produced by the safety system itself. Conclusion: Overall, the results indicate that social interactions among employees, leaders, and management within the organization play an important role in workplace safety. The analysis highlights the value of vulnerability and trust in relationships at work to be able to learn and develop safety procedures that align with local demands. Practical applications: This study emphasizes the need for participatory approaches in creating safer and healthier workplaces. The cocreation of occupational health and safety (OHS) rules and procedures, however, can only function if they are combined with a responsive leadership style.
KW - Accountability
KW - Collectivity
KW - Ethnography
KW - Organizational learning
KW - Safety management
KW - Situated work practices
KW - Tacit knowledge
KW - Workplace health
U2 - 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.10.012
DO - 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.10.012
M3 - Article
SN - 0022-4375
VL - 88
SP - 93
EP - 102
JO - Journal of Safety Research
JF - Journal of Safety Research
ER -