Ep.30 What do safety professionals believe about themselves?

We use David’s paper, Benefactor or Burden, to frame our discussion today.

Topics:

• The distinction between role and identity.
• The stereotypes about the safety profession.
• Saturation.
• What to consider when hiring safety employees.
• Tertiary education.
• Change and the journey of safety.
• The values of safety professionals.
• What is important to talk about, when talking about safety professionals.

Quotes:

“Very few safety people describe themselves as bureaucrats.”

“...Just that word, ‘Professional’. It tended to be the case that people who had tertiary education thought of that as being important as part of being a professional.”

“We value belonging and involvement, but we also require authority to do some of our role.”

Resources:

Provan, D. J., Dekker, S. W., & Rae, A. J. (2018). Benefactor or Burden: Exploring the professional identity of safety professionals. Journal of safety research, 66, 21-32. 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2018.05.005

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