Interdisciplinary research for occupational safety and health knowledge

Abstract

In this article, we argue for an interdisciplinary and pluralistic account of how occupational safety and health (OSH) is enacted in practice, informed by a critical understanding of OSH management and flow knowledge in organizations. We compare how in human factors and ergonomics, organization studies, and safety science this question is approached through different theoretical ‘lenses’, and with different analytical consequences. These approaches work with different concepts (systems, practices and behaviours) that situate human agency, and possibilities for practical intervention differently. To demonstrate this we draw on interdisciplinary research in to ‘Management of OSH in Networked Systems’, showing how mobilizing the concept of knowledge through different disciplinary frameworks can have implications for understanding safe working in networked organizations.