Lately, I have been very critical of some self-published OHS books. I am not against this form of publishing, but the books need to be high-quality and professional; otherwise, they are, at best, short-term marketing and, at worst, vanity publishing.
Continue reading “Self‑publishing: credibility and context”Category: book
Poor Editing Undermines Good Safety Thinking
There is a strong trend among occupational health and safety (OHS) professionals and leadership coaches to self-publish books. Printing technology has made this much easier than previously. Artificial Intelligence will make it more so. The content might be okay, but many of these books need professional editing. Reading and learning are not just about the words on the page but also about the experience of reading a book that should become a treasured friend and a reliable reference.
Sadly, I recently purchased a book that is full of good intentions, but it’s not enjoyable.
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Stop Blaming Workers for Problems They Didn’t Create
Australian occupational health and safety (OHS) is moving from a focus on interventions at the individual worker level to examination of the operational and managerial systems that may cause or encourage harm and incidents, especially in relation to psychological safety at work.
Although a new book from the United States does not address OHS specifically, its long title indicates its relevance – “It’s On You – How the Rich and Powerful Have Convinced Us That We’re to Blame for Society’s Deepest Problems”.
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Revisiting the Human Condition of Work: Why Dignity Still Sits at the Centre of Safety
Discussions about “the human condition” rarely make it into board papers or safety strategies, yet they sit underneath almost every modern workplace challenge. Whether we’re talking about psychosocial hazards, insecure work, presenteeism, or the slow cultural erosion that comes from constant restructuring, the through‑line is unmistakable: work is a profoundly human activity, and when we forget that, harm follows.
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Travelling Through Australia’s Beautiful and Broken Mining Country
Lindsay Fitzclarence‘s travelogue “The Dirty Life of Mining in Australia” is a thought-provoking work that combines social, economic, industrial, indigenous, and environmental perspectives into a journey across Australia. Occupational health and safety (OHS) is one theme, but it is part of many, and the book is better for it.
Continue reading “Travelling Through Australia’s Beautiful and Broken Mining Country”
The American Approach to Psychological Safety
Harvard Business Review (HBR) is an active publisher of articles on business management. In 2024, it released a collection of essays on psychological safety as part of its Emotional Intelligence series. HBR’s psychological safety advice is written for a U.S. corporate audience. It largely ignores the legislative duties that shape psychosocial risk management in Australia, so the advice should be considered with great caution.
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When Ideology Masquerades as Analysis
I pride myself on listening to a broad range of views, so I purchased a recent book called “The Dark Legacy of Daniel Andrews – Assessing the Social and Economic Costs of Australia’s Most Controversial Premier“. Reading it stretched my patience as few of the various writers acknowledged that Premier Dan Andrews saved many lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, even though his very long lockdowns were economically and psychologically damaging.
I read this book looking for factual accuracy, analytical rigour, ideological framing, and relevance to OHS. It missed almost all my expectations.
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