Waiting for safety: Responses by young Canadian workers to unsafe work

Tucker, Sean; Turner, Nick

doi:10.1016/j.jsr.2013.01.006

Cited by 58 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…For example, temporary workers in the construction industry are at greater risk for falls due to inadequate OH&S training, lack of use of personal protective equipment, and poor workplace health and safety management systems (Arcury et al, 2014;Dong et al, 2009). Temporary workers are also often young males assigned to the least desirable and most dangerous jobs Tucker and Turner, 2013), inexperienced, less knowledgeable about the job and unable to discern risk (McCloskey, 2008). Thus, the implementation of OH&S strategies can also prove more challenging in non-standardized working situations and arrangements.…”

Section: Labour Market Forces Productivity Pressures and Profit Overmentioning

confidence: 99%

Danger zone: Men, masculinity and occupational health and safety in high risk occupations

et al. 2015

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The workplace is a key setting where gender issues and organizational structures may influence occupational health and safety practices. The enactment of dominant norms of masculinity in high risk occupations can be particularly problematic, as it exposes men to significant risks for injuries and fatalities. To encourage multi-disciplinary collaborations and advance knowledge in the intersecting areas of gender studies, men's health, work and workplace health and safety, a national network of thirteen researchers and health and safety stakeholders completed a critical literature review examining the intersection between masculinities and men's workplace health and safety in order to: (i) account for research previously undertaken in this area; (ii) identify themes that may inform our understanding of masculinity and workplace health and safety and; (iii) identify research and practice gaps in relation to men's workplace health and safety. In this paper we present key themes from this review. Recommendations are made regarding: (i) how to define gender; (ii) how to attend to and identify how masculinities may influence workers' identities, perceptions of occupational risks and how institutionalized practices can reinforce norms of masculinity; (iii) the importance of considering how masculinities may intersect with

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Section: Labour Market Forces Productivity Pressures and Profit Overmentioning

confidence: 99%

Danger zone: Men, masculinity and occupational health and safety in high risk occupations

et al. 2015

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“…Barriers decrease an individual’s ability to engage in the preventive behavior. Young workers may perceive the lack of control over their work environment as an impediment to improving workplace safety and health (Tucker & Turner, 2013; Zakocs et al, 1998). Adolescents often refrain from voicing their health and safety concerns to their supervisors in part because of their desire to construct an identity as a mature and independent worker (Breslin, Polzer, et al, 2007).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lack of job-related knowledge, skills, and training; and lack of job control also contribute to heightened risk among younger workers, who might be less likely to recognize hazards, less likely to speak up regarding safety issues (Breslin, Polzer, et al, 2007; Tucker & Turner, 2013; Zakocs et al, 1998), and less aware of their legal rights as workers (NIOSH, 2003). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foundational workplace safety and health competencies for the emerging workforce

Okun

Guerin

Schulte

2016

Journal of Safety Research

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Introduction Young workers (aged 15–24) suffer disproportionately from workplace injuries, with a nonfatal injury rate estimated to be two times higher than among workers age 25 or over. These workers make up approximately 9% of the U.S. workforce and studies have shown that nearly 80% of high school students work at some point during high school. Although young worker injuries are a pressing public health problem, the critical knowledge and skills needed to prepare youth for safe and healthy work are missing from most frameworks used to prepare the emerging U.S. workforce. Methods A framework of foundational workplace safety and health knowledge and skills (the NIOSH 8 Core Competencies)was developed based on the Health Belief Model (HBM). Results The proposed NIOSH Core Competencies utilize the HBM to provide a framework for foundational workplace safety and health knowledge and skills. An examination of how these competencies and the HBM apply to actions that workers take to protect themselves is provided. The social and physical environments that influence these actions are also discussed. Conclusions The NIOSH 8 Core Competencies, grounded in one of the most widely used health behavior theories, fill a critical gap in preparing the emerging U.S. workforce to be cognizant of workplace risks. Practical applications Integration of the NIOSH 8 Core Competencies into school curricula is one way to ensure that every young person has the foundational workplace safety and health knowledge and skills to participate in, and benefit from, safe and healthy work. National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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“…Injury-prevention regulations are ineffective without enforcement (Tompa et al, 2007). Further, complaint-driven enforcement may be inappropriate for minors: they are less likely than adults to know and assert their rights and they face the power differential associated with adult-child relationships (Tucker and Turner, 2013;Bernstein et al, 2006). While parents may intend to intervene in workplace issues, it is unclear whether they do so (Usher et al, 2014;Runyan et al, 2011;Barnetson, 2010).…”

Section: Child Labour In Developed Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Prospects for Greater Enforcement of Teen Employment Laws in Alberta, Canada. “Politically, how do you make it relevant? […] Kill more young people!”

Barnetson

2015

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Summary This study uses a Delphi analysis to identify significant barriers to the development of sustained and meaningful pressure on the Alberta government to increase the enforcement of its laws regulating the employment of teenagers. In addition to general employment laws (e.g., wage payment, occupational health and safety) that appear to go broadly unenforced, Alberta also appears not to enforce laws specifying the hours during which teens may work, the occupations in which they may work and the job tasks they may perform. The result is wage theft, workplace injury and illegal forms of employment among teens. The seven Delphi panelists—a mixture of academics, trade unionists and staff members in not-for-profit agencies with an interest in employment matters—identify a tight business-government relationship as an important limit on the political opportunities available to insurgents seeking change. Insurgents must also grapple with a framing that minimizes concerns around teen employment, i.e. by framing illegal or injurious work as an educational rite of passage and complaints as whining. Together, these barriers significantly limit the opportunities to pressure the state to enhance enforcement. Panelists also noted that there is no mobilizing structure in place that teenage workers and their allies can access. Alberta’s labour movement has had limited success organizing the service sector (where most teens are employed). Some panelists suggested leveraging the widespread sexual harassment of female teen workers as a way to access existing networks and resources in feminist and labour organizations. Other panelists argued that focusing on sexual harassment would emphasize individual employers’ misbehaviour and obscure the class-based nature of inadequate enforcement. Most panelists suggested that highlighting the socially inappropriate nature of the death or serious injury of teen workers would be the best way to destabilize the existing barriers to better enforcement of employment laws. The opportunity to do so is (fortunately) rare and may be difficult to leverage. Indeed, research on high profile occupational fatalities in Canada (e.g., the Westray Mine disaster) suggests that such fatalities do not have a significant effect on state enforcement efforts. In the meantime, advocates such as organized labour and community groups may also work to alter conventional views of teen employment by supporting educational or artistic endeavours that problematize teen employment. This could include identifying the risks and consequences of the non-enforcement of laws regulating the employment of teens (such as injury and wage theft) as well as highlighting the reasons why teen workers warrant the enforcement of their workplace rights by the state.

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Waiting for safety: Responses by young Canadian workers to unsafe work

Cited by 58 publications

References 32 publications

Danger zone: Men, masculinity and occupational health and safety in high risk occupations

Danger zone: Men, masculinity and occupational health and safety in high risk occupations

Foundational workplace safety and health competencies for the emerging workforce

The Prospects for Greater Enforcement of Teen Employment Laws in Alberta, Canada. “Politically, how do you make it relevant? […] Kill more young people!”

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