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Deaths in the Workplace and the Dynamics of Response
Author(s) -
Sinclair Amanda,
Haines Fiona
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of contingencies and crisis management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.007
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1468-5973
pISSN - 0966-0879
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-5973.1993.tb00015.x
Subject(s) - public relations , set (abstract data type) , order (exchange) , unconscious mind , organizational dynamics , displacement (psychology) , organizational culture , business , psychology , political science , social psychology , criminology , computer science , finance , psychoanalysis , psychotherapist , programming language
Deaths in the workplace are traumatic events from which most organizations involved recoil rather than scrutinise. This paper explores workplace fatalities in multiple employer worksites over a year in Victoria, Australia. Individuals and organizations involved demonstrate conscious and unconscious defences in order to distance themselves from the trauma and deal with anxiety. Legal processes introduce a new set of defences in displacement of responsibility and blaming. Most involved in fatality fail to confront the crisis and to learn from it. In contrast, in a few cases, managers and organizations exhibit reflective responses which enable them to examine the circumstances of the death, deal with legal proceedings and initiate organizational changes. To enhance reflectiveness, a combination of managerial, organizational and legal remedies are described. In particular, the development of organizational cultures which promote safety is argued but in ways which recognise the complex cultures and subcultures of worksites where many fatalities occur.