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Towards a sociology of risk work: A narrative review and synthesis
Author(s) -
Gale Nicola K.,
Thomas Gareth M.,
Thwaites Rachel,
Greenfield Sheila,
Brown Patrick
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
sociology compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 31
ISSN - 1751-9020
DOI - 10.1111/soc4.12416
Subject(s) - sociology , subjectivity , context (archaeology) , narrative , work (physics) , diversity (politics) , identity (music) , risk society , risk management , field (mathematics) , epistemology , engineering ethics , social science , management , anthropology , engineering , mechanical engineering , paleontology , philosophy , linguistics , physics , mathematics , acoustics , pure mathematics , economics , biology
In this article, we define the concept of “risk work,” which aims to make visible working practices to assess or manage risk , in order to subject these practices to sociological critique. This article reviews and synthesizes existing published literature to identify components of risk work: (a) translating risk into different contexts, (b) minimizing risks in practice, and (c) caring in the context of risk. We argue that these three components of risk work raise important tensions for workers that have been inadequately explored in the literature to date. We propose that future research should additionally focus on practitioner subjectivity and identity in risk work. In addition, we argue that comparative research—across type of risk and different contexts—and methodological and theoretical diversity would enhance this emerging field of research.