>> Support materials: Chapter 17


Chapter 17: The social basis of health and illness

 

Case studies Video clips Weblinks Further reading Podcasts
Case studies Video clips Weblinks Further reading Podcasts

 

Case study

Does work make you sick? A sociology of workplace health and safety
Employers and governments, influenced by industrial psychologists, have traditionally focused on individualistic explanations of work-related health problems, blaming 'careless' and 'accident-prone' workers (Quinlan 1988). A sociological perspective highlights the role of social structures, particularly economic, political, and cultural factors that underpin the work environment and create potentially unhealthy workplaces.

Safety precautions can be viewed as costly by employers, who may seek to maximise profit at the expense of workers' health (Germov 2005). Governments have also been lax in regulating occupational health and safety for fear of imposing an economic burden on employers that may act as a disincentive for capital investment. Unions were also slow to address workplace health and safety, initially pursuing bonus payments of 'danger money' rather than seeking to address hazardous conditions. Since the 1980s, significant occupational health and safety laws and regulations have led to improved working conditions, though continuing high rates of occupational death and illness suggest there is still significant room for improvement.

References and further reading
Germov, J. 2005, 'Class, health inequality, and social justice', in J. Germov (ed), Second Opinion: An Introduction to Health Sociology, 3rd edn, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, pp. 67–94.
Mayhew, C. & Peterson, C.L. (eds), Occupational Health and Safety in Australia, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, pp. 28–51.
Quinlan, M. 1988, 'Psychological and sociological approaches to the study of occupational illness: A critical review', Australia and New Zealand Journal of Sociology, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 189–206.
Schofield, T. 2009, 'Workplace health', in J. Germov (ed) Second Opinion: An Introduction to Health Sociology, 4th edn, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, pp. 111–29.

Discussion questions

  1. What are some examples of the way employers and governments can make workplaces healthier and safer?
  2. To what extent are individuals responsible for workplace health and safety?