Towards a sociology of risk work: a narrative review and synthesis

Gale, Nicola, Thomas, Gareth ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4959-2337, Thwaites, Rachel, Greenfield, Sheila and Brown, Patrick 2016. Towards a sociology of risk work: a narrative review and synthesis. Sociology Compass 10 (11) , pp. 1046-1071. 10.1111/soc4.12416

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Abstract

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 in the field of health to identify components of risk work: 1) translating risk into different contexts; 2) minimizing risks in practice, and; 3) 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.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HM Sociology H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Uncontrolled Keywords:	management, occupations, organizations, risk, science and medicine, subjects, work
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell
ISSN:	1751-9020
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	1 August 2016
Date of Acceptance:	1 August 2016
Last Modified:	07 Nov 2023 02:58
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/93448

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