We caught up with Simon to talk about the brilliant work he has been doing lately with the leading Health and Safety magazine, IOSH (The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health).
After displaying an interest in philosophical concepts such as workplace morality and ethics, Simon was approached by IOSH and asked to facilitate a number of webinars for its branches across the UK.
The first webinar Simon hosted was delivered to the IOSH’s Southern branch. During this presentation, Simon facilitated discussions surrounding workplace ethics and morality, exploring the different ethical models and their implications for the design and management of work related health, safety and well-being interventions.
The topics of applied philosophy and psychology in the workplace are relatively new to the health, safety and wellbeing industry. But after many years of self-learning and academic study Simon has definitely sparked interest from all aspects of the industry.
The second webinar involved discussions on intellectual humility and its influence on health, safety and wellbeing at work. This session was delivered to the IOSH south west branch and in a feedback survey sent out after the webinar, Simon was marked as excellent for speaker delivery skills and content by attendees. The webinar is available to watch online here.
Simon commented: “One way to think about intellectual humility is consider whether we have an appropriate awareness of our own knowledge. You may think that what you know is more important or in-depth than it is, and even fall foul of the Dunning Kruger effect. This is where ones lack of knowledge about a subject results in their inability to recognise how little they know. Intellectual humility is a relatively new concept but its significance is fast becoming widely accepted across a wide variety business sectors. Simon has to date completed three courses on Intellectual Humility each of which were designed and presented by Edinburgh University’s philosophy department.
Simon commented “I am really interested in how the topic of philosophy transfers into health, safety and wellbeing. When IOSH approached me to share my learnings on this I was over the moon. I found the sessions highly rewarding and enjoyed meeting new people from across the industry.”
Most recently, Simon was asked to speak at the OSH India Occupational Safety and Health Expo. Simon discussed how forming a social contract between peers can greatly improve employee engagement, standards of work and build supportive workplace relationships. Drawing on his vast experience working in the industry, Simon was able to stimulate debate amongst attendees, encouraging them to consider the bigger picture behind the norms in the sector.
The current climate has presented us with challenges that we have had to overcome in terms of delivering training and remaining connected to the industry using virtual resources. Simon added: “I am proud of the team and how well we have adapted in these circumstances. I am also grateful for the global platform that IOSH has provided me with, enabling me to communicate with a whole new network of businesses from across the UK and beyond.”