The president of the Association for Psychological Science recently published a column titled, “The Publication Arms Race.” Dr. Lisa Feldman Barret’s central point is that we professors are rewarded mainly for our publications, and mainly for the quantity of those publications.

Whether in mining, construction, fabrication and assembly, equipment installation and repair, or other industries, there is a shortage of skilled tradesmen/ technicians to do essential work.

The term “burnout” is used loosely to describe being worn out, exhausted, or frazzled. It actually refers to a specific work-stress-related syndrome that has a long history in the psychological research literature.

What is a High Reliability Organization? The work is highly technical and complex, operators require a high level of technical training and certification, and the consequences of error can be catastrophic. Hence, “it has to be done right every time.”

In these days and times, knowing what we know, with most cars buzzing or beeping until the seat belt is fastened, why on earth would anyone choose to drive or ride without the obvious and easy protection that safety belts provide?

Most employees, whatever place they occupy on the org chart, can’t make everyone else do what they want just because they said so. Even if they could, influence works much better than force.

A colleague of mine is an executive in a truly excellent company, one very explicit about its “Culture of High Performance.”

A serious movement is afoot to systematize the concept of “safety culture.” The International Labour Organization has put forward a definition of a “preventative safety and health culture,” and ISO is apparently discussing prospective prescriptive requirements for a “positive culture.”