Home-based Work in Victorian Britain : Insights for Contemporary Occupational Health and Safety

Home-based work has increased in recent decades and intensified as a result of policies created to control the spread of COVID-19, creating a labour market in rapid transition. Yet little attention has been paid to the issues associated with occupational health and safety or to how employers will monitor and maintain employee health and safety in a home-based work environment. Using historical case studies from Victorian Britain, this book reflects on the past to examine resurfacing health and safety concerns that shaped, and continue to shape, the home-based working experience.Anchored by family research case studies, this book presents documents and newspaper accounts about the diverse experiences of three real people who lived and worked from their homes in the Victorian era. Supported by academic and popular literature on work and policy about the era, the book discusses changing worldviews and social context that shaped occupational health and safety at the time and critiques the outcomes of policies and practices that were challenged to address these risks. The case study experiences are used as a touchstone between the past and present to draw parallels between important health and safety concerns that may be resurfacing in our modern post-COVID transition to home-based work.This book will be a valuable resource for researchers, academics and postgraduate students of occupational health and safety, occupational science, labour history and human resource management, as well as Victorian studies. It will also be of interest to policymakers and practitioners working across the fields of workplace and occupational health and safety. "Home-based work has increased in recent decades and intensified as a result of policies created to control the spread of Covid-19, creating a labour market in rapid transition. Yet little attention has been paid to the issues associated with occupational health and safety or to how employers will monitor and maintain employee health and safety in a home-based work environment. Using historical case studies from Victorian Britain, this book reflects on the past to examine resurfacing health and safety concerns that shaped, and continue to shape, the home-based working experience. Anchored by family research case studies, this book presents documents and newspaper accounts about the diverse experiences of three real people who lived and worked from their homes in the Victorian era. Supported by academic and popular literature on work and policy about the era, the book discusses changing worldviews and social context that shaped occupational health and safety at the time and critiques the outcomes of policies that were challenged to address these risks. The case study experiences are used as a touchstone between the past and present to draw parallels between important health and safety concerns that may be resurfacing in our modern post-COVID transition to home-based work. This book will be a valuable resource for researchers, academics and postgraduate students of occupational health and safety, occupational science, labour history, and human resource management, as well as Victorian studies. It will also be of interest to policy makers and practitioners working across the fields of workplace and occupational health and safety"-- Home- based work has increased in recent decades and intensified as a result of policies created to control the spread of COVID-19, creating a labour market in rapid transition. Yet little attention has been paid to the issues associated with occupational health and safety or to how employers will monitor and maintain employee health and safety in a home- based work environment. Using historical case studies from Victorian Britain, this book reflects on the past to examine resurfacing health and safety concerns that shaped, and continue to shape, the home- based working experience.Anchored by family research case studies, this book presents documents and newspaper accounts about the diverse experiences of three real people who lived and worked from their homes in the Victorian era. Supported by academic and popular literature on work and policy about the era, the book discusses changing worldviews and social context that shaped occupational health and safety at the time and critiques the outcomes of policies that were challenged to address these risks. The case study experiences are used as a touchstone between the past and present to draw parallels between important health and safety concerns that may be resurfacing in our modern post-COVID transition to home-based work. This book will be a valuable resource for researchers, academics and postgraduate students of occupational health and safety, occupational science, labour history and human resource management, as well as Victorian studies. It will also be of interest to policymakers and practitioners working across the fields of workplace and occupational health and safety. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Foreword Acknowledgements 1 Introduction Background and Outline Defining Terms Healthy Occupational Health and Safety Well-being Home-based Work Something to Think About ... References 2 Family-Based Research and the Challenge of Critical Subjectivities Introduction What Is a Worldview? Critical Research Postmodernism and Critical Subjectivities Gödel Foucault Where Does Family-Based Research Fit In? Something to Think About ... References 3 Intersectionality Introduction What Is Intersectionality? Something to Think About ... References 4 Case Study 1 Legislation Associated With this Case Study Introduction Putting Things in Context Worldviews Privilege and Power Something to Think About ... References 5 Case Study 2 Legislation Associated With this Case Study Introduction Putting Things in Context Worldview Privilege and Power Something to Think About ... References 6 Case Study 3 Legislation Associated With this Case Study Introduction Putting Things in Context Worldview Privilege and Power Something to Think About ... References 7 What Can We Learn From the Past? Legislation Associated With this Chapter Introduction Putting Things in Context Worldview Privilege and Power Family Influence Societal Influence Government Influence In Closing ... References Index