Hard work in soft regulation: A discussion of the social mechanisms in OHS management standards and possible dilemmas in the regulation of psychosocial work environment

Certified occupational health and safety management (OHSM) systems have become a global instrument in the regulation of work environment. However, their actual impact on occupational health and safety – in particular on ‘softer’ psychosocial areas of the working environment – has been questioned. This has resulted in recent British attempts to develop publically available guidelines (PAS 1010) to be used together with OHSAS 18001 focusing specifically on psychosocial risk management. The paper discusses these attempts in light of recent sociological theories on the regulatory mechanisms in international standards, and concludes that the new guidelines only partially resolve prevailing inadequacies of OHSAS 18001.