This title explores human behavior in the context of workplace safety and risk management. Focused on understanding how people respond to danger and how leaders can put safety at the heart of their organizations’ culture, it draws on the latest scientific insights from neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral economics. Integrating traditional and emerging perspectives in the field of Occupational Health and Safety, this book delivers both a vision and the tools to elevate safety as a core organizational value able to motivate and anchor safe behaviors and reinforce safety-oriented leadership.

Written to include practical frameworks and clear examples, it addresses the cognitive processes, including perception, attention, and memory, that influence individuals’ judgment and decision-making at work as well as spontaneous behavior. Readers will discover how biases, emotions, and underlying values play a role in shaping attitudes toward safety, providing a fresh perspective on emotional intelligence and behavioral motivation. Through a "Toolbox-style" section, filled with actionable techniques that can be applied to any workplace, readers gain strategies to implement these insights immediately, helping to embed safety as a shared cultural value.

Additional sections include “Did you know?” and “Focus on...” which present surprising findings and deeper dives into key topics, revealing real-world applications. The reader will develop a good understanding of the key theories and practices behind safety culture at work that can be made applicable to any industry. Human Factors and Safety Culture: Understanding Human Behavior and Leadership in the Workplace is designed for those in occupational health and safety, including current and aspiring safety leaders, HR and operations managers, and anyone involved in shaping a positive organizational workplace culture.

Eduardo Blanco-Muñoz is an occupational health and safety practitioner, professor and author based in Paris, France. He has been working in HSE functions for a quarter of a century. His career started in the chemicals industry, as QHSE Officer, then Manager in several Seveso “upper threshold” sites, which evolved to a role in senior management positions in a series of large multinational groups in sectors as diverse and challenging as optics and medical devices, energy, aerospace, logistics and transportation, and construction and civil engineering. His scientific and technical training began in Spain, continued in the UK and was completed in France: he holds three Masters’ degrees in Environmental Sciences, Environmental Engineering and Risk Management. He is a regular key speaker at conferences and corporate events and, after teaching behavioral safety and safety culture at Sorbonne Paris Nord University, he is an affiliated professor at the French Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers.