Diversity and a multidimensional investigation into safety at CERN

CERN is an intergovernmental organisation carrying out particle physics research and as such it is open to a large number of risks of all kind. A number of accidents and near misses that occur cannot be fully explained by conventional safety breaches alone. In an attempt to understand this phenomenon, this research is focused on occupational safety from the social sciences perspective. For this purpose a survey was conducted at CERN to explain the conditions and causes of safe or unsafe behaviour. The results showed that the socio-demographical diversity of employees was not determinant in risk-taking behaviour. At the same time some individual characteristics and work conditions shape employees' profile with specific risk- taking attitudes. The results of the data analysis served as a basis for the recommendations, which can be used for better targeted safety campaigns.