ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors focus on three mega trends, automation, data and communication, and the gig economy, and discuss their impact on safety leadership. Automation also makes a work system much more complex, with often unanticipated interactions. When things fail, operators might also be less equipped to problem solve and maintain safety. Leaders will need to inspire and motivate workers through this fog of innovation fatigue, while also encouraging their teams to consider how safety might be impacted. Leaders in the future will need to be savvy with technology if they are to capitalise on the benefits for health and safety. They will need to use technology to their advantage. Leaders may also need to become more savvy and more intimately involved in recruitment and selection for safety. If organisations become less connected and more about individuals, there will probably be a greater reliance on workers’ skills, knowledge, and personality characteristics to keep them safe.
