Destination knowledge
Destination knowledge
Our columnist explores embodiment and how our physical experiences unexpectedly shape risk perception and safety behaviours.
In northern Poland, where I come from, there is a tradition for a baby’s first birthday. Before cutting the cake, the birthday child is presented with several objects: a globe, a glass, an outfit, a Catholic rosary, and a book. All guests anxiously wait to see which item the child will choose, as it supposedly determines their future and career path. My mother still recalls that on my first birthday, I crawled directly toward the book and refused to let it go until the end of the evening. While I realise traditions, beliefs, myths, and rituals rarely determine our reality, in my case, I still understand that the path to success is filled with learning – and so my learning continues.
A few years ago, I was introduced to Dr Robert Long and his humanising approach to risk and safety through his field of study called Social Psychology of Risk. This approach resonated with me so deeply that I earned a master’s degree in this field, wrote a book about it, and now train people in it almost daily. Following Thomas Reid’s idiom, “a chain is no stronger than its weakest link”, first published in 1786 in essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man, I realised that all my degrees and diplomas are only as “strong” as my lowest level of knowledge in any given topic. This conclusion led me to another of Long’s classes, this time on Embodiment. Although the lectures were free, the knowledge was priceless.
Embodiment across the globe
Long gently guided us to understand that unless we think in an embodied way, we will never be able to improve how people tackle risk. “The key to helping others tackle risk is respecting personhood and knowing what it is,” he pointed out. After almost every lecture, we had to prepare homework for the next week’s session. This process was interesting because even though I am currently working on my PhD thesis, I hadn’t had to “do homework” for about 10 years. Nevertheless, according to Long, real learning only appears through “e-motion”, so preparing weekly homework was part of the journey.
The project extended beyond individual work. We shared our thoughts about our completed work with other participants weekly, allowing our learning to be shared across the world’s continents by 50 participants representing various time zones.
One of my colleagues from the United States mentioned something particularly insightful: “In safety, we do not consider the body. We do not view people as whole persons. This view is so limiting … Understanding the various forms of embodiment is crucial because it provides a comprehensive view of how our bodies and minds interact and influence each other. Each form of embodiment highlights various aspects of human experience, from emotional responses and memory to physical sensations and cultural influences.”
I found this perspective fascinating, as I had never considered approaching aspects of my life with my whole embodiment. According to Long, there are many different forms of embodiment – body e-motion, body expression, body unawareness, body memory, body anomaly, body delusion, body contagion, body agency, body sensation, body absence, body plasticity, body indifference, and body culture.
When first introduced to the idea, I wasn’t sure what to think about it, until I found numerous examples worth considering regarding the level of embodiment in many aspects of my personal and professional life.
Different forms of embodiment
Over time, I discovered that the more personal an issue is, the more embodied we feel about it. During the lectures, we discussed the idea that true learning only happens through movement – what Long calls “learning through e-motion”. In work environments, we call this practical training or on-the-job training. I can explain everything theoretically about operating an excavator. Still, only physically operating one provides the necessary knowledge to correctly – and hopefully safely – operate the excavator and perform job-related tasks.
Embodiment also involves being receptive to whatever we smell, feel, touch, see, and hear, and how we react in specific ways. One of my best friends always buys a new perfume when she goes on vacation. Whenever she smells a particular perfume she wore during a vacation, even years later, it takes her back to those “good times”. She deliberately connects smells to emotions, allowing herself to recall specific memories whenever she wishes.
The work environment is similar. People act differently when they wear a uniform, overalls, or a helmet. This may be due to pride and honour; a sense of belonging; respect, knowing they represent a certain brand and the millions spent on its marketing; or simple discomfort from the uniform, overalls, or helmet. Regardless of the reason, many of us “act differently” when in uniform.
For many years, I lived in company-provided accommodation with free transportation to and from work. While this seems like an incredible perk, I can assure you there is something deeply unsettling about hearing a work bus outside your bedroom window on a day off – body expression at its finest.
Body unawareness presents us with specific physical responses to our surroundings. I still recall how, before my last promotion at work, I couldn’t sleep the night before starting my new role. Throughout that first day, I thought I was super observant of my surroundings, but I couldn’t eat anything as my stomach felt knotted. I only drank coffee and was so stressed that after returning home, I was dehydrated, had enormous bags under my eyes, and smelled of perspiration beyond recognition. I slept for 14 hours, only to learn the following day from my boss that she thought I was “some kind of anorexic weirdo who was way too quiet for the job”. Anyone who has met me knows that I am a foodie, and “quiet” isn’t a word anyone would use to describe me; however, that was how I came across that day, unknowingly and mistakenly.
Body memory deserves special attention, as learned behaviours are very hard to break, whether good or bad. Some years ago, my neighbour decided to quit smoking. She didn’t smoke much but had a little ritual: she would sit and smoke a cigarette whenever she returned from work, still in her uniform. Her approach to quitting was unique – upon returning home, still in uniform, she would take a cigarette from her purse but not light it, instead pretending to smoke it. She did this for almost a year, breaking the nicotine habit instantly, but taking her time breaking the ritual. The immediate, unusual, but successful outcome suggests it was a brilliant approach.
Body anomaly involves attributing human-like features to inanimate objects. Let’s face it – how many of us call our car a “baby”? The work world is filled with “our babies” when referring to projects, plans, or machinery.
Body delusion initially seemed strange to me, but upon closer consideration, I noticed we all have our little rituals. I once heard of a safety professional who wouldn’t shave his beard during a shutdown for good luck. When asked how this worked for him, he proudly answered, “Five years, no injury”, and knocked his knuckles on his head (a personified version of “knock on wood”).
Body contagion refers to how our bodies copy each other. In my previous career as a cabin crew member, when passengers would stand up before the seatbelt sign was switched off after landing just because one passenger before them stood up, the crew called it “monkey see, monkey do”. The safety industry is full of such examples. If a leader or co-worker breaks a key safety rule, others will eventually follow, and ignoring the rule becomes condoned by all. When driving in South Africa, one observes how often rules are broken and, worse, how many drivers follow the new, illegal norm.
Body agency, derived from the Latin meaning “set in motion” or “drive forward”, resembles Newton’s First Law of Motion: a body in motion stays in motion (unless affected by an external force). This means some things “cannot start, stop, or change direction by themselves”, making it crucial to set the right trajectory for success. Following rules from the beginning will likely result in continued compliance – even without supervision. Similarly, breaking rules can spread like wildfire, starting with one violation and expanding to more. A good example is employees who find corners to smoke, even if there is a “no smoking” rule on a work site. Once it becomes acceptable to break this rule, other rules may follow.
Body plasticity refers to our ability to adapt to various implants. One aspect I genuinely appreciate about the 21st century is that losing a hand or finger (the safety industry has too many examples of such accidents) doesn’t have to mean the end of the world. Modern medicine gives us ways to adapt to new realities, and our bodies are phenomenal at embracing these changes.
Another important aspect is body culture and how people adopt it. When I worked for Emirates Airlines, no one asked me to tattoo the Emirates logo on my face. Still, seniors strongly encouraged wearing small white pearl earrings, as in 1590 the area where Dubai is now located was known as a trading centre for quality pearls. Our grooming manual stated: “The gesture of wearing such earrings would embrace our culture in the best possible way.”
Conclusion
Even though I cannot honestly know if I chose a book on my first birthday – I must trust a family myth that praises me for doing so – I am certain that moving our bodies toward “destination knowledge” creates the best possible trajectory. Our care for our entire bodies can blissfully create adaptation to unusual approaches, such as understanding Forms of Embodiment, which can have wonderful outcomes in understanding how humans work in risk, health, and safety.
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