Sustainability and resilience: using the sustainable system-ofsystems model for ergonomics interventions

Abstract

The ecological crises faced by humanity require all disciplines to think differently about how we interact with the ecosphere to prevent untold misery and possible human extinction. The fact that these crises are primarily caused by human mismanagement of our environment means that ergonomics (literally meaning the study of human work) should play a key role in understanding and ameliorating these negative effects. This article introduces Thatcher and Yeow’s (2016) sustainable system-of-systems model for ergonomics to the South African ergonomics community. The sustainable system-ofsystems model blends ecological models of systems with social models of ergonomics systems to create a new model that encapsulates this eco-socio-technical systems thinking. This article focuses on aspects of complex adaptive systems and resilience thinking to show where ergonomics might contribute to the creation of resilient and sustainable systems. The article concludes with a set of challenges that need to be considered when creating sustainable work systems that demonstrate resilience over time.