The challenges of researching OHS of vulnerable workers in small businesses

Abstract

There is evidence that workers in the small business sector are increasingly engaged in low paid, non-standard, insecure or precarious work which often makes these workers vulnerable. Added to this mix is the fact that small workplaces are becoming more culturally and ethnically diverse. The changes to both traditional working arrangements and the characteristics of the labour force within the small business sector have profound occupational health and safety (OHS) implications for workers, particularly vulnerable workers. Vulnerable workers in the small business sector, however, are notoriously difficult to research as they are frequently transient, often work non-standard hours, and are likely to be marginalised and ‘invisible’. Drawing on studies from the 1990s onwards, the paper will attempt to identify these and other challenges when researching OHS of vulnerable workers in the small workplaces. Finally, the paper will outline possible areas for further development of research methods.