Work-Based Harm

Work-based harm has received limited attention within harm research. However, as UK, US and European labour markets and workplaces have undergone radical transformation under conditions of neoliberalism work-based harm proliferates. This chapter will explore the development of work-based harm research before considering the ontological foundations of social harm from a workplace perspective. If social harm is to have explanatory power in making sense of work-based harm, it requires a stable foundation to account for both ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ motivation to harm. Work-based harm research from an ultra-realist perspective represents one such future direction.