About the blog
Humanistic Systems is the personal website of Dr Steven Shorrock, a humanistic psychologist, human factors specialist, writer, and speaker. The site explores the human side of systems, work, safety, organisations, health, design, and everyday life.
Since its launch in 2015, Humanistic Systems has published hundreds of articles on topics including human factors, systems thinking, safety-II, resilience engineering, ergonomics, work-as-done, organisational learning, healthcare, aviation, and human-centred design.
Alongside professional topics, the site increasingly reflects personal experiences and observations, especially concerning chronic illness, neurodiversity, mental health, disability, society, and the realities of human life in society.
The aim is to encourage reflection, dialogue, curiosity, and a more humanistic understanding of people and systems. The writing draws on three decades of professional experience across multiple industries and sectors, while remaining accessible to a broad audience.
Over its lifetime, Humanistic Systems has attracted readers from around 165 countries, representing approximately 85% of United Nations member states. The largest readership comes from the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada, and continental Europe, but the site is also read widely across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. For a specialist blog, Humanistic Systems has surprisingly global reach reflects a shared international interest in understanding and improving work and life.
Humanistic Systems is independent, non-commercial, and driven by belief that understanding people and systems requires attention to both humanity and complexity.
About the author
Dr Steven Shorrock, FBPsP, is a Chartered Psychologist and Chartered Ergonomist and Human Factors Specialist.
Dr. Steven Shorrock has been engaged in the discovery, development, translation, application, and dissemination of knowledge and practice since 1996. His professional areas of expertise include
- humanistic psychology.
- human factors and ergonomics,
- industrial, work and organisational psychology,
- applied cognitive psychology,
- organisational development, change, and human relations at work,
- safety, and
- wellbeing.
Steven’s approach is rooted in care ethics. His writing and creative activities extend beyond professional areas, into many aspects of human experience including neurodiversity, disability, mental health, creativity, folklore and mythology, spirituality, and human suffering and flourishing.
A more formal educational and work history
Qualifications
- PhD in Cognitive error analysis for incident analysis and performance prediction, University of Nottingham, 2003
- MSc Work Design and Ergonomics (with Distinction), University of Birmingham, 1997
- BSc (Hons) Applied Psychology (Class I), Liverpool John Moores University, 1996
Memberships
- Fellow of the British Psychological Society (FBPsS)
- Chartered Psychologist (British Psychological Society)
- Chartered Ergonomist & Human Factors Specialist (Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors)
Aviation Experience
- Senior Team Leader (Human Factors) at EUROCONTROL since 2010, leading work on Human Factors and industrial, work and organisational psychology. EUROCONTROL is an intergovernmental civil-military organisation with 42 Member States and 2 Comprehensive Agreement States.
- European Safety Culture Programme Leader (2014-present)
- Co-chair EUROCONTROL Safety Human Performance Sub-Group (2022-present)
- Editor-in-Chief of EUROCONTROL HindSight magazine
- Co-authored the first major publication on Safety-II, and led white papers on systems thinking and safety observation, and the EUROCONTROL Just Culture Manifesto.
- Previous roles include Senior Lecturer at the University of New South Wales, and Principal Human Factors Specialist at NATS, and Senior Consultant at DNV.
- Personally-invited member of International Civil Aviation Organization ‘Human Performance Task Force’ and contributor to ICAO Doc 10151 Human Performance Manual for Regulators.
Healthcare Experience has included
- Faculty at The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh for the course Team Based Quality Review for Surgical Practice.
- Guest Lecturer at UCL on the postgraduate course ‘Risk and Safety in Medical Practice and other Complex Systems’.
- Honorary Clinical Tutor at The University of Edinburgh (2018-2021), College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, where I advised on the design of the newly formed MSc Patient Safety and Clinical Human Factors, and presented video-recorded lectures.
- Provided oral evidence to a Committee in The Houses of Parliament on learning from mistakes in the NHS in England.
- Provided oral evidence to the Williams Review into gross negligence manslaughter in healthcare.
- Advisory Group Member of the Harmed Patients Alliance.
- Invited speaker for healthcare organisations including: The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Clinical Human Factors Group, Patient Safety Congress, The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation, Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare, NHS England and NHS Improvement, NHS Lothian, British Association of MR Radiographers, Nottingham University Hospital Trust, Intensive Care Society.
Additional Roles
- Adjunct Professor, University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia), Centre for Human Factors & Systems Science.
Contributions
- Author/editor and co-author/co-editor of books, book chapters, journal articles, magazine articles, international white papers, reports, and products (see publications and products).
I blog in a personal capacity. Views expressed here are mine and not those of any affiliated organisation.
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/steveshorrock/
Email: contact[at]humanisticsystems[dot]com
