“Is it safe?” – Doing ethnography on safety cover ups

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the ethicality, morality and partiality of at-home ethnography (AHE) through an account of organisational wrongdoing at a chemical plant.Design/methodology/approachThe paper utilises an AHE example from an 18-month period at a chemical plant. Following the account, the paper reflexively explores ethical, moral and partial issues.FindingsA well-crafted and reflexive, insider account of organisational wrongdoing enables the demonstration of the issues of ethics, morals and partiality faced by an ethnographer in the field. Whilst this is not an autoethnographic account, it is able to draw upon some contemporary thinking from autoethnography to inform reflexivity.Originality/valueThe account provides unique insight into an organizational world, the inner workings of a chemical site, which is often inaccessible to others.