Yeah John,
Isn't it strange how a supervisor who may have no electrical competence what-so-ever, can direct an electrician to do work that is dangerous, I've been in that boat before, in an industrial situation.
But, when things turn to custard, the guy will conveniently forget what he said.
I've always had the idea that I never get anyone to do something that I wouldn't personally find safe or do myself.
A more subtle form is the automatic conclusion "only an idiot would do THAT." Sometimes, this is institutionalized as automatic disciplinary action against anyone who gets hurt.
Actually, parties like OSHA have caused this somewhat, there is often a knee-jerk reaction from management, so that they can be seen to be "doing something" after an accident, even though they may have caused the accident in the first place, with things like restrictive down-time policies and "work-hot or not work" rubbish.
