Excessive workplace stress in the medical profession is well documented but stress is often seen as a minor workplace hazard that is fairly easily dealt with by holidays, for instance, or is dismissed as an “occupational hazard” or part of the entry to the profession or just part of the culture, with the implication that nothing can change. Only recently have work-related suicides garnered serious research attention and these incidents are now being openly discussed, as this April 2018 article in the MJA Insight shows.
The author of the opinion piece, Dr Geoffrey Toogood, makes a point that should be considered by those involved in the occupational health and safety (OHS) profession and return-to-work, as it can only lead in one direction, albeit at a slow and challenging pace.