It has been almost two years since I spent time at a beach. In an island country like Australia, that is almost a sin but my sin will he wiped over the Christmas and New Year break. More than a physical break from work, a mental health break is essential. I have some detective novels, graphic novels and celebrity biographies to help me unwind.
As safety health and wellbeing advocates and professionals, we should be exemplars on mental and physical health but even exemplars have bosses and need to “undertake other duties, as directed”. Regardless of these operational pressures, we all need a rest and the SafetyAtWorkBlog team of workers and web designers hope that you get to rest, relax and reconnect over the next few weeks.
It seems more important this year to ask for a safe and healthy Christmas break. Work-related hazards will (should?) disappear but the risk of becoming ill from the pandemic seems higher than ever. Please vaccinate, be hygienic, be outdoors as much as you can, and continue to be respectful, friendly and kind to everyone.
It is also traditional to be reflective. In 2021, SafetyAtWorkBlog produced 157 original articles. At an average of 13 per month, I think we are providing value for money. The most productive months were January, August and September.
For the social media number junkies (and it is an alchemical mystery to me) this year SafetyAtWorkBlog had
- 5,804,607 visits
- 4,709,540 views, and
- 2,402 logins.
The three countries most interested in the blog article were Australia, United States and United Kingdom.
A quick look at the most common topics seem to be Industrial Manslaughter and Mandatory Vaccinations. The COVID-related travel restrictions have reduced the number of OHS seminars, conferences and events so articles on these events are fewer this year, as are the number of book reviews. We will try to address this decline in 2022.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Kevin Jones and the SafetyAtWorkBlog team