Work-related suicide is more insidious in some ways than non-work suicide, as it is institutionally stigmatised to the extent that its reality has been denied. There is an additional level of complexity when an employer is in control of the work, and a strong economic ideology often denies the influence of work factors. The tide …
For over twenty years, John Bottomley has been researching the influence of work factors in suicide. His early research is rarely referenced, and although only a small sample was studied, his findings were significant. New research, published recently in the Journal of Industrial Relations, adds an essential perspective as Australia continues to progress (painfully slowly) …
Business newspapers and websites often report on executives revealing their own burnout and how they have changed their lives as a result. The changes they make indicate their decisions that led to their mental health crises and epiphanies. But executives lead by example, so how many of the employees are emulating the executives’ mistakes? Shouldn’t …
For many years, occupational health and safety (OHS) has been fixated on “Culture” as an encompassing term for what management activity does not work and what does. The focus has faded slightly since the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, Culture made an important reappearance this week with the delivery of the final report of Australia’s Royal Commission …
There is a new book about psychological safety for organisations. Many have been published over the last twenty years, but the climate, at least, in Australia has changed. Psychological safety is now part of a broader and more inclusive concept – Psychosocial Safety – but many psychologists have not yet caught up, or are in …
As Ingrid Robeyns’ Limitarianism book hits the Australian bookshops, an earlier examination of the role of excessive profits of “affluenza” from 2005 is worth considering. How does this relate to occupational health and safety (OHS)? The prevention of harm and the reduction of risk are determined by employers deciding on what they are prepared to …
In many Australian businesses, “program is king”. Deadlines must be met, whatever the circumstances. Occupational health and safety (OHS) advisers often bristle at this reality because they know that health and safety will be sacrificed to meet those deadlines. If this reality is to be changed, it is necessary to pay more attention to economics …
