Australia’s trade union movement has long been active on the issue of workplace psychological harm. Its 1997 Stress At Work survey of members led directly to the creation of workplace bullying and occupational violence guidance in Victoria and elsewhere. Over 20 years later, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) undertook another survey of its …
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 …
Professor Andrew Hopkins is one of Australia’s most prominent critics of how the term “Safety Culture” is used by the occupational health and safety (OHS) profession and businesses generally. Last week, Dr Tristan Casey followed Hopkins’ presentation at a Brisbane safety conference and was put on the spot as his presentation was not really …
The guidance on workplace psychological health and safety forecast by Safe Work Australia’s Peta Miller was released on June 14 2018. There is potential for this guidance to change how mental health is managed and, most importantly, prevented in Australian workplaces. It is important to note that “Work-related psychological health and safety – a systematic …
Mental health is attracting a huge amount of attention in western countries but much of this has a public health focus. Workplace mental health is not getting enough attention even though, correctly applied, this collective term could include the occupational hazards of stress, bullying, depression and suicide. Canada has leapt ahead of most countries by … Continue reading “Canada begins developing a National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace”
To understand occupational health and safety (OHS), you must understand the broader topic of work. Work is not necessarily more complex than OHS, but there are more opportunities to be distracted. Earlier this year, Andrea Komlosy‘s excellent analysis of work—”Work—The last 1,000 years“—was published in English for the first time. The book hardly discusses OHS, …
There is a cost-of-living crisis in large parts of the world, there is a climate emergency, there are wars and political instability and insecurity everywhere. Why is occupational health and safety (OHS) still considered important? Well, it isn’t really when compared to these global and existential crises, but that is the microcosm in which we …
