Australian law firm
Already a member? Log in here
Category: bullying
Workplace Bullying needs a broad and integrated approach
Recently, through LinkedIn, a Human Resources (HR) professional wrote an article that busted some myths about workplace bullying. It is a useful article but also illustrates that HR and occupational health and safety (OHS) still have some way to go before providing a coordinated approach to workplace bullying and the mental health issues that contribute to the psychosocial hazard.
Continue reading “Workplace Bullying needs a broad and integrated approach”
Two ABC radio broadcasts on OHS
Dolly Parton sang about working 9 to 5, asked “what a way to make a living” and asserted that it would drive you crazy if you let it. Many workers would look on a shift of only 9 to 5 as a luxury. ABC Radio in Brisbane played this song as an introduction to a series of radio interviews about workplace safety in which myself and Professor Niki Ellis participated on 9 May 2016.
Curiously the interview, part of their The Juggle series, occurs in the Drive time slot of 4pm to 6pm but the discussion was almost all about occupational health and safety (OHS) in the office environment. If 9 to 5 still exists anywhere, the audience for office safety information was busy. It would have been interesting to talk about OHS and work vehicles. Continue reading “Two ABC radio broadcasts on OHS”
Could safety by algorithms be next?
It seems to be increasingly important for occupational health and safety (OHS) to focus on the human and the humanity of the worker but this seems out of touch with the world of Human Resources (HR) and recruitment that is increasingly being dominated by impersonal algorithms. Recently BBC’s Global Business program looked at Recruitment By Algorithm.
According to Global Business, recruitment assesses the “fit” of a job applicant through assessments undertaken by computer programs and algorithms. This is occurring at the same time as OHS professionals are increasingly advocating the importance of a “safety culture” even though safety culture is difficult to define, and some deny it exists. There seems to be an inherent conflict in the process of recruiting safe workers. Continue reading “Could safety by algorithms be next?”
WorkLife podcast addresses OHS
The last three of Radio National’s WorkLife podcasts have been uploaded. Episode 4, focusses on occupational health and safety (OHS) and is based around interviews with myself, Kevin Jones, and Professor Niki Ellis. Continue reading “WorkLife podcast addresses OHS”
Suicide Prevention Forum and Mental Health First Aid for workers
In March 2016, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released its latest figures into the causes of death. A lot of media attention was given to the figures showing an increase in the suicide rate. It found that
“Among those aged 15 to 44, the leading causes of death were Intentional self-harm (suicide)…”
On the day those figures were released, the
Already a member? Log in here
Important research into workplace cyber-bullying
Last week several Australian news sites reported on a new thesis about public servants and cyber-bullying which is discussed in detail below. The reports are based mostly on a media release about the research issued by Queensland University of Technology (QUT). What caught my eye was the statement in the one media report that the researcher, Dr Felicity Lawrence,
“…said traditional workplace bullying already cost the nation about $36 billion a year, “so the cost of cyber bullying on productivity could be profound”.
Not true. In the QUT statement, Lawrence stated
“Traditional workplace bullying costs the national economy up to $36 billion each year, so the cost of cyberbullying on productivity could be profound,…”
“up to” vs “about? This differentiation is important because the lack of clarity creates OHS myths and these myths can misinform policy priorities and public understanding of workplace hazards.
Already a member? Log in here