culture – Page 54 – SafetyAtWorkBlog

What does the Prime Minister’s criticism of banking culture mean for OHS?

Some of Australia’s mainstream media reported on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull‘s admonishment of the banking sector on April 6 2016. He accused them of having an unhealthy culture, reflecting a general and growing public dissatisfaction with large financial institutions, insurance companies and other corporations.

Given that the dominant perspective on occupational health and safety (OHS), at the moment, is the importance of an organisational culture that values workplace safety, it is worth looking at Prime Minister Turnbull’s words and those of prominent executives and financial regulators recently reported in the mainstream press.

Continue reading “What does the Prime Minister’s criticism of banking culture mean for 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)…”

Dr Claire Kelly, Manager, Youth Programs, Mental Health First Aid Australia, talking at the Suicide Prevention Forum 2016

On the day those figures were released, the

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Ernst Young’s latest safety discussion paper

Ernst Young (EY) Australia has released a discussion paper about its “Plus One” strategy for occupational health and safety (OHS) and safety culture change. Perhaps the curious and significant issue raised in the document is the way it considers that the “zero harm” era is over.

The document urges people to “build on the lessons of zero harm”. Some would say that the most important lesson is that “zero harm” is bullshit but EY is almost taking “zero harm” as a fixed point in time, or rather a point in thought, from which progress in a new direction is possible. Continue reading “Ernst Young’s latest safety discussion paper”

Zero Harm is dead, long live ……whatever comes next

Zero Harm was an enormously popular motivational aim for OHS. It originated as a response in some large organisations where safety performance was plateauing and who felt that they had achieved as much as they could in redesigning work and improving physical safety. The plateauing led to frustration and a reassessment of safety practices. The remaining variable was seen to be the worker and so slogans were instigated to increase the care (or mindfulness) of workers.

However, this assessment seems to have taken the traditional, and shallow, approach. One variable is, of course the worker but the assessors failed to see that the organisational structure and operations were, or should be, variable too. In the words of the current Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, this variability, this adaptability, could lead to innovation, economic growth and increased sustainability.

The promotion of the zero harm approach to safety could be seen as a safety dead-end and an indication that organisations were fixed on only seeing the dead-end. Safety thinkers, and there are a few, offered ways out of the dead-end by thinking differently about what we know.

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Golden Rule, ethics, leadership and workplace safety

There is a legislative basis for occupational health and safety (OHS) but before the laws, there was morality and it is this morality to which most OHS professionals will refer when asked why they work in Safety. But I know no more about morality than anyone else. So what do I do in these situations? I get a book.

The book I chose was by

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Psychology of aggression and risk control

Recently an Australian law firm, Herbert Smith Freehills, conducted a series of seminars that provided a different perspective on issues related to workplace mental health and safety.

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The most influential book about modern OHS

I have a lot of books about workplace safety. Many of them are referenced frequently, several have changed my thoughts. However if I was asked which book has had the most impact on my values and understanding of occupational health and safety (OHS), my response would be of a book I read before I even knew OHS existed. That book is The Story of Ferdinand, and this is why. Continue reading “The most influential book about modern OHS”

Category: culture

What does the Prime Minister’s criticism of banking culture mean for OHS?

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Suicide Prevention Forum and Mental Health First Aid for workers

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Ernst Young’s latest safety discussion paper

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Zero Harm is dead, long live ……whatever comes next

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Golden Rule, ethics, leadership and workplace safety

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Psychology of aggression and risk control

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The most influential book about modern OHS

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