Category: culture

Poor footballer mental health may be a symptom of CTE, but it is the risk of CTE that should be prevented

The concussion risks of sportspeople continue to appear in the media and popular discussions after every suicide, death, or retirement of sportspeople who play contact sports. Recently, Alan Pearce, Professor, Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Health Science, Swinburne University of Technology, wrote an opinion piece for The Australian newspaper (paywalled) that touched on some occupational health and safety (OHS) themes that deserve expanding.

[This article discusses suicide]

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Andrew Hopkins article translated for Gen Alpha

Last week, I wrote an article about Andrew Hopkins’ new safety leadership book about Boeing’s management style. It was a popular article, but this last weekend I wondered if I was talking about it in a way that failed to engage with younger readers and potential subscribers. So I asked an Artificial Intelligence program to translate the Hopkins article into language commonly used by Generation Alpha. Below is that translation (some I don’t understand), which offers an interesting linguistic contrast.

New Book Alert: Andrew Hopkins Just Called Out the Corporate Safety Scam 🚨

Andrew Hopkins just dropped a new book, and it’s basically him going full savage on how modern companies—especially Boeing—put profits over people. It’s short (only 81 pages), but it hits HARD. Like, “how did we let this happen?” hard.

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Outcomes of an agriculture OHS roundtable

New South Wales recently ran its annual roundtable for the agriculture sector, focusing on workplace health and safety. A joint media release from the Ministers for Agriculture and Work Health and Safety, Tara Moriarty and Sophie Cotsis, respectively, acknowledged that:

“Agriculture remains one of Australia’s most dangerous industries, with consistently high rates of workplace fatalities and serious injuries. In 2024, SafeWork NSW responded to 12 workplace fatalities in the agricultural industry in NSW.”

But what was the outcome of the roundtable?

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Acknowledgement of safety

Australia is in federal election mode so new political statements are emerging daily. Recently controversy has arisen about the inclusion of Welcome to Country at non-major events. Many organisations lead their meetings with an Acknowledgement of Country which acknowledges the historical ownership of Australia by its indigenous populations.

Recently while reflecting on the International Workers Memorial Day, occupational health and safety (OHS) professional, Tim Allred, has suggested that the role of an “acknowledgement” could add meaning in other circumstances, such as in relation to workplace fatalities.

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More mystery than history

Over a decade ago, I served as an occupational health and safety (OHS) adviser for the Victorian government on various public transport infrastructure projects. One of the largest at the time (before Victoria’s ongoing Big Build suite of projects), one project was managed by a Project Superintendent who taught project management at university level.

I was asked to speak about safety at the start of one of the regular project meetings. There was a lot to discuss, but after 10 minutes, the Superintendent, who was also the meeting’s chair, cut me off and moved on to other matters. He also decided to remove OHS permanently from the Project Management meeting agenda and hold it in a separate meeting, which he never attended. Later, he made it clear that he saw OHS as an impediment to the project’s program of works and not part of his considerations.

I was reminded of him recently upon reading a new book about the project management of Victoria’s Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP), as OHS is rarely mentioned and never in a positive context.

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Burnout prevention to receive considerable media attention

Jennifer Moss is a prominent analyst on work-related burnout and mental health. She is one of the few receiving global attention for pointing out that the prevention and control of the burgeoning mental health crisis are best addressed by reassessing and redesigning how organisations are run and workers are managed. Her latest book, due out in a few weeks, will supercharge the debate on managing psychosocial risks and psychological hazards at work.

Continue reading “Burnout prevention to receive considerable media attention”

New data shows farmers are still not working as safely as they could

Recently, the Weekly Times reported* some disturbing statistics about farm-related deaths in Victoria. It summarised the AgHealth Australia data as:

“Farm deaths have doubled in the past 12 months, with vehicles the leading contributing factor, as farmers and authorities label the issue an emergency.
Seventy-two people died and there were 133 serious injuries in 2024, new AgHealth Australia data shows, up from 32 deaths in 2023 and 55 in 2022. 
In Victoria, there were 16 deaths in 2024, up from seven in 2023.”

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