Category: education

Workplace bullying needs prompt and concise action to be effective

It is very important to treat media reports of bullying with a great deal of scepticism.  An article in the Herald-Sun on 20 July 2010 is a good example of the collation of new and old information intended to generate alarm or outrage.

Werribee Secondary College has had several incidents of occupational violence and school violence.   All schools will have bullying incidents of student to student but these can be minimised and controlled with effort, commitment and vision.  Bullying between staff is different, although the controls are similar, and inhabits the  different legislative context of OHS.  WorkSafe Victoria has been involved with workplace bullying incidents in the education sector in the past.

The Herald-Sun builds on the myth that teachers have it easy because of the amount of leave that is scheduled. The current article entitled “Teacher seeks bullying payout” has a headline about workplace bullying but the article mixes up student bullying and workplace bullying as if they are the same issue but to different degrees and with different participants.

The Victorian Education Department has addressed the issue of workplace bullying to some extent.  The department has several sites devoted to bullying issues and occupational violence but much of it refers back to policies and reactionary responses.  Continue reading “Workplace bullying needs prompt and concise action to be effective”

The importance of evidence in OHS decision-making

There are a couple of actions in Australia’s OHS profession that are worth linking together.  The first is occurring outside OHS as well and that is the demand for evidence-based decision making.  The second is the push by the Safety Institute of Australia and others to establish a core body of OHS knowledge.

On the first point a recent Editorial in Elsevier’s “Policy and Safety” journal summarise the recent evolution of evidence-based decision making and evidence-based polices (EBP) which gained credence through the governments of Tony Blair particularly.  The editorial states that much of this push is a management strategy

“…based on the common-sense notion that business strategies and directions are underpinned by a solid information base will be superior to navigating without reliable charts and compass.”

In some ways this “notion” may be an assumption or an ideal.  The notion is sound, as far as it goes but, according to the editorial, evidence could be better used informing policy rather than providing the foundation.  Continue reading “The importance of evidence in OHS decision-making”

School principals seek solutions to workplace stress

Recently SafetyAtWorkBlog reported on stress issues in Tasmanian teachers.  Victorian data has been revealed of stress in the education profession through The Age newspaperr on 6 July 2010.   Apparently stress claims for school principals have cost $A2.4 million since 2005.

One principal said the claims are likely to be under-reported as a stress claim can kill one’s career.

For the purposes of this blog, control measures or causes need to be identified.  The Age article said that principals have asked the Education Department to consider the following issues.  It is reasonable to assume that these have been identified by the principals as contributory factors to workplace stress. Continue reading “School principals seek solutions to workplace stress”

Teacher stress, resilience and protective factors

Teaching is a stressful occupation.  Any occupation that requires one to not only talk to people but to educate them, is stressful.  Imagine having to do this every week day in front of over twenty people who do not want to be there.  During your lunch break, instead of putting your feet up and reading the paper, you may be required to patrol the inside of a wire fence wearing a fluorescent vest followed by children sucking up or making fun of you.  On days off, you still have scribbled essays to mark or neatly written essays to vet against Wikipedia all the time.  During holidays you travel hours to a remote caravan park on the bend of a river and there will still be a school child who recognises you and keeps saying “Hello, Sir”.

Such can be the life of a teacher but teaching is conducted at a workplace and health at work is a legislated obligation and expectation.  On 23 June 2010, the Tasmanian Government felt the need to clarify some media reports concerning the stress levels of its teachers.  The Education Minister, Lin Thorp, said in a media release that

“… a total of 57 Department of Education employees, including teaching and non-teaching staff, had taken stress leave in the year ending March 2010. This figure is the same as for the previous year. Continue reading “Teacher stress, resilience and protective factors”

New Zealand farm advocates talk briefly on quad bike safety

New Zealand’s Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has released some statistics on quad bike incidents in support of its attendance at field days in mid-June 2010 and the release of three new agricultural safety publications.  The media release quotes research from the Otago University.

“Three farmers or agricultural workers died and nearly 300 were injured in quad bike accidents on farms last year, according to ACC claims figures.

Recent research from Otago University forecast that in any given year farm workers will lose control of quad bikes on approximately 12,645 occasions, resulting in about 1400 injuries.  Not all of these will be registered as workplace injury claims with ACC.”

The risk of jumping to conclusions from these statistics is that the ACC is not only concerned with workplace incidents and hence the conditional sentence at the end of the quote. Continue reading “New Zealand farm advocates talk briefly on quad bike safety”

Planning for an ageing workforce – statistical clues

There has been a lot of media attention on the potential impact of an ageing population on all aspects of our society, workplaces included.  In terms of OHS, there may be an increased risk of injury as people are encouraged to work longer and past the compulsory retirement age of around 60 to 65.  But it is worth looking beyond the newspaper reports to get a better understanding 0f the level of risk presented by current population trends.

A report by Professor Diane Gibson for the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia is a terrific way to begin to comprehend the reality of the risk.  The report, Beyond life expectancy,  was released in May 2010 and provides an interpretation of the 2006 Australian Census data.  From a cursory scan of the contents there are important facts that challenge us, particularly if we manage, in any way, people in the workplace. Continue reading “Planning for an ageing workforce – statistical clues”

EU and Australia improve academic links – again

RMIT University has been active in OHS education for some time and it is hoped that the OHS lecturers might wander down the corridors and knock on the door of Professor Bruce Wilson.

On 28 May 2010, RMIT university launches its European Union Centre (EUC).  According a media notice about the launch, the EUC intends to

“..promote a better understanding of the European Union and EU-Australia relations….”

and, according to Professor Wilson

“…offers a footstep into Asia for Europe, to help address deep-seated challenges.  The Centre will use RMIT’s strong linkages with Asia to enhance European understanding and engagement with the region, tackling vital issues such as the future of cities, people mobility, border security and climate change.” Continue reading “EU and Australia improve academic links – again”

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