Category: ethics

Why workplace Psychosocial Regulations will fail

Australia has learned much from its consideration of psychosocial factors that can generate psychological harm in workers over the last decade. By the end of 2025, all Australian jurisdictions will likely have re-emphasised the psychological elements of employers’ and workers’ occupational health and safety (OHS) duties. However, the legislative changes are likely to fail to improve workers’ mental health because at least one of those psychosocial factors is too confronting and uncomfortable to employers.

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Authentic selves, culture and racism

Culture has perhaps become the dominant theme in modern occupational health and safety (OHS). Possibly more dominant than Leadership. Culture remains an amorphous concept that is an inclusive adjective but also unhelpful.

Several recent events started making connections in my OHS brain that I am still working through:

  • Online racist statements by two Australian nurses
  • A Harvard Business Review Special Issue called “The Secrets of Great Culture” and
  • An article by Professor Lena Wang and others on the separation of work and life.
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The economics of OHS and the need to think upstream

Michael Belzer and Michael Quinlan have outlined the economics of occupational health and safety (OHS) in the editorial of the latest edition of The Economic and Labour Relations Review. This contrasts with earlier research about the business case for OHS as it broadens the pool of influences more broadly. They write:

“The economic approaches to OHS in the papers in this issue identify externalities and suggest that incomplete market analysis has created an inappropriate permission to ignore uncompensated costs in labour, product, and service markets; these incomplete markets lead to greater social risk as well as inefficiency. More integrated understandings of OHS are challenging but research performed without them leads to narrow and partial understandings.” (page 483)

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Shortcomings of the legal perspective on work health and safety

The most common question occupational health and safety (OHS) consultants receive from clients is, “Do I comply with the law?” This request is telling because the client starts from a legal rather than a safety base. This is not surprising, as OHS commentary is dominated by lawyers whose focus is on minimizing their clients’ exposure to prosecution.

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Work Health and Safety through a new perspective

2025 has started with a flurry of blog activity and more than a flurry of political change in the United States. It is easy to become distracted by those changes, but a refocus on local issues, new thoughts, perspectives, and new books may generate a balance of sanity. Here is a taste of one book that I have not had time to read entirely but that has potential.

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OHS and the diversity, equity and inclusivity backlash

The Australian Financial Review has looked at the local Australian context of the United States opposition to continuing workplace initiatives on diversity, equity and inclusivity (DEI), The AFR contacted some Australian technology companies for their leaders’ thoughts as overseas the DEI opposition seems loudest in tech companies.  The media attention overseas has also come from the activities of some right-wing anti-woke activists. The opposition seems to deny or ignore some of the evidence for DEI contributing to company profitability, cultural strength and occupational health and safety (OHS).

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“Physician, heal thyself” – business group objections to new wage theft laws

Starting January 1, 2025, Australia will have new laws and penalties for intentional wage theft beginning January 1, 2025. The usual business lobby groups are bleating about the unfair imposition of costs and time on their members. But what about the significant impact on workers’ health, safety and dignity?

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