The latest edition of OHS Professional magazine carried a long article by Kerry Smith titled “Understanding and Combating Complacency in the Workplace.” The article uses examples at the worker level when the greatest risk posed by complacency is likely to be with managers, executives, their attitudes to safety, and their own safety management systems.
Last week, Maddocks law firm conducted an end-of-year summary of its workplace relations issues and a forecast for 2025. Occupational health and safety (OHS) are almost inseparable from industrial relations (IR), so the overlaps between the four or five topics discussed were enlightening and provided a good contrast to the information from other law sources.
The corporate cultures of Australia’s mining industry have been under substantial scrutiny for over a decade. Sexual harassment, bullying, work-related suicides and more psychosocial hazards have been identified with strategies introduced to address the cultures that contribute to these occupational harms.
On 20 November 2024, Rio Tinto released a progress survey on its cultural change initiatives, which the Australian Financial Review (AFR) described as showing a “backlash” to these reforms. This survey is a significant document for those on similar journeys and for occupational health and safety (OHS) advocates.
Psychological injuries that happen at work or are caused by work may need to be notified to occupational health and safety (OHS) regulators in some Australian jurisdictions. Recently, an organisation associated with prominent Australian businessman Andrew Forrest underwent the notification experience and received an improvement notice.
Psychosocial hazards are gaining attention online, but the pace of change remains sloth-like. Two recent online events provide good, basic occupational health and safety (OHS) and organisational psychology information and some insight into the slow pace.
Australia’s news media is reporting a shocking report about the workplace culture of parts of the Nine Entertainment organisation – bullying, sexual harassment, abuse of power – all the elements of organisational culture that can be found in any company if one scratches the surface. Scratching is one of the aims of the occupational health and safety (OHS) discipline – investigating the causes of harm at the source.
When you fail to speak in support of occupational health and safety (OHS) or, perish the thought, speak against OHS, you must be speaking in support of profit. Some would say the connection is not that simple, but really, it is.
Employers’ critical concern is, “Can I afford OHS?” This question shows a misunderstanding of OHS’s role in business success and continuity. The question would not occur if OHS had been integrated into the design of the business, its operations, and profit forecasts. OHS costs a lot more when it needs to be retrofitted to an existing company.
