Category: health

Psychosocial hazards are now, formally, occupational diseases

On 25 March 2010, the International Labour Organization released an updated list of occupational diseases.  On the ILO website, it is stated that

“Mental and behavioural disorders have for the first time, been specifically included in the ILO list.”

All occupational diseases, including psychosocial hazards, had to satisfy the following criteria in order to be considered:

  • “…that there is a causal relationship with a specific agent, exposure or work process;
  • that they occur in connection with the work environment and/or in specific occupations;
  • that they occur among the groups of workers concerned with a frequency which exceeds the average incidence within the rest of the population; and
  • that there is scientific evidence of a clearly defined pattern of disease following exposure and plausibility of cause.”

The exact text from the revised List of Occupational Diseases Recommendation R194 is

“2.4. Mental and behavioural disorders

2.4.1. Post-traumatic stress disorder

2.4.2. Other mental or behavioural disorders not mentioned in the preceding item where a direct link is established scientifically, or determined by methods appropriate to national conditions and practice, between the exposure to risk factors arising from work activities and the mental and behavioural disorder(s) contracted by the worker”

What this means in practice is unclear and is likely to vary from country to country in relation to recognition of UN and ILO recommendations.  What it does establish is that an international authoritative OHS body has acknowledged the existence of psychosocial hazards.

“The Eagle has landed”  however there will remain some organisations who will always believe that occupational causes of psychosocial problems belong on the same sound-stage as the Apollo moon landings.

Kevin Jones

Unprecedented interest in workplace bullying

On 25 March 2010, at the first of ten workplace bullying information seminars, WorkSafe Victoria, claimed to have a world-class approach to combating workplace bullying.  The Europeans may dispute the claim but there is no doubt that WorkSafe is on the right path in responding to the unprecedented community interest in the issue.

In a packed hall in the City of Melbourne, Trevor Martin, WorkSafe’s Strategic Programs Director, acknowledged the considerable media interest in the hazard over the last few years, and particularly since the prosecution of four men in associated with bullying at Cafe Vamp.  Martin said that WorkSafe’s advisory help line has been receiving more that 40 calls per day on bullying and harassment issues and that

“In February [2010] 560 calls were received …… 10%, 56 cases made it through to the dedicated unit for further work to be done.  That is an astonishing number of calls to WorkSafe on a single issue.” Continue reading “Unprecedented interest in workplace bullying”

Workplace bullying needs harmony and good managers

The Australian Financial Review on 24 March 2010 includes an article (only available through subscription or hard copy purchase) that states that the “tangle of state laws hampers compliance” by business on the issue of workplace bullying.  Harvard Business Review reports on how to cut through the distractions and attend to a root cause of workplace bullying. Continue reading “Workplace bullying needs harmony and good managers”

OHS awards consider work/life balance but not vice versa

On 15 March 2010, the Australian Government congratulated the winners of, and participants in, the 2009–10 National Work–Life Balance Awards.

According to a media release from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations:

“The Awards…. recognise family friendly practices like flexible working hours, options for working from home, paid parental leave, job sharing, onsite carer’s facilities and study assistance.”
Teleworking and flexible working hours are both directly relevant to occupational health safety but also through the OHS elements of work/life balance.  But the National Work-Life Balance Awards Team told SafetyAtWorkBlog that
“No direct OHS performance indicators were included in the judging criteria for the 2009-10 National Work-LIfe Balance Awards.” Continue reading “OHS awards consider work/life balance but not vice versa”

Does being fat equate to being unsafe at work?

There are several initiatives throughout the world under the banner of workplace health that have little relation to work.  They are public health initiatives administered through the workplace with, often, a cursory reference to the health benefits also having a productivity benefit.

So is a fat worker less safe than a thin worker?  Such a general question cannot be answered but it illustrates an assumption that is underpinning many of the workplace health initiatives.  There is little doubt that workers with chronic health conditions take more leave but, in most circumstances, this leave is already accounted for in the business plan.

Sick leave is estimated at a certain level for all workers across a workplace and, sometimes, a nation.  There is an entitlement for a certain amount of sick leave for all workers, fat and thin, “healthy” or “unhealthy”.  It certainly does not mean that the entitlement will be taken every year but the capacity is there and businesses accommodate this in their planning and costs.

Remove this generic entitlement so that only working hours remain.  Is a fat worker less productive than a thin worker?  Is a worker without any ailments more productive than a person with a chronic ailment?  Is a smoker more productive than a non-smoker or a diabetic or a paraplegic? Continue reading “Does being fat equate to being unsafe at work?”

How the treatment of traumatic brain injuries has changed and the positive role of workers’ compensation

An American workers’ compensation blog, Workers Comp Insider, posted a fascinating article on the workplace-related traumatic brain injuries.  The article discusses a new research paper by Peter Rousmaniere – “Gray Matters: The Employer’s Role in Brain Injury Recovery”.

The original article in Risk Management magazine is also a good example of clear writing on  a complex matter.

Clearly, workers who receive a severe brain injury should not be shuffled away into the Never-Never as is traditional.  There are counselling and rehabilitation techniques available that have originated from many sources, including contemporary wars. Continue reading “How the treatment of traumatic brain injuries has changed and the positive role of workers’ compensation”

The cost of doing nothing

It is always an option to do nothing.  The status quo can be very attractive but if one chooses to not control a workplace hazard that one is aware of then the penalty must be accepted and the responsibility accepted.

WorkSafe Victoria has provided details (not yet online) of a case where a director of a food manufacturing company did not act on a workplace hazard and that hazard resulted in

“…the worker’s middle three fingers …removed to the knuckle; and he suffered damaged nerves, constant pain, and restricted movement of his thumb.”

The sole director of the company, Dino Fabbris, was fined $A25,000 for

“…his failure to arrange for the shredder to be guarded – despite working on the factory floor on a daily basis and taking managerial responsibility for the company’s two factories.” Continue reading “The cost of doing nothing”

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