health – Page 156 – SafetyAtWorkBlog

When managing stress, are safety managers looking at the wrong thing?

Today is World Mental Health Day and the media, at least in Australia, is inundated with comments and articles on mental health. This morning, Jeff Kennett, a director of beyondblue, spoke on ABC Radio about the increasing levels of anxiety that people are feeling in these turbulent economic times. Throughout the 5 minute interview, Kennett never once mentioned stress. This omission seemed odd as, in the workplace safety field, stress is often seen as the biggest psychosocial hazard faced in the workplace.

SafetyAtWorkBlog spoke with Clare Shann, the senior project manager with beyondblue’s Workplace Program, about the role of stress in the workplace and its relation to mental health. She clarified that stress is not a medical condition but a potential contributor to developing a mental illness, such as anxiety disorders or depression.

To put the situation into context, there is a fascinating interview with a Darren Dorey of Warrnambool in Victoria. The 20 minute interview was conducted on a regional ABC Radio station on 9 October, and describes the personal experience of depression and anxiety that stems, to some extent, from work.

It seems that in trying to manage stress, OHS professionals may be focusing on the wrong element in worker health. Perhaps what are considered workers compensation claims for stress should be re–categorised as claims for mental illness. This may result in a better acceptance of the existence of this workplace hazard.

An exclusive interview with Clare Shann can be heard clare_shann_mental_health

When psychosocial hazards originate from poor management

There are still some OHS professionals who are uncomfortable with approaching workplace hazards that do not involve nip-points and energy-transfer. In fact there are some who can’t cope with the industrial relations interplay with occupational health and safety. A major industrial relations problem ran for some time at Tristar Steering and Suspension. The absurdity of this…

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The safety context of sick leave entitlements

If I have a cold that could spread to my work colleagues, I take the day off. I use my entitlement of sick leave to achieve two aims – to get myself well and to avoid infecting my workmates. Both these aims are within the context of occupational health, safety and wellness.

The Australian newspaper today provided an outline of a new absentee-management IT system that would provide good support for sick leave management. You ring in sick and a qualified nurse will estimate the necessary period off work and notify your supervisor. There are several flaws that I can see in the system:

What if a worker produces a medical certificate that contradicts the determination of the nurse?
Can diagnosis really be undertaken over the phone?
This service only seems to relate to health matters. What about stress?
Some companies allow for “doona days” where time off is allowed to “chill out” and to minimise stress. Are these classified as a sick day? They certainly provide health benefits.

The article’s focus is on the IT system but given that the article is written by the newspaper’s Human Resources writer, it is a little dismissive of the role of sick leave entitlements.

“Mondayitis” may be a glib throwaway term but there is also an implication that taking Monday’s off repeatedly is a sign of abuse of the system. Repeated regular absences may be an important symptom of a workplace matter that needs addressing and not just disciplining. For instance, if your boss repeatedly embarasses you in the Monday-morning staff meeting, you may feel this is a good reason to avoid Mondays. The better path would be to address the cause of the absence, should your employer provide such opportunities.

Mandatory reporting of stress-related injuries

An OHS colleague of mine, Col Finnie, has posted a comment to a recent SafetyAtWorkBlog article on depression. As I work out the technicalities of having Col as a regular contributor to this blog, I felt that his comment warranted a little more prominence. The original comment can be viewed HERE)

I find the whole issue of what is being done about work stress intriguing. Last time I looked stress claims outstripped manual handling injuries in the UK (if I recall right, that was about a year ago). You’d imagine that trend will also happen here in time.

I wonder if it might be worth considering getting doctors to report to their local OH&S agency when they have evidence that a particular business appears to be the source of an unusual number of stress related patients?

If it’s legitimate for the police or emergency wards to be a source of reports of info on apparent work related physical injuries, why shouldn’t that be legitimate for other types of injuries?

There is no reason for this idea to be considered a “witch-hunt”. I’d consider it an opportunity for a regulator to pitch in on getting a business on-track with how it’s dealing (or not dealing) with managing stress stuff. Clearly, the reporting approach would have to be handled carefully. It’s quite likely it wouldn’t work as a mandatory requirement. But guidance and an info program could be worked up to make sure the complex issue of stress is dealt with sensibly.”

When a safety campaign is not a safety campaign

Last Friday the Australian Jockeys Association issued a media release in support of their safety campaign for increased compensation. The campaign was surprising on a number of points.

The safety campaign is aimed to “help jockeys manage the risks inherent in their work”. Over the last few years there has been a marked increase in safety work in this area. In December 2005 media reported the following

“Safety helmet to be demonstrated in Melbourne
The prototype of a full face jockeys’ helmet designed to minimise head and facial injuries will be demonstrated at the Moonee Valley meeting in Melbourne on Friday.
Sydney riders got a look at helmet at Rosehill last Saturday and several adjustments have since been made. The helmet, which has been developed by Mark Bryant of Safety Helmet Systems, gives 40 per cent more protection and has a rear locking device enabling it to be removed easily in the case of suspected neck injury.”

This developed from the work undertaken by John Saxon and the National Jockey Safety Review Steering Committee established in early 2005.

WorkSafe Victoria supported a research project in March 2006 (which included the Victorian Jockeys Association) that made recommendations on the following OHS areas

HAZARD MANAGEMENT
INCIDENT REPORTING
CONSULTATION
HAZARD CONTROL
DESIGN ADVICE & GUIDES
TRACK EQUIPMENT
RIDING GEAR
EDUCATION, TRAINING AND MENTORING
INDUCTION AT TRACKS
BREAKING IN AND HORSE EDUCATION STANDARDS
PERSONAL HEALTH
INDUSTRY OH&S IMPROVEMENT ACTION PLAN

In June 2007 WorkSafe Victoria published a guide on HORSE STABLES AND TRACK RIDING SAFETY, which includes a section specifically related to horse riding and track safety.

The media release makes no mention of workers’ compensation yet compensation seems to be what they were requesting.

AJA CEP Paul Innes says, in the release,

“Under our plan, one per cent of race money would be directed to the AJA. This money would be used to: cover jockeys’ compulsory Public Liability premiums; fund a national Personal Accident Scheme for jockeys; support jockeys and their families in financial hardship due to death, illness and injury through the National Jockeys’ Trust; and fund other welfare programs”

The AJA website acknowledges that jockeys do receive workers compensation. It says

“As Workers Compensation entitlements for jockeys depend on specific state and territory legislation, a jockeys entitlements to benefits in respect to a workplace injury, differs quite considerably throughout Australia.
The AJA has been recently in the process of making representations to the Principal Racing Authorities in those states that have inadequate compensation entitlements.”

So what the recent campaign is about is not necessarily reducing the risk to jockeys but an expression of dissatisfaction with current workers compensation arrangements. If this is the case, why is this not explained in the media release and why not redirect the protest resources to the national reviews of OHS and workers compensation to which the current Federal government is committed?

In the AJA campaign booklet, Paul Innes emphasises on page 2 that

“… the overwhelming majority of jockeys aren’t highly paid. Quite the opposite, with a survey of our members showing that 50 percent gross no more than $50,000 per annum. That’s before paying for their equipment, transport costs, public liability and other insurance, as well as GST and income tax.
Disturbingly, surveys of our membership reveal many jockeys experience periods of financial hardship.”

The booklet further stresses that “jockeys are leaving the industry in large and unsustainable numbers. In the past nine years, jockey numbers have declined 43 percent” with the implication that it is financial pressures and not risks to health that are the more important concerns.

The campaign is entitled “Racing for Our Lives – A Plan to Protect Australian Jockeys”. It is described by the AJA as a “safety campaign” – IT IS NOT. This campaign is about income. To label it as anything to do with safety is misleading and the Australian Jockey’s Association should be roundly criticised for misrepresenting this campaign.

Note: I tried to contact Paul Innes today for clarification. He was unavailable but his staff said that he will contact me in a few days. I will publish his response.

Workplace depression approaches are too narrow

Further to other SafetyAtWorkBlog posts concerning Ms Paula Wriedt’s sacking, Ms Wriedt has issued a statement expressing her disappointment at Premier David Bartlett’s decision.

One comment from a newspaper columnist struck me as odd but worthy of note. The columnist said that Paula Wriedt’s public statements have followed the line pushed by beyondblue, a depression support and lobby group. I have had no dealings with beyondblue but note that newspaper articles often end with “For further information on depression contact…..” similarly television news reports.

beyondblue has been a spectacular success in self-promotion and, hopefully, increasing awareness of depression. In the context of the Premier’s decision on Paula Wriedt, David Bartlett contacted the chair of beyondblue (and former Victorian Premier) Jeff Kennett, prior to his decision. The Weekend Australian newspaper reported

“I have not taken this decision lightly; in fact, decisions don’t come any tougher than this,” Mr Bartlett said. He received support from former Victorian Liberal premier Jeff Kennett, the chairman of depression support group Beyondblue.

After speaking to Mr Bartlett, Mr Kennett told The Weekend Australian he believed the decision was a very tough call for the Premier, but added: “When you balance up all his responsibilities, the correct one. It might just be what Paula needs to start rebuilding her health. That is, she doesn’t have other ministerial responsibilities now and she can now focus more directly on her recovery.”

beyondblue does admirable work and has acheived much but it is dominating the discussions on psychosocial issues in the workplace. It is difficult for other groups to raise matters that are just as relevant to the workplace, if not more so, such as occupational violence, stress, dignity at work, and so on.

We are not yet clear on all the circumstances of Paula Wriedt’s suicide attempt, and we may never know. We do not know if work stresses or private stresses caused her self-harm but that is not necessarily the point. Occupational health and safety long ago left the confines of the workplace and controlling workplace hazards, particularly psychosocial issues, needs a bigger canvas. There must be an approach that assists the individual in work and non-work contexts.

Some countries and States are trying this through work/life balance initiatives but the approaches are usually skewed to focus on interventions on the individual rather than looking at the social structures. In OHS we look at the “system of work” to determine the most effective interventions. To affect true and lasting change, we must apply the “system of living”. We must be careful not to over-emphasise the individual and be distracted from the cultural initiatives.

Politician who attempted suicide is “sacked”

In early August 2008, Paula Wriedt, Tasmanian MP, tried to commit suicide. Six weeks later the Tasmanian Premier has sacked her from Cabinet, according to an ABC report.

Premier David Bartlett denies this is a sacking, more a “withdrawal of commission”. He says it is for the good of the government and for the good of Ms Wriedt.

Ms Wriedt was asked to resign her Cabinet position but the Premier says she was “not in a position to make such a decision”.

An audio interview with the Premier put to him that his decision was “despicable” and “reflects the way the state deals with people with mental health problems”.

Ms Wriedt’s suicide attempt had already raised discussion on the workplace issues of stress, compensation, workloads and mental health. The listener’s question in the audio interview will reflect the majority of the community’s response to the Premier’s decision and Premier Bartlett will have a difficult time explaining how his decision was for Ms Wriedt’s benefit.

Ms Wriedt’s current situation and future career decisions will provide an interesting illustration on how the public service and Tasmanian politics manages an employee with mental health issues, particularly when, on OHS matters, the public service should be exemplars.

Category: health

When managing stress, are safety managers looking at the wrong thing?

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When psychosocial hazards originate from poor management

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Mandatory reporting of stress-related injuries

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When a safety campaign is not a safety campaign

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Politician who attempted suicide is “sacked”

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