Discussions about “the human condition” rarely make it into board papers or safety strategies, yet they sit underneath almost every modern workplace challenge. Whether we’re talking about psychosocial hazards, insecure work, presenteeism, or the slow cultural erosion that comes from constant restructuring, the through‑line is unmistakable: work is a profoundly human activity, and when we forget that, harm follows.
Queensland doctors face an increased risk of burnout, but details have not been shared.
Several Australian media outlets reported on some survey results provided by Queensland Health, such as:
““One of the key results was that 49 per cent of clinicians surveyed met the threshold for risk of burnout, with burnout risk higher in rural and regional areas compared to metro areas.”
Lindsay Fitzclarence‘s travelogue “The Dirty Life of Mining in Australia” is a thought-provoking work that combines social, economic, industrial, indigenous, and environmental perspectives into a journey across Australia. Occupational health and safety (OHS) is one theme, but it is part of many, and the book is better for it.
Continue reading “Travelling Through Australia’s Beautiful and Broken Mining Country”Occupational health and safety (OHS) is rarely addressed in election campaigns, and the Victorian election in November is likely no exception. However, there are OHS issues that need to be discussed and addressed, and there may also be a political advantage.
I pride myself on listening to a broad range of views, so I purchased a recent book called “The Dark Legacy of Daniel Andrews – Assessing the Social and Economic Costs of Australia’s Most Controversial Premier“. Reading it stretched my patience as few of the various writers acknowledged that Premier Dan Andrews saved many lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, even though his very long lockdowns were economically and psychologically damaging.
I read this book looking for factual accuracy, analytical rigour, ideological framing, and relevance to OHS. It missed almost all my expectations.
Citizen and worker well-being will not be a major focus of the Australian government’s budgets, but it will still influence them. Recently, Professor Paul Read assessed the Wellbeing Budget concept in The Australian Fabians Review (issue 8). His optimism is notable and helps us understand well-being in an occupational and psychological context.
In Australia, the sovereign citizen movement has gained strength for some time, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also, according to The Age newspaper recently, creating administrative problems for the courts – Flash juries and Bible verses: How sovereign citizens clog up Australian courts (paywalled). I began considering how I would manage a worker who held sovereign-citizen beliefs and might object to certain policies and directives used in the occupational health and safety (OHS) context.
