Any new book from Sidney Dekker is worth reading. His latest is called “Safety Theater – How the Desire for Perfection Drives Compliance Clutter, Inauthenticity, and Accidents”. I am not sure that this book, the third in a series, offers solutions, but it reframes many of the contemporary perspectives on occupational health and health and safety (OHS), and with some intriguing connections.
The New South Wales (Labor) government has amended its work health and safety and industrial relations laws. These changes have been described as “substantial” in one legal opinion, but the changes reflect the management of company liability more than preventing harm.
CCTV cameras on a cash register may deter theft due to the fear of consequences, such as discipline or dismissal, but they also communicate a lack of trust. If the aim is to prevent physical actions like theft, they work. But can they prevent occupational health and safety (OHS) breaches like sexual abuse in childcare centres?
Australia now has a Rural Media Farm Injury Dashboard, which shows the location of agricultural injuries and deaths from 2020 onwards. This is the type of publicly available information required to help reinforce an awareness of the dangers of farm work and demystify and destigmatise occupational health and safety (OHS) in this sector.
There are limitations, though, so one must be careful not to hyperbolise the data.
Note: This article mentions suicide.
Recently, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an extraordinary article that seems to endorse the exploitation of the mental health of workers. (Although the article is paywalled, it is getting a run in some local Australian newspapers) The article reports that companies like Shopify, Solace Health, and Rilla are bluntly marketing roles that involve extreme hours, a relentless pace, and minimal downtime.
One job post literally reads: “Please don’t join unless you’re eager to work 70 hours a week.”
If the job ads for these prominent North American companies were posted in Australia, the unsafe working conditions would likely be deemed illegal.
Militant construction unions in Australia have damaged the relationship between the community and the trade union movement. Although the typical trade union member may be a nurse, a teacher, or a public servant, most would depict a member as a big, aggressive, rude, and domineering man. Australia’s trade union movement is trying to redress this perception, but it cannot progress until it eliminates the unsafe behaviour of the organisers of the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU). The Queensland government is set to give reform a red-hot go.
Researcher William Fleming found that there is little evidence to support the claim that workplace wellness programs provide the health benefits typically promised. That research from a couple of years ago still resonates, but Fleming has continued to research corporate wellness programs and is broadening his discussion. The latest research paper, “Health lifestyles at work: availability, barriers and participation in workplace wellness”, is a deeper analysis of the social context of wellness programs and why employers use them.
