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Rethinking Trauma in the Workplace

Workers and employers seem to be facing more and more traumatic events at work, but are we? An interesting article on the topic (paywalled) was in the UK newspaper The Times on September 27 2025, on the eve of the international Transform Trauma Oxford 2025, which discussed the “concept creep” of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is an important context to consider when preventing psychosocial hazards in the workplace and managing psychological risks.

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Every Worker Deserves A Good Life

Work-related suicide is more insidious in some ways than non-work suicide, as it is institutionally stigmatised to the extent that its reality has been denied. There is an additional level of complexity when an employer is in control of the work, and a strong economic ideology often denies the influence of work factors. The tide is turning, but organisational factors are not receiving the prominence they deserve, and the change remains slow.

New Australian research is playing a crucial role in accelerating this change.

Note: This article discusses issues related to suicide.

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Victoria’s Psychosocial Reforms will Test Employer Commitment to OHS

The Victorian Government plans to introduce legislation regarding psychosocial hazards, similar to that of all other Australian jurisdictions, by the end of 2025. But what workplace changes are expected when this new set of occupational health and safety regulations is enacted? Other States’ laws may provide clues.

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OHS Law Was Meant to Empower, Not Excuse

Australian occupational health and safety (OHS) laws require employers to be compliant with their OHS duties, but also allow the flexibility for employers to determine their own level of compliance. This has complicated OHS because employers can never be sure that they are in compliance. Compliance and non-compliance are usually determined accurately through the courts after legal action by the OHS regulatory agency and after a workplace incident. This uncertainty is compounded for small business owners who just want to be told what to do to be compliant.

Perhaps the most challenged industry sector is farming, which cannot avoid the uncertainty that the OHS laws provide. This uncertainty is one that highly-resourced employers are proud to claim as a well-fought-for benefit, namely, flexibility, but it is more of a problem for isolated rural workplaces and small businesses.

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The Politics of Working From Home Continues to Miss the OHS Arguments

Working from home (WFH) is being sold as a cost-of-living fix and a family-friendly reform—but the Victorian government’s proposed WFH legislation misses a critical point: it’s also an occupational health and safety issue. While politicians tout productivity and convenience, they largely ignore the psychological benefits, consultation obligations, and uneven access that make this policy far more complex than a Monday morning commute.

You had to look hard for mentions of the occupational health and safety (OHS) legitimacy of the proposed law changes in Parliament this month.

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Why Leaders Still Miss the Hazards That Matter

We know what employers/leaders do or do not do about psychosocial hazards at work and the psychological impacts. But there is still insufficient discussion on why those leaders make those choices. Recently, Dr Caroline Howe came close to answering the “why” in a blog article for her Psychosocial Safety and Leadership Institute.

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Someone should have read the instructions – OHS in COVID times

Ask someone to depict occupational health and safety (OHS) in a drawing, and the image is likely to include a hard hat, maybe some safety glasses, or hearing protection. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) dominates the concept of OHS and how people perceive OHS, even when PPE is the last hazard control option to be considered in providing safe and healthy work.

Our relationship with PPE has forever been changed by everyone’s experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survivors of the pandemic are loath to reflect on those few intense years, but OHS needs to talk about the pandemic and what went right and what went wrong. Here’s a short start to the conversation.

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