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”
Category: research
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?”
Snopes can cut through the OHS bull
Chain letters were bad enough in the old days when both stamps and envelopes were licked but the internet has resurrected a lot of myths simply because it costs next to nothing to distribute the crap. Urban myths have evolved into internet outrage and, sadly, even OHS professionals forward on this rubbish. Continue reading “Snopes can cut through the OHS bull”
Home-based businesses need OHS consideration
SafetyAtWorkBlog is largely produced from a home-based business and the issues of safety, mental health, work/life balance are real issues in this business.
In the development of OHS regulations, a “workplace” has been fairly generic. For at least 50 years, our definition of “workplace” has reflected our individual experience of the places we have worked. (Lately, in Australia, a “workplace” has been designed as a place where work is performed, which raises lots of difficult issues in itself.) OHS regulations are rarely written by workers in a home-based business and sometimes the regulations miss this important sector of the workforce and the community.
An article on women’s wages in the Australian Financial Review on 16 March 2010 (not available online without a subscription) includes one paragraph of interesting and relevant statistics: Continue reading “Home-based businesses need OHS consideration”
Two new free OHS magazines from Australia
Two interesting and useful OHS publications have been released in Australia. The West Australian Division of the Safety Institute of Australia has published its Australian Safety Matters magazine. It is freely downloadable and available HERE.
The second is a publication from Workplace Standards Tasmania and relates particularly to OHS issues related to the electrical, gas, plumbing and building industries. It’s published twice a year and is available for free download HERE.
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”
Workplace bullying and restorative justice – how to help the families left behind
A feature article on workplace bullying in The Age newspaper on 10 March 2010 has the additional or secondary benefit of again raising the relevance of “restorative justice” to the issue of occupational safety and health.
The main element of the article is the McGregor family who had two children commit suicide over related issues. The son, Stuart McGregor, described as being chronically depressed, was being bullied at work. He confided in his sister, Angela McGregor, over the issues. Angela had been bullied at school. Alannah killed herself. A month later, Stuart followed.
WorkSafe investigated the bullying at Stuart’s place of work, substantiated Stuart’s claims are is determining what further action to take. The newspaper reports that there may be insufficient evidence to pursue the case through the Courts.
What the reporter, Helen Westerman, does is to relate the grief and hurt of the parents to the potential benefits of the application of “restorative justice” in workplace incidents. Continue reading “Workplace bullying and restorative justice – how to help the families left behind”