The Australian Government is committed to increasing the manufacturing sector through its Future Made in Australia strategy and legislation. To participate in the program and receive funds or tax incentives, companies must meet the Community Benefit Principles, including providing safe and healthy workplaces.
Over coffee with colleagues yesterday, I spoke a lot about the sociological context of work and occupational health and safety. I realised I was echoing many of the points I made in an article from February 2024, so I revisited that article on Limitarianism and produced this short 5-minute summary of the issue.
One of the most interesting discussions about morality I have had was with Professor Sidney Dekker in 2017. Following my article on the morality of US President Donald Trump, below is a summary of Dekker’s thoughts on occupational health and safety and morality.
Last month, the Sunday Times published an article with a concerning headline: “Resilience training for Gen Z is booming — and that’s no bad thing” (paywalled). Resilience training for psychological safety at work has not been discredited, but there is plenty of evidence showing it is insufficient and inappropriate as a primary strategy for preventing psychological harm. This evidence is being reflected in Australia’s Codes and guidance for managing psychological safety.
[This is an attempt at satire]
In today’s rapidly evolving operational landscape, Australian organisations are increasingly aligning their strategic posture with the emerging consensus that psychosocial risk is, in fact, a WHS issue.
A bold stance, only 20 years behind schedule.
Most of you will have been able to determine some of my values from the thousands of articles I have written here, but sometimes it is worth stopping, reviewing and clarifying. I met a friend in Zurich of a different political leaning from mine last week who, in a simple way, confirmed some of my thoughts.
He said that we need to respect each other. This is not difficult, but it can create enormous conflict and anxiety, especially as we continue to learn how traditional categorisations and approaches are no longer valid and may never have been.
You should have heard by now that Safe Work Australia (SWA) has come through with guidance on having work-related suicides included in each jurisdiction’s occupational health and safety (OHS) legislation as incidents that will require notification to the local OHS regulator. If you haven’t, get a new OHS or Human Resources (HR) adviser because the future will be a bumpy, uncomfortable and challenging ride.
Warning: this article discusses suicide.
