working from home – Page 2 – SafetyAtWorkBlog

Return to Office demands miss the point

This week a colleague told me that the return to the workplace demands by companies is the most significant issue for 2023. Perhaps, but it is no longer a significant occupational health and safety (OHS) challenge. The directions of company executives are couched in terms of productivity and management comfort. A short while ago, the cause of pre-vaccine tension was masks, hygiene, “dirty” public transport and mandatory vaccinations.

The issues have shifted from the avoidance of infections to the anxieties of returning to the office, which coincidentally places the issue in the OHS contexts of psychosocial issues and worker welfare.

Another business survey that (sort of) mentions OHS

Much of the discussion about working from home (WFH) focuses on the number of workers in the office, at home or working a combination of both. The production issues of connection, collaboration, management supervision, and productivity are also the focus, particularly of media articles based on some small survey that is principally a marketing exercise. (The need to provide your contact details before downloading is a dead giveaway) However, occupational health and safety (OHS) occasionally garners a mention.

One recent example of this was an article in the United Kingdom’s The Telegraph, which also turned up last week in the Australian Financial Review.

A management book that offers clarity and confidence

One of the most common complaints of newly graduated workers has been that although the university has provided a lot of knowledge, the courses are short on practical management skills. Occupational health and safety (OHS) is no different. One may learn about the social determinants of health but may have poor skills in managing or interacting with workers and colleagues.

Many try to fill this knowledge gap by reading various management and leadership books. Many choose books from leading business schools like Harvard, but these books are often incompatible with the legislative and cultural requirements of Australia or other local jurisdictions. Sometimes it is time to read a book on the basic concepts, like the Essential Managers Management Handbook, published by Dorling Kindersley in 2022.

Fool me once; shame on you. Fool me twice; shame on me. Fool me thrice?!

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation recently published a curious article about workaholism and burnout – the latter being an occupational mental health condition recognised by the World Health Organisation.

It is curious because the catalyst for the article, Sally McGrath, claims to have experienced burnout three times. Once is understandable as job stress can creep up on anyone. Twice should result in external assistance to investigate the work environment, work practices and personal mental health to identify contributory factors. But the third time…??? Burnout is not something that is usually a repeated experience and its prevention may present a significant challenge for the occupational health and safety (OHS) profession and employers.

Stress reenters the research vocabulary and we are all better for it

Work is making people sicker, according to a recently published research report from the University of Melbourne. The “2023 State of the Future Work – A Work Futures Hallmark Research Initiative Report” said:

“Critically, we find almost three-quarters of people with a chronic illness (73 percent) say that their health condition was caused or worsened by the stress associated with their job.”
page 15

It is good to see the various incarnations of work-related mental health conditions being brought back to the collective and specific term of Stress.

OHS tidbits from the latest Productivity Commission Report

On March 17 2023, the Australian government released the Productivity Commission’s latest 5-year Productivity Inquiry report. At well over a thousand pages, few people are going to read it to the level it deserves. Nor will I, but I have dipped into it and found a couple of important comments that relate directly to the management of occupational health and safety (OHS).

The two extremes of managing burnout

Two new books about burnout arrived on my doorstep this week. They could not be more different. They reflect the mess of approaches to this type of psychosocial injury. Only one provides valid, useful evidence and advice.

Bev Aisbett released a book that I found unreadable – partly because of the advice offered but mostly because of the atrocious formatting where she YELLS almost all the time in the most annoying social media way. Below is a random example.

Category: working from home

Return to Office demands miss the point

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Another business survey that (sort of) mentions OHS

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A management book that offers clarity and confidence

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Fool me once; shame on you. Fool me twice; shame on me. Fool me thrice?!

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Stress reenters the research vocabulary and we are all better for it

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OHS tidbits from the latest Productivity Commission Report

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The two extremes of managing burnout

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