The Irish Times has reported on a speech made by Dr Jukka Takala, Director of EU-OSHA, in Spain in November 2009. “[Dr Takala] said since the publication of a recent study showing a very high level of work-related suicides by French Telecom workers, there was an urgency about getting this information. “Personally, I favour a … Continue reading “Work-related suicides in Europe”
When a financial newspaper or website posts an article about workplace safety, it is worth reading. The fact of such an article does not mean, though, that safety management is the focus of the story. A 17 November 2009 article in the Wall Street Journal, ” Workers Denied Company Help Due to Stress-Related Complaints” understandably … Continue reading “Managing stress the Wall Street Journal way”
It is very easy to forget that workplace health and safety is a global issue. The pressures of work and the daily OHS issues can constrict our perspective for so long that we are surprised when we are reminded that people work everywhere and are therefore in danger in some way. An article (citation below) from the Scandinavian Journal of … Continue reading “Global OHS statistics and trends”
Yesterday Associate Professor Tony LaMontagne spoke at the monthly networking meeting of the Central Safety Group in Australia. His presentation was based around his research into job stress and its relationship with mental health. LaMontagne was talking about the dominant position in personnel management where negative thoughts generate a negative working environment, one of stress, dissatisfaction and lower productivity. SafetyAtWorkBlog … Continue reading “Behavioural-based safety put into context”
As one gets older, the “where are they now?” columns in the newspapers or the summer magazine supplements become more interesting. The articles of faded pop stars and political one-time wonders are diverting but every so often one makes you stop and think. OHS is not renowned for “where are they nows?”. The discipline and the profession has few celebrities but there are … Continue reading “The personal cost of surviving a major hazard explosion”
In October 2009 a workshop was held on worker safety by the Worker Education and Training Program (WETP), a part of the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Many of the topics raised in the workshop – REACH, Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals, and nanotechnology would be issues or … Continue reading “EHS workshop report and Australian nanoparticles reports”
When reading the draft documents for Australia’s harmonised OHS laws, it is very useful to run various scenarios or hazards through one’s mind and see how these could be affected or managed. The most challenging hazards are the psychosocial hazards (or bio-psychosocial as they were referred to at the recent Comcare conference in Canberra) of stress, mental … Continue reading “Contractor management in Australia’s new OHS laws”