Early in 2008, the Victorian Government sprung a surprise on the OHS and health promotion industries by announcing a world-first initiative – WorkHealth. This program was to be funded by interest generated from the WorkCover scheme to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars over the next five years. WorkHealth loses stakeholder support Two … Continue reading “WorkHealth – end is nigh after less than one year”
Today is World Mental Health Day and the media, at least in Australia, is inundated with comments and articles on mental health. This morning, Jeff Kennett, a director of beyondblue, spoke on ABC Radio about the increasing levels of anxiety that people are feeling in these turbulent economic times. Throughout the 5 minute interview, Kennett … Continue reading “When managing stress, are safety managers looking at the wrong thing?”
An OHS colleague of mine, Col Finnie, has posted a comment to a recent SafetyAtWorkBlog article on depression. As I work out the technicalities of having Col as a regular contributor to this blog, I felt that his comment warranted a little more prominence. The original comment can be viewed HERE) I find the whole … Continue reading “Mandatory reporting of stress-related injuries”
Further to other SafetyAtWorkBlog posts concerning Ms Paula Wriedt’s sacking, Ms Wriedt has issued a statement expressing her disappointment at Premier David Bartlett’s decision. One comment from a newspaper columnist struck me as odd but worthy of note. The columnist said that Paula Wriedt’s public statements have followed the line pushed by beyondblue, a depression … Continue reading “Workplace depression approaches are too narrow”
Over the last few days Australian media has been covering the hospitalisation of Tasmanian MP, Paula Wriedt. It has become apparent that Ms Wreidt attempted suicide as a result of a combination of work and family pressures. Being a politician is a difficult job and, as with any job, pressure can become excessive. This was … Continue reading “Another Australian politician attempts suicide”
Further to my post on public service workloads, the Finance Minister, Lindsay Tanner, author of the 2003 book on work/life balance, has stated on television (if you get through the fuel price discussion) that “There’s always going to be some disgruntled people in a large organisation,” he said. “Whether there’s truth in what they say, who … Continue reading “Times when work/life balance should be sacrificed”
Overnight English MP John Prescott “came out” as a bulimia sufferer. Or so the story goes in the British press. But the real story for the occupational health and safety profession is that Prescott’s doctors suggest the contributory factor – stress. The Telegraph is a little more precise and says that it is unclear why … Continue reading “Politicians, Stress and Bulimia”