Occupational health and safety (OHS) returned to the Australian
Already a member? Log in here
OHS cost research needs to stretch itself
The annual workplace safety report Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety always gets a good deal of mainstream media attention. It deserves some of this attention as it has provided sound information on work-related injuries and injury costs for many years but it is now looking dated as it is not keeping up with current research in to the business case for safety, the move to leading indicators and the incorporation of psychosocial injuries (which are also covered by workers compensation). Continue reading “OHS cost research needs to stretch itself”
Health program impact on corporate share price is overstated
An article from the January 2016 edition of the Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (JOEM) has been gaining some attention through social media networks. The article, Tracking the Market Performance of Companies That Integrate a Culture of Health and Safety: An Assessment of Corporate Health Achievement Award Applicants, is being interpreted as evidence that health and safety programs lead to “superior market performance”. Yes and No, but mostly No. Continue reading “Health program impact on corporate share price is overstated”
Can OHS achieve change in a neoliberal world?
The operation of the European Union is a mystery to everyone outside the EU and to most people in the EU. Any organisation that juggles the legislation of over 20 countries has a thankless task but some of the work being undertaken by occupational health and safety (OHS) advocates provides a clarity on power relationships between employers and workers. I never tire of reading articles and editorials by Laurent Vogel of the European Trade Union Institute. Below is an excerpt from his editorial in the Autumn-Winter 2015 edition of HesaMag: Continue reading “Can OHS achieve change in a neoliberal world?”
What happened to leadership?
SafeSearch has released the latest edition of its Australasian survey of occupational health and safety (OHS) salaries. A couple of years ago the recruitment company started including some qualitative questions. The latest survey generated a media release that says
“…the role of safety within an organisation is being redefined due to out-dated and ineffective strategies.”
And quoted Aaron Neilson, the company’s General Manager, saying
“Currently safety strategies are seen as a potential business burden. They are not always developed in tandem with broader business objectives, and risk being viewed as inhibitive.”
The motivation for these changes is never identified or speculated over.
Traditionally changes in the occupational health and safety (OHS) sector have originated from the existence of a hazard leading to the generation of outrage which results in legislative change. The presence of research evidence may speed up the change process. However this does not seem to be what is generating the current change in safety, according to Neilson. Continue reading “What happened to leadership?”
Achievement requires safety
LinkedIn and other social media often includes “inspirational” posters and memes. They are eye-catching and often funny but they can also be thin and simple. This simplicity can reinforce thoughts that may work against being safe. The image on the right is an example.
Extracting good from maps of death
Ever since I read the London Encyclopaedia during my honeymoon in England, I have waited for a similar encyclopaedia based on workplace safety. However, the world has changed since then and such an encyclopaedia would most likely to be created as an app.
The London Encyclopaedia is indexed by places, streets and addresses, and so should a “Safety Encyclopaedia” app through a localised map of workplace fatalities.
Already a member? Log in here