Do you fix the fish or the aquarium?

Guest post from Jason van Schie

We can all (hopefully!) agree that looking after workers makes sound business sense. Look after your workers, and they will look after you.

So what is the best way to care for employees? By responding to their symptoms of distress through provision of reactive services like EAP [Employee Assistance Program] and resilience apps (fixing the fish), or by improving the design, management and social interactions at work (the aquarium)?

Let’s park that question for a minute and consider two questions:
1) What happens when we fix the worker but not the work? and
2) If population health is the goal, which approach is more likely to achieve the desired result?

Continue reading “Do you fix the fish or the aquarium?”

Excessive heat is another reason to redesign work

There seems little doubt that global warming is now a reality. It has been forecast since the 1970s at least, but the fact of creeping change needs a turning point, and it seems that the current Northern Hemisphere Summer is that point. The Southern Hemisphere’s turn is only a few months away.

Few are talking about prevention. Instead, it is adaptation. Those adaptations need to be more than interventions at the individual level, such as increased hydration, wide-brimmed hats and facekinis. Global warming (climate change) has been a developing hazard for a while, contributed to by most countries and owned by none. Employees and customers need to reassess their work-related expectations. Here are some occupational issues and controls that deserve active reflection.

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The latest attempt to address young worker safety

There have been dozens of attempts to promote occupational health and safety (OHS) through advertising. It is perhaps more difficult than ever due to the splintering of media types and the shifted control of media advertising to online global corporations. This new structure does not stop people from trying, and this is a good thing.

The upcoming 23rd World Congress on Safety and Health at Work includes the International Media Festival for Prevention 2023, an event that previously has unearthed significant OHS promotions like Shoelaces. But OHS regulators are persistent in their promotional work. A recent attempt was by Ontario’s Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB), aimed at younger workers and to maximise social media influence.

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Advice for the 23rd World Congress on Safety and Health at Work

I will be attending the 23rd World Congress on Safety and Health at Work in Sydney in November 2023. After a previous attendance at the Singapore conference a few years ago, I have high hopes but also some reservations.

The Congress is a major opportunity to open our minds. We Australians may think we are leading in some areas of occupational health and safety (OHS), but other than nominated speakers, we may need to be silent about our success until after we have listened and learned about the OHS experience of others. Some delegates will have an inflated sense of importance (more than ours), but most have come to learn, and it’s these delegates on whom we should focus.

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Job redesign should be a measure of business leadership

A consistent, manageable workload balanced by official leave and hours allowing social reconnection and mental recharge is ideal. It is the structure on which Industrial Relations (IR) and occupational health and safety (OHS) are based. Many people struggle to achieve this ideal even when it is prescribed by workplace laws. Many jobs simply ignore this prescription. In The Age newspaper on July 15 2023, journalist Jane Cadzow wrote about one of these jobs, the “Political Chief of Staff”. The inherent harm of the job was noted in the headline:

“‘They’re driving me insane’: The 24/7 life of a political chief of staff”

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Reflect on failures before jumping into change

Gabrielle Carlton, Director & Principal Consultant at Resylience, recently published an interesting article about her experience with a former Australian soldier who was struggling with work-related mental ill-health. The mental health of defence personnel is a hugely important and complex situation that questions the core function of defence and our expectations of defence personnel. However, some of her comments on psychosocial health in the article’s conclusion caught most of my attention.

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Business Leaders Breakfast seminar

The WorkSafe Victoria Business Leaders Breakfast earlier this week offered a chance for interested parties to hear from WorkSafe and its guest Rod Maule, the General Manager of Safety and Wellbeing at Australia Post. WorkSafe’s Colin Radford offered a “stump speech” that, although familiar, was important. Maule was a colourful speaker who, on reflection, wasn’t as informative as he seemed at the time.

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