Suicide and OHS media campaigns should achieve tangible outcomes

The benefits of advertising are notoriously difficult to quantify unless there is a specific product being promoted.  Advertising about occupational health and safety (OHS) is usually measured in the level of awareness of the viewers with questions such as Are you aware of WorkSafe? What does WorkSafe do? When we mention WorkSafe to you, what …

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Rail-related suicides discussed at ergonomics conference

Rail-related suicides are tragedies that ripple throughout society affecting families of the suicides as well as the train drivers, their families and their colleagues. Various strategies are being trialled but often the results of interventions are hard to quantify.  At the annual conference of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of Australia in Wollongong on 27 …

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Workplace mental health and wellbeing strategies must consider suicide

There is an increased blurring between the workplace, work and mental health.  In the past, work and life were often split implying that one had little to do with the other except for a salary in return for effort and wellness in preparation for productiveness.  This split was always shaky but was convenient for lots …

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From suicides to suicide apps – the iPhone

It’s soon to be the tenth anniversary of the iPhone.  Tech writers are preparing their articles based on comparisons of how the iPhone has changed and how it has changed the world.  But there has always been a dark side to the production of the iPhone and modern technologies, as a whole. Brian Merchant has …

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Real men and work-related suicide

Recently Huffington Post Australia posted a video about male suicides called “Men are killing themselves to be real men”.  Many of the speakers talked about their experiences at work or with work.  The video is highly recommended. SafetyAtWorkBlog had the opportunity to talk with the Associate Video Editor, Emily Verdouw. Below is an edited transcript....

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When Work Kills – new research on workplace suicides

There are many advocates of the importance of a mental health and wellbeing in workplaces.  But few of them address the worst-case scenario for workplace mental health of work-related suicides.  In some cases, the mental health advocates are overly cautious about even speaking the reality, which does not help reduce mental health stigma. In 2016 …

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Work-related suicides in another militarily-structured organisation

Australia’s emergency services have had several reviews into accusations of workplace bullying, harassment, mental health or suicides. Melbourne’s Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) is the latest to undergo this type of review but the United Firefighters Union (UFU) is not happy about the release of the final report, which was due out today.  If the final … Continue reading “Work-related suicides in another militarily-structured organisation”