Mental health book should be influential due to lack of bullshit

Some of the recent guidance on mental health at work from occupational health and safety (OHS) regulators is not scintillating or even engaging. Their purpose is to provide information with the hope it is presented in a workplace by someone super-communicative and influential. (C’mon, really? We’re talking about OHS here.) Luckily there is a recent … Continue reading “Mental health book should be influential due to lack of bullshit”

The two extremes of managing burnout

Two new books about burnout arrived on my doorstep this week. They could not be more different. They reflect the mess of approaches to this type of psychosocial injury. Only one provides valid, useful evidence and advice. Bev Aisbett released a book that I found unreadable – partly because of the advice offered but mostly …

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2022 review indicates the amount of OHS work needed in 2023

The end-of-year reviews are starting to emerge from Australia’s law firms. The most recent release is from Maddocks, who have released several short reports on occupational health and safety (OHS) hazards and suggested controls for employers to apply. So this is a year-in-review for 2022, but it is also a forecast of what needs to …

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Stress dressed up as burnout

One of the impediments to a discussion about mental health at work is the discussion of burnout. There is little doubt that burnout is real, but often it is used as a synonym for mental illness, which is confusing workers and employers, making the prevention of psychosocial harm seem more complex than it is. Recently …

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New trade union psychological safety survey shows how little has changed

Australia’s trade union movement has long been active on the issue of workplace psychological harm. Its 1997 Stress At Work survey of members led directly to the creation of workplace bullying and occupational violence guidance in Victoria and elsewhere. Over 20 years later, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) undertook another survey of its …

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More bravery is needed on workplace mental health

The bookshops I visit often have two sections of books marked Business and Management. These categories are interchangeable for occupational health and safety (OHS) purposes, but the shopowners and/or publishers differentiate. Both categories have self-help books – leadership varieties, how to be a better manager, how to make lots of money really quickly (without apparently …

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Workplace suicide at one of the “Big 4” consulting firms

Warning: this article discusses suicide Discussions about workplace mental health are everywhere, including this blog, but workplace suicides are less discussed, even though there is a direct connection between the two themes. This is due to the continuing stigmatisation of suicide, legal caution, reputational preservation and other factors. It is difficult to write about but … Continue reading “Workplace suicide at one of the “Big 4” consulting firms”