Search Results for: work/life balance

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Now is the time for all good OHS lobbyists to come to the aid of their country

Now is the time for the OHS fraternity to lobby local politicians on the importance of workplace safety for the community and business. Australia is facing a hung Parliament following the 21 August 2010 federal election.  OHS was mentioned early in the campaign but not since even though there were opportunities.  Industrial relations was raised in the … Continue reading “Now is the time for all good OHS lobbyists to come to the aid of their country”

Looking for the causes of workplace harm can change one’s world view

The New York Times reported on 17 May 2010 that psychologists have started considering the causes of workplace stress.  About time! The report says that “Employees are unhappy about the design of their jobs, the health of their organizations and the quality of their managers..” and that unhappy workers have a high risk of heart attacks and depression. … Continue reading “Looking for the causes of workplace harm can change one’s world view”

ACTU industrial officer is new WorkSafe executive

SafetyAtWorkBlog has been informed that Cath Bowtell has been appointed the new executive director of WorkSafe Victoria.  Bowtell’s name may be familiar to some Australians due to her recent contest to be the next President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). Cath Bowtell is due to take on the position in the middle of 2010.

How many safety awards are too many?

On 23 March 2010, SafetyAtWorkBlog questioned the need for so many government-sanctioned OHS awards and noted that there is little overlap between wellness awards and safety awards. On 26 March 2010, Australia’s Safety Rehabilitiation and Compensation Commission (SRCC) announced a new category in its OHS awards that will “recognise organisations that promote health and wellbeing in the workplace–long before … Continue reading “How many safety awards are too many?”

Home-based businesses need OHS consideration

SafetyAtWorkBlog is largely produced from a home-based business and the issues of safety, mental health, work/life balance are real issues in this business. In the development of OHS regulations, a “workplace” has been fairly generic.  For at least 50 years, our definition of “workplace” has reflected our individual experience of the places we have worked.  (Lately, in … Continue reading “Home-based businesses need OHS consideration”

Discussion paper on Queensland workers compensation released

The Queensland Government has released a public discussion paper into its workers’ compensation scheme.  Obviously this was part of the reason for the political argy-bargy in the State in late February 2010 over a report by Deloitte. A major question posed in the discussion paper concerns the application of Whole Person Impairment (WPI) or Work-Related Impairment (WRI) as the … Continue reading “Discussion paper on Queensland workers compensation released”

Australia’s Go Home on Time Day

November 26 2009 was Go Home On Time Day in Australia.  The intention of this day, organised by The Australia Institute, was to highlight the difficulty many workers face in a achieving this seemingly simple task.  The Australia Institute’s expresses the aims this way: The typical full-time employee is working 70 minutes of unpaid overtime a day, which equates to 33 … Continue reading “Australia’s Go Home on Time Day”