If the prevention of depression is better than trying to treat it, how should a safety manager proceed when permissible work practices may be contributing to mental health problems in some workers? A new UK study announced today says “that excessive internet use is associated with depression”. The researchers say that “…some users have developed a compulsive … Continue reading “Internet addiction in the workplace”
On 26 January 2010, a fascinating document was released from England concerning workplace harassment and violence. This builds on earlier work in Europe and has led to the joint guidance on “Preventing Workplace Harassment and Violence“. The guidance has the demonstrated support of employer, employee and government representatives who have committed to “…ensuring that the risks of encountering harassment and violence … Continue reading “Dignity At Work, different UK and Australian approaches”
Australia’s Productivity Commission released its draft report into Performance Benchmarking of Australian Business Regulation: Occupational Health and Safety on 27 January 2010. The 432-page report will take some time to read and digest but below are the general key points of the report “This study compares inter-jurisdictional differences in occupational health and safety (OHS) legislation in … Continue reading “Business assessment of OHS”
On 25 January 2010, Jalor Tools P/L was convicted of two breaches of the 1985 version of Victoria’s OHS Act following the death of Ekaterini Peripetsakis in the week before Christmas in 2006. Ekaterini was hit in the chest by a piece of the router tool that broke off at very high speed striking killing her. She … Continue reading “Prosecution of manufacturer of plant”
In November 2009, the Safety Institute of Australia published its first edition of its peer-reviewed journal. At the time it was described as a good start. Also in 2009, another safety-related peer-reviewed journal was released and this one has avoided some of the SIA journal’s shortcomings…. in a way. For a small academic country this now makes three OHS journals. The … Continue reading “Another new Australian safety journal”
Further to the recent research and media blitz by Dr David Dunstan, the British Journal of Sports Medicine reports on some similarly themed research from Sweden. According to the BJSM “Doctors from the Karolinska Institute and the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, say that the term “sedentary behaviour” has come to mean … Continue reading “The risks in sedentary behaviour gain credence.”
On 15 December 2009, a New Zealand Court penalised two companies and a director with fines totalling over $NZ390,000 over an explosion in a coolstore that result in the death of one firefighter and injuries to others. In the comments section of a previous blog article the following questions were put to the New Zealand … Continue reading “Update on New Zealand cool store explosion”