In April 2002, I interviewed Lawrence Lorber of US law firm Proskauer Rose on workplace bullying. It was at the height of the Enron collapse and corporate behaviour towards staff was gaining a lot of attention. Over the last fortnight I have been researching some of the management books and concepts concerning leadership, emotional intelligence, … Continue reading “Workplace bullying – interview with Lawrence Lorber (2002)”
I have written elsewhere in SafetyAtWorkBlog concerning the silo mentality of managers in relation to human resources and OHS. This weekend a reader posted the following comment on this blog: “You are right about the divide between HR & OHS. Fact is HR are the culprits of negligence, they exist to support Management. Any one … Continue reading “HR vs. OHS”
On January 8 2009, the Mercer’s 2008 Pan-European Health & Benefit Report was released. It had some useful information about the causes of workplace absenteeism in Europe. The information was compiled in 2008 so is as current as can be but also occurred in a period of severe economic unrest. As with all studies, the applicability … Continue reading “Absence management survey results”
On 11 January 2009, John Read posted an article on office design. The first paragraph is below: “Paying attention to office design and building maintenance are imperative parts to doing business that many company owners ignore. The layout of office interiors can have a deep consequence on the disposition and productivity of staff members and … Continue reading “Office design hype risks”
As workplaces approach the winter break or Christmas, there will be in increase in communal singing. One Australian has started to establish workplace choirs. Tania de Jong makes some good arguments about the benefits of greater worker contact and understanding through communal singing. It sounds logical and I am sure there is evidence to show … Continue reading “Workplace Choirs”
The Victorian Government’s workplace health strategy may be “coughing up blood” but health promotion continues. Last week, Australian health insurer, Medibank Private, released some statistics and cost estimates related to physical inactivity. According to the media release, physical inactivity costing the Australian economy $13.8 billion a year. The findings are based on research conducted in conjunction … Continue reading “Physical activity, mental health, alcohol consumption and productivity”
Early in 2008, the Victorian Government sprung a surprise on the OHS and health promotion industries by announcing a world-first initiative – WorkHealth. This program was to be funded by interest generated from the WorkCover scheme to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars over the next five years. WorkHealth loses stakeholder support Two … Continue reading “WorkHealth – end is nigh after less than one year”