With many workers now in their third or fourth week of working from home because of the coronavirus pandemic, a psychologist and employee assistance expert has revealed how workers are coping with the isolation, the types of anxieties they're experiencing, and what employers can do to mitigate the mental health risks.
Australia's WHS regulators will apply a common-sense educative approach to dealing with workplaces struggling to comply with their WHS duties because of COVID-19, providing they make "genuine attempts" to comply with them, a new national policy released by Safe Work Australia says. SWA has also released a raft of new pandemic resources, including a workplace checklist.
The coronavirus pandemic poses major health risks to frontline workers, but other less obvious serious safety issues will arise from pandemic-related job insecurity and prolonged teleworking, a leading Australian occupational and environmental physician has warned.
With many workers being forced to work from home due to the coronavirus pandemic, employers are being warned about Australia's complacency around fire safety and smoke alarm compliance.
Managers in senior WHS roles and other statutory positions will be the only fly-in-fly-out workers permitted to enter Queensland under a new coronavirus control plan. Meanwhile, mining giants BHP and Fortescue have revealed their latest strategies for protecting personnel from the pandemic.
Resources companies have been urged to implement a string of extra precautions to protect fly-in-fly-out and drive-in-drive-out workers, in camps or "on the move", from COVID-19. Meanwhile, ACT employers have been directed to conduct coronavirus risk assessments and ensure their contractors comply with hygiene rules.
Delineating tasks and separating teams are some of the many strategies a Singaporean hospital is taking to protect frontline workers from coronavirus, shedding light on how to prevent the occupational transmission of the disease.
