Browsing: Flexible work | Page 2

A "formidable and direct" manager's email reprimanding an overworked worker for working from home was unreasonable and caused a compensable psychiatric injury, a tribunal has found.

Results from a new international collaborative study have prompted the authors to call for employment policies and safety laws that protect workers from widespread out-of-hours managerial intrusions, while new research by LinkedIn shows "loud leaving" supervisors can help prevent burnout.

"Covert" online bullying, domestic violence and being overlooked for promotion are just some of the psychosocial hazards faced by flexible and hybrid workers, and are issues employers and WHS managers are struggling to tackle, according to two senior WHS lawyers.

Being offered hybrid working arrangements is helping workers exercise for an average of 90 minutes more per week, and get dozens of extra hours of sleep per year, significantly improving their health and reducing stress levels, a survey has found.

• Right-to-disconnect Bill tackles "availability creep", poor health; and
  
• Anti-harassment protections extended to Defence workplaces.

Workplace bullying and harassment are overshadowing certain "sleeper hazards" in psychosocial risk management, potentially exposing employers to the scrutiny of WHS regulators, safety law experts have warned.

Employers are now expected to take greater ownership of the WHS challenges posed by global supply chain pressures and changing technologies - an expectation that will be enforced by regulators under Australia's new 10-year WHS strategy, which identifies six key emerging issues.

Portable standing desks can help fill the gap in strategies for tackling increased excessive sitting among the high number of workers who started working from home more because of the COVID-19 pandemic, health science researchers have found.

The new paid family and domestic violence (FDV) leave entitlements, commencing today, will encourage employers to act on their responsibilities to victims, create safer working environments for many employees and save lives, according to unions and an expert in the field.

Large numbers of workers continue to suffer from serious and sometimes debilitating symptoms from previous COVID-19 infections, highlighting the need to identify those most at risk and implement special return-to-work plans that are regularly reviewed and amended, according to occupational health experts.