Browsing: Health and mental wellbeing | Page 169

Introducing a new workplace health and wellbeing project has proved tougher than expected for an ACT employer, but workers are starting to think and talk more about their health, according to co-owner Nicole Leishman.

OHS risk assessments should address the specific needs of menopausal women to ensure the working environment doesn't exacerbate their symptoms, according to the UK's Trades Union Congress (TUC).

Asking colleagues who exhibit suicidal warning signs, such as talking about tidying up affairs, if they are suicidal won't "tip them over the edge", but "provide a starting point for a solution", a new suicide position statement says.

Workers are being encouraged to wear their sneakers to work on 19 February, and get on their feet at every opportunity, as part of a national initiative aimed at reducing the risks associated with excessive sitting.

FIFO workers can manage fatigue and loneliness at remote sites by reducing their consumption of alcohol and energy drinks, and getting involved in local community activities, a new guidance note says.

More than two million Australians are exposed to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) at work, but fewer than nine per cent of them fully protect themselves from the sun by using sunscreen, protective clothing and hats, and working in the shade, a new Australian study has found.

It has cost an ACT employer $60 a week to change its workers' attitudes towards being healthy by making fruit and vegetables readily available at the workplace.

Construction companies will be required to test their workers for drugs and alcohol to be eligible for Victorian Government contracts, under a controversial plan to amend the industry's Code of Practice announced this morning.

Middle managers must be encouraged to appear approachable and take an interest in workers' non-work-related difficulties, to foster supportive environments and reduce psychosocial risks, a new EU-OSHA campaign brief says.

Employers should tackle "workaholism" - which can affect a worker's wellbeing and lead to high absence rates - using primary, secondary and tertiary-level interventions, Italian researchers say.