Browsing: Health and mental wellbeing | Page 171

The ACTU has warned that workplace stress can "destroy" an employee's ability to work, in welcoming the Federal Government's plan to expand and develop new workplace mental health and suicide-prevention initiatives.

When workers who have diabetes take sick leave, concerned managers should ask them a number of specific questions, such as whether they're experiencing foot problems, to ensure no complications arise from their ill health, says diabetes expert Victoria Stevenson.

Sedentary workers who get up and briefly walk around the office several times an hour are more likely to be healthy than those who sit for "large chunks of time" between exercise sessions, according to physical activity expert Associate Professor David Dunstan.

High levels of job stress are associated with high-risk behaviour and poor organisational performance, a professor of organisational behaviour has told ANZSOM's Annual Scientific Meeting. He says employers should consult with workers to determine which stress-interventions to introduce.

First NT employer fined under model WHS Act; Two in five incapacitated workers unsure of RTW goals; WorkCover SA overhaul to include early-intervention call centre; Qld employers' absence rates and reputations to improve under new wellbeing program; and Alert and video released after young workers killed.

Employers are being urged to encourage workers to spend more time in the sun to improve their productivity and morale, as part of a vitamin D awareness initiative. Workers are also being encouraged to take part in suicide-prevention initiative, R U OK?Day, next month.

Asbestos-containing materials are still prevalent in thousands of Australian workplaces, and "just about any task" can disturb them. In this article, the head of the new Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency explains how employers should deal with the issue - and how to avoid breaching the WHS Act in the process.

Lower-level managers are more likely than their senior counterparts to be in the stress "danger zone", placing their health - and the effectiveness of their organisation - at risk, Swedish researchers have found.

In a bid to change workers' attitudes towards their health and wellbeing, Alzheimer's Australia ACT has put its hopes in a blender.

A new guide on promoting mental health and wellbeing at work has busted a host of myths surrounding workers with mental illness, and explains how leaders can recognise and respond to mental ill health.