Employers are being reminded, on World Mental Health Day today, that they will receive an average return of $2.30 for every dollar they invest in workplace mental health initiatives, while those that do nothing are likely to have higher absence and claims rates.
An employer that claimed an employee's fatal cardiac arrhythmia could not have been caused by work stress - because Australian workers would be "dropping down like flies" if work-related anxiety caused sudden death - has been ordered to compensate the man's family.
Australian researchers have developed a special hierarchy of controls for tackling psychosocial hazards such as bullying and harassment, and outlined a best-practice approach to risk assessment.
Workplace fatality rate creeping up in NSW; Presumptive cancer comp laws to cover all WA firefighters; and Queensland launches bullying and harassment review.
An employer's rate of stress-related leave applications has fallen after it introduced a "first aider program" to tackle mental health in the workplace.
Employers are being urged to redesign roles to make them more challenging and flexible, after European researchers found job boredom increases the likelihood of poor health and high turnover.
An employer has significantly reduced employees' perceived stress levels by introducing a smartphone app and other strategies that encourage them to be "mindful" and meditate, according to its organisational culture and change leader.
Employee assistance programs have been linked to increased productivity and lower absence rates, but few organisations and workers in some industries are taking advantage of them, according to AccessEAP CEO Sally Kirkright.
