Browsing: Stress

Three new tiers of support for workers in distress, and other employees of a major government organisation, have yielded hundreds of interactions steering participants towards better mental health, a conference has heard.

Being able to talk to managers about stress experienced at work, without fear of recrimination, more than doubles a worker's ability to cope with the stress, a major burnout study of more than 1,500 Australian and New Zealand workers has found.

In a major report on Australia's "forced experiment" - widespread working-from-home arrangements for the pandemic - the Productivity Commission has detailed employers' WHS duties to remote workers, examined the "right to disconnect" and called for an upcoming WHS review to address the issue.

A major study of nearly 30,000 workers has found the often severe psychological distress from the risk of contracting COVID-19, either on the job or while commuting, is associated with "worry, rather than facts" and can be reduced by workplace measures.

A commission has rejected an employer's claims that reinstating a worker to his safety critical role, after it unfairly dismissed him for engaging in an altercation with a member of the public not wearing a face mask, was inappropriate because of the negative impact this could have on his mental health.

Workplace concussions, including seemingly mild head injuries, can involve drawn out recovery times for workers, according to US researchers, who recommend mental health screening to identify risk factors for complications.

For R U OK? Day today, a clinical services expert has highlighted the difficulties of meeting work demands during the COVID-19 pandemic, and stressed that reaching out to colleagues can "spark a life-changing conversation". Meanwhile, a safety regulator has outlined how to develop a mentally healthy workplace through the risk management process.

An experimental screening tool aimed at identifying workers suffering from burnout, based on the World Health Organisation's revised definition of the syndrome, has identified a range of risk factors aside from excessive work hours.

A doctor's role in "one of the most stressful occupations" did not excuse his conduct in bullying and denigrating workers during a complex procedure, a commission has found in upholding a sanction against the man.

Coinciding with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pilot of a major psychosocial safety climate program, delivered by Comcare and leading WHS experts, has shown how a pro-psychological health agenda can work quickly to protect staff.