The proliferation of telecommuting arrangements forced by the COVID-19 pandemic has been linked to health problems ranging from anxiety to back injuries and eye strain, but employers can prevent many of these conditions by identifying and addressing any "mismatch" between remote-work preference and frequency, a study has shown.
A major government employer has been found liable for a worker's psychological injury, after its "messenger" wrongly told him he had been suspended. It was deemed not liable for the man's tinnitus, purportedly caused by the noise of workplace air conditioners.
A bank executive with psychological injuries has unsuccessfully claimed: his manager unreasonably conducted unannounced "skip level" meetings to discuss his management style with his staff; and he was treated poorly after being accused of calling a second manager a "hag" at a work trivia night.
The pandemic era is providing employers with a golden opportunity to address the significant stress risks posed by open-plan office noises, Australian researchers say.
"Dynamic sitting" plays a critical role in blocking the harmful health effects of sedentary work, including among workers who regularly shift between sitting, standing and moving to address the risk, a peak safety agency says, listing practical workplace interventions.
A superior court has quashed a finding that an occupational physician's incomplete answer in a report on a worker's injury was a deliberate omission pointing to a link between the injury and computer work.
In a long-running case, a tribunal has rejected claims that a worker's fall injuries did not arise from his employment because they occurred in a publicly accessible area of his work building, prior to the start of a shift.
A study following nearly 10,000 workers for a quarter of a century has found low mental simulation in a job can have serious long-term impacts on workers' cognitive function, with links to the onset of dementia.
With insufficient sleep emerging as a major risk factor for cardiometabolic disease, and many senior managers working excessive hours, employers have been urged to ensure workplace health programs address work demands and psychological factors that prevent workers from sleeping enough.
A major government employer has been found not liable for a worker's psychological injuries linked to a customer-aggression emergency, based on her "wilful and false representation" that she had not suffered a similar condition before.
