Workplaces could be heading into a mental illness "epidemic" under current management practices, warns a prominent workplace safety expert, who says resources need to be allocated to quality working conditions immediately.
Australia's first Code of Practice for the mental health of fly-in-fly-out workers, which includes valuable information for multiple industries, has been finalised and released in Western Australia. Meanwhile, a regulator has urged employers to prepare for impending changes to regulations for a hazardous substance.
The Fair Work Commission has ordered the managing director of a company - issued three bullying-related WHS improvement notices - not to use his lawyers to communicate with a worker, in a suite of stop-bullying orders that clarify the worker's role and who can discipline her.
In an undecided case highlighting the risk of conflict between company functions, a workers' comp manager has claimed her employer took adverse action against her for making complaints about its national health and safety manager.
The Tasmanian Government has introduced its Australian-first Bill providing presumptive compensation to all public sector workers with PTSD, saying it will consider extending the presumption to more occupational groups, and the laws will reduce the stigma associated with mental health conditions.
Employers providing workers with mindfulness training to combat stress need to ensure leaders are also accessing the program, to get the most out of their investment, icare says. The insurer has also identified a number of steps employers can take to reduce the impact of customer abuse.
Workers often underestimate their ability to bounce back from stress and challenges, but easy self-care steps can help them build confidence and adaptability, a clinical psychologist specialising in trauma-related disorders says.
A journalist's $180,000 post-traumatic stress disorder case, which is likely to transform newsrooms across the country, has detailed steps employers should take to prevent such injuries, including ensuring workers have "immediate" access to employee assistance programs.
A new book focusing on stress, burnout and the high suicide rate among veterinarians has outlined a seven-module "coping and wellbeing program", which includes important lessons for all time-poor or socially isolated workers.
Presumptive workers' compensation for first responders with PTSD and other psychological injuries will be harmonised across all Australian jurisdictions, presuming COAG agrees on recommendations from a national inquiry.
