John Barclay

Wellbeing and Psychosocial Risk Assessment Tool In 2023, 31% of all claims Workers Compensation in Victoria were related to Wellbeing and Psychosocial injury. In March 2022, Western Australia adopted harmonised legislation in alignment with Victoria and other states. Last week Delivering Outcomes | Safety Experts were hired to conduct a comprehensive Organisational wide Incident Cause Analysis Method (ICAM) investigation into the circumstances of a current Workers Compensation Claim due to Psychosocial injury. These investigations are complex and there is often much discovery which often leads to a new understandings and awareness and ultimately a step change in positive cultures, behaviours, leadership and processes. I often am asked " What can we do to reduce Wellbeing and Psychosocial issues, injuries and claims". There is a very good Wellbeing and Psychosocial Risk Assessment Tool that steers you through the Workplace Data Analysis areas and then the Operational Risk Factors to consider with effective controls. Click on the link below and enter "Psychosocial Risk Assessment Tool" in the message and you will receive FREE editable version for you and your team to use. Any feedback on the content of the Tool would be welcomed. Stay Safe Steve Rankin https://lnkd.in/duNN4Q9K #WHS #SafetyatWork #Psychosocial

2

Board members and senior executives are well aware of the importance of managing work, health and safety risks in their organisations. However, they may be less familiar with a relatively new challenge that is emerging in the WHS landscape: psychosocial risk. Take a look at what Tony Morris, Partner at Ashurst Risk Advisory says directors need to know. #WHS #psychosocialrisk #risk #safety #health #wellbeing

10

🚨 Psychosocial Hazards are on the Rise in Australia! 🚨 As we witness a significant increase in #psychosocial #hazards, it's clear that proactive leadership is crucial. 🌱 Boards and executive committees across Australia must act now to safeguard their workplaces by identifying and preventing these #risks. 🤔 🤔 Some interesting stats from Safe Work Australia: ⏰💲 Increase in Mental Health Claims: In 2021–22, mental health conditions accounted for 9% of all serious workers’ compensation claims, marking a 36.9% increase since 2017–18 (This impacts a company's RTW premiums) ⏰ 💲 Extended Recovery Periods: The median time lost due to mental health conditions was more than four times greater than that for all physical injuries and illnesses in 2020–21 💡💡 However: 🌱✨ Building a sustainable workplace culture that prioritises psychosocial safety goes beyond compliance – it’s about fostering a thriving environment where all employees feel safe, valued, and supported. 🌱✨ By eliminating psychosocial hazards, organisations can unlock the full potential of their teams, driving productivity, innovation, and overall success. 🌟🌟 Pitcher PartnersSA is doing just that! They are paving the way and taking a proactive leap where psychological safety isn't just an initiative but the foundation of every interaction across their whole practice. 🌟🌟 This week we spent time with the whole Pitcher PartnersSA team discussing how this looks and what each person wants the practice to achieve across the 4 key LeaderFactor measures of #Inclusion, #Learner #Contributor #Challenger over the next 12 months. #Leadership #WorkplaceSafety #PsychosocialSafety #MentalHealth #WorkplaceCulture #BoardDirectors #Australia #Leaderfactor

48

1 Comment

To my Victorian counterparts: Whilst we await any updates on our own amended reg's - continue to use the wonderful national resources available to guide your work in meeting your EXISTING OHS obligations around psychological health and safety. ComCare now has a code of practice and introduces three additional psychosocial hazards: fatigue, intrusive surveillance and job insecurity. This joins fabulous resources from SafeWork NSW, Safe Work Australia and many other jurisdictions. There is no absence of guiding information for you to understand your obligations - just make sure you're adequately resourced and are creating the space to do the proactive and transformational work required. This can't be stuffed into the cracks - you must create intentional gaps. It's not going away, and if you do this well you CAN create efficiencies and boost engagement and satisfaction of your workforce. #mentallyhealthyworkplaces #creatingspace #findingequilibrium #transformingnorm

6

A good discussion on thinking about lead indicators. I would add indicators need to be tailored, accessible, actionable, reviewed and if necessary changed.

13

Looking forward to this webinar next week on managing lithium battery risks which Andrew Hahn and I are running with Australian Institute of Health & Safety - register here https://lnkd.in/g8nmzgAF

10

Focus Network, in partnership with Avetta Australia, held another fantastic event in #Perth, yesterday. We had a very lively and informative discussion over lunch with some of Western Australia’s leading health and safety leaders. We shared Focus Network research insights, which highlighted many of the issues facing health and safety leaders. The focus of our discussion was on using technology to manage compliance and risk, across supply chains. Embracing technology is now critical for health and safety leaders and is essential for contractor management processes. Some of the issues discussed were: -The sheer complexity of ensuring compliance, sometimes across different countries, among contractors and subcontractors. -Best practices around standardising and simplifying contractor management processes. -Improving contractor compliance, driving greater collaboration and using ‘best of breed’ technology to ensure health and safety compliance. Avetta Tyron McGurgan Evie Wood Renee Vella Ronan Halloran Faye Hampton John Furner Tim Workman Bart Crowther Anthony Cheam #healthandsafety #hse #ehs

27

Transitioning from lagging to leading safety indicators involves several important considerations for any organisation. The Australian Institute of Health & Safety has just published an article that explores recent research and provides suggestions on how to move toward a more proactive safety management system. The research, recently published in Safety Science, underscores the importance of adopting a systems-thinking approach that integrates both human and technological factors. It also highlights the benefits of using a centralised safety analytics platform to enhance data quality and leverage insights from other organisations. Click through to learn how this transition can provide comprehensive safety intelligence and foster a stronger safety culture. #LeadingIndicators #SafetyCulture #SafetyIntelligence #ProactiveSafetyManagement

76

15 Comments

The Safety Generalist, Without a Generalist Education by Dr Rob Long  It is rather remarkable what is expected of the average safety person in the workplace. They are expected to be all things to all people yet don’t have a generalist education or safety curriculum that prepares them for the job. If you want to make a start in shifting away from policing safety to become a helper in safety, you can start with a free course in SPoR here:   

19

1 Comment

Shifting my expertise to a new area of focus, directed me to this powerful depiction of psychosocial hierarchy of controls. The above line controls are essential and ultimately leads to everyone’s success.

27

3 Comments

WHS Risk Assessment is a Safety Superpower 🦸‍♀️ ...... do you agree? We think WHS Risk Assessment (when done well) is as close as you can get to a safety superpower that lets you look over the horizon and see what's there.... ✅ Join one of upcoming free webinars to learn how to access your safety superpowers https://lnkd.in/d8eUtArX

24

9 Comments

Psychological injury caused by poor psychosocial health and safety is commonplace in Australian organisations. Managing psychosocial hazards at work is a legal requirement. What does it take to manage the risk of psychosocial hazards to reduce psychological injury, whilst creating a culture of high performance? Join a webinar hosted by @Claire DeCarteret and me on the 6th of June to learn the latest research and insights on the state of psychosocial health and safety and hear practical advice for leaders on how to manage psychosocial hazard risk whilst also delivering better performance. Register to watch here: https://lnkd.in/eeUEeUF6

117

1 Comment

Have your say on fatigue management: a new draft code of practice from Safe Work Australia is open for consultation. #SafetoWork #mining #resources #safety #safetynews #health #wellness #sleep #fatigue #management #risks #hazards #workplace #workforce #miner #codeofpractice #code #WHS #legislation #PCBU

3

The foundation of my approach to safety can be summed up with this classic Lao Tzu quote: Safety is a teaching profession as much as a specialist one. If you aren't increasing the safety capability of your organisation's people (or, in my case, my clients), you've failed. Regardless of your professional expertise, what is your go-to move for elevating yourself from specialist to teacher/coach?

8

As key players in your team's well-being, take the initiative to protect them from workplace psychosocial hazards. In our latest video, Penny Dillon M Counselling joins me to discuss the impact of psychosocial hazards and the importance of psychological safety in reducing them. While bullying and harassment are clear examples, psychosocial risks can also be more subtle, like continuous overwork or unclear responsibilities. Psychological safety empowers people to speak up freely, helping to uncover these hazards. Join us on Thursday, May 16th, for a session that will equip you with practical strategies for managing psychosocial risks in your workplace. 👉 Listen to our brief discussion by watching the video. And if you’re intrigued by what you hear, why not join us for a deeper dive in our upcoming interactive webinar? It’s going to be a great session exploring these critical issues further! 🔗 Click on this link to register: https://lnkd.in/gTWeBmHA #PsychologicalSafety #leadership #AsiaPacific

21

The Risks of Experience vs Inexperience in Safety BY DR ROB LONG  Sometimes it’s not best to have the most experienced person or group on the job and at other times it’s not best to have the least experienced person or group on the job. This is the quandary we are faced by social context, learned over-confidence, lack of knowledge and experience and, hubris-desensitization learned by constant repetition of the same task. No-one who does traditional safety can explain to you how a checklist improves sensitivity to risk or in fact can desensitise people to risk. Constant checklisting actually drives the opposite of what is desired and this is amplified in the Minds of those most experienced in their work. Here are some straight facts about what currently happens in safety:

11

7 Comments

During my presentation at #AIHSNatConf24 last week on psychosocial safety, I was asked by the audience, if psychosocial risk management requirements were a potential psychosocial hazard for health and safety professionals. Most of those working in OHS I know, have little capacity to deal with BAU, let alone an area many have no experience in and little systems to support. Under Section 27(5) of the model WHS Act, Officers (e.g. Board Directors) have a duty to ensure appropriate resources and processes are in place to eliminate risks to health and safety from work carried out. This includes psychosocial risks. Lack of experience in facilitating psychosocial risk management is also an issue OHS needs to contend with. Most practicing in the profession would not have qualifications or previous experience in the area. Getting up to speed would be an addtional work demand to contend with. Excessive work demands is a well known psychosocial hazard. Failure to resource health and safety to meet the WHS duties of the PCBU, could be considered putting harm protectors into harms way. So if you’re an overloaded OHS professional, how do you get budget to do your job without being overwhelmed? Well, starting with officer duties is a not a bad strategy. When educating your Board about their obligations, ensure you also point to recent prosecutions (e.g. from Worksafe Victoria and Safework NSW). Make the link between psychosocial hazard exposure and productivity. Generally, the more exhausted and burnt out people are, the less productive their likely to be and the more likely they are to quit. Still having issues? Hit me up in my DMs for some example business case content. Need to build your own competence? Join cohort 3 of our professional practice in PHS program 12-week course commencing 3 July. #psychosocialriskmanagement #psychhealthandsafety #iso45003 #workplacementalhealth #mentalhealth

185

11 Comments

🚀 **Important Update: Victoria’s WorkCover Scheme Modernisation & Psychological Health Regulations** 🚀 📅 This Tuesday, WorkSafe Victoria provided insights at a briefing seminar about the recent updates to the WorkCover scheme, effective from March 31, 2024. These modifications are under the new Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (WorkCover Scheme Modernisation) Act 2024, aiming to bolster worker support and maintain the scheme's sustainability. 🔍 Key Changes: 1. Mental Injury Eligibility: - New Definition: Mental injuries must now cause significant behavioural, cognitive, or psychological dysfunction and be diagnosed according to the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. - Employment Connection: For a mental injury to be compensable, it must be predominantly caused by employment. - Exclusions: Mental injuries primarily due to typical work-related stress or burnout are not eligible unless related to specific incidents like bullying or traumatic events. 2. Second Entitlement Review: - After 130 weeks, continuation of benefits requires a Whole Person Impairment (WPI) of 21% or more, alongside existing capacity requirements. 3. Operational Improvements: - Introduction and creation of a Return to Work Advisory Committee to advise on return-to-work strategies and innovations in Victoria. 📈 Scheme Premium Update: - No expected premium increase for the next fiscal year, following last year’s 42% scheme average increase. ⏰ On Psychological Health Regulations: - These regulations are still under review by Vic Gov but are crucial in addressing broader aspects of psychological health & safety, and for a more preventative approach. 👥 As these updates take effect, staying informed is crucial for all stakeholders. The effectiveness of these changes, along with the upcoming Psychological Health Regulations, will hopefully transform workplace safety and mental health support across Victoria. #WorkCover #Victoria #WorkplaceSafety #MentalHealth #psychologicalhealth

52

9 Comments