It’s week two of National Safe Work Month, and in recognition of Mental Health Day this Saturday October 10, this week’s theme is Navigating Mental Health through COVID-19.
COVID-19 has bought new psychosocial hazards to many workplaces.
These may include:
- Exposure to aggressive customers
- Low support or isolation due to remote working
- Increased emotional demand in the workplace
- Poor environment conditions due to covid-19 exposure
- Stress due to changing responsibilities and restructuring
Inadequate psychological health and safety measures cost Australian organisations $6 billion a year in lost productivity.
You can find Safe Work Australia’s mental health infosheet on the Safe Work Australia website.
Managing Psychosocial Hazards
Employers have a responsibility to eliminate or minimise work related psychological health and safety risks as far as reasonably practicable. As Safe Work Australia directs, this can be done through:
- Identifying hazards
- Assessing risks
- Controlling risks
- Reviewing and maintaining control measures
What’s on this week?
This week, WorkSafe Victoria is delivering a free webinar tailored for multicultural community leaders on Tuesday October 6th at 6:00pm. You can find out more about this information session on the WorkSafe website.
Safe Work Australia is co-presenting a webinar on Accelerated Workplace change in the face of COVID-19 with Comcare on October 8 at 10:30 am. This will cover the changes workplaces have undertaken to adapt to the challenges and risks posed by COVID-19. You can find more information on the Safe Work Australia website.