Whats Happening in the Workplace??

When life get stressful, we often look for phrases and sayings to help us get beyond the issues e.g. In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity -- Albert Einstein

Another one is "Do more with less" which is probably one which most companies are adopting in these challenging times.

Most companies in Australia are feeling the effect of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Even if they themselves are doing well, the newspapers, their clients and customers are all making noises which give rise to a very unsettled time

For those companies who are directly affected the normal response is to cut out all non essential, non profit making activities.

This includes consultation, maintenance, training, external seminars, and even simple things like newspapers and lunches –it's interesting to note the number of companies who have cut back on biscuits in the tea room!

However the main response is in the reduction of staff numbers and we can see that in the unemployment increase and just by talking to our friends and neighbours

With the reduction of staff there is normally an increase in workloads which may result in:

• People being spread too thin and can't finish any single project or task with quality and diligence
• Unrealistic expectations to achieve the pre-retrenchment work output
• Stress and anxiety from the pressure and changes within the workplace  
• This anxiety can lead to increase in workers compensation claims due to stress and injuries

There are genuine business advantages to looking after your workers. It may seem simplistic but if workers are happy productivity and innovation go up and lost time, compensation claims and absenteeism goes down.

Failure of corporations and more importantly individual directors and managers to provide adequate safety systems and manage the identified hazards in the business due to cost cutting do so at their own peril.

Directors or persons in control of the management of an organisation who make a decision that directly affects the health and safety of employees (such as a decision to cut back on safety expenditure) are at risk of prosecution under section 26 of the OHS Act 2000.

The penalty for an individual is up to a maximum of $55,000.00 (or $82,500.00 for a second offence), $165,000.00 and/or five years imprisonment in the case of a fatality, and the recording of a criminal conviction against the person.

If you are interested in knowing more about our OHS Recruitment and Risk Management services please contact us:

Phone: 1300854939, 02 9836 3100 or

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Roxayne West is the Managing Director of Safety Services Australia and has been consulting, training and auditing with national and local industries since 1989.

Roxayne has applied her skills in integrating quality, safety and productivity in a wide variety of industries and is happy to talk to you about any of your OHS risk Management issues.