MENTAL HEALTH Archives

How to reduce psychosocial hazards on your work site

The workplace hazards that create risks of harm to psychological (mental) health are known as psychosocial hazards. These hazards, when excessive or prolonged, can cause serious harm. It can have a significant impact on workers, their families and business.

Construction workers are six times more likely to die from suicide than an accident at work. Every year 190 Australians working in the construction industry take their own lives; this means we lose a construction worker every second day to suicide. Young construction workers are two times more likely to take their own lives than other young workers.

Psychosocial hazards can come from:

Work relationships and interactions, including bullying, harassment, discrimination, aggression and violence.
The way the work or job is designed, organised and managed.
The equipment, working environment or requirements to undertake duties.

What are some of the work related factors that affect a mentally healthy work site?

Work-related violence and aggression
Workplace bullying
Poor support
Lack of recognition and reward
Low role clarity
Remote and isolated work

Whose responsibility is it to manage psychosocial hazards?

Workplaces have a legal responsibly to manage risks to mental health and well-being like they do any other health and safety risk.

Knowing where to start can feel overwhelming but getting started doesn’t have to be. Take action to improve the mental health of your team today.

Tips to help build a mentally healthy work site

Create a more positive and supportive work site

Develop an action plan in consultation with your workers about what you can do together.
Check in on your workers regularly. Start a genuine conversation. Ask your worker how they are going, and listen.
Encourage respectful behaviour and communication.
Walk the talk and lead by example. Supervisors demonstrate their commitment by being supportive and positive on site.
Show your commitment by supporting mental health organisations and getting involved in awareness events.
Reinforce the good behaviours regularly and address bad behaviours as they appear.
Commit to zero tolerance for bullying, discrimination and violence/aggression.
Encourage and support employees to bring up concerns when they notice unacceptable behaviours.

Establish awareness and support for workers experiencing mental health issues

Consistently raise awareness about mental health and wellbeing by having discussions such as 1:1 chats and toolbox talks.
Share information with your workers on mental health and how to seek help to help break the stigma. Posters, emails, and discussions can all be used.
Encourage staff with mental health conditions to seek treatment and support early.
Support staff with mental health conditions to stay at or return to work.

Celebrate workers and their efforts

Praise employees and give regular positive feedback for good work.
Celebrate team success. A morning tea / BBQ is also great for team bonding.

Take steps to improve role clarity and job satisfaction

Monitor and manage workloads regularly and increase input in how workers do their work.
Have ongoing and regular conversations with employees about their performance and behaviour.
Make sure your employees are clear about their roles. Position description, regular 1:1 catch ups and reviews.
Offer opportunities for learning, problem-solving and personal development.
Support learning – provide opportunities for workers to learn and sharpen their skills, and set interesting challenges.

If you have challenges on your work site related to psychosocial hazards, give us a call for advice. As a HazardCo member you can have a chat with the experienced health and safety Advisory Team for no extra cost.

It’s no secret being a tradie is a very physically and mentally demanding job, with long workdays and weeks placing the body under intense physical and mental strain.

Worker fatigue is one of the biggest hazards on-site. Fatigue can come in many different forms and be caused by a number of different factors. While fatigue may not be avoidable in today’s busy cycle, it is important we recognise the signs of fatigue and the steps we can take to reduce it.

Because at the end of the day, a tired worker is a dangerous worker.

Responsibilities for managing fatigue

When you are fatigued, you are less alert and aware of your environment; this can lead to an increased risk of errors, resulting in injuries or incidents on-site.

When working on-site, it is both the Employers and the Worker’s responsibility to recognise and reduce worker fatigue.

Employers

As an employer on-site you are required to provide a safe working environment, and that includes reducing fatigue. Here are a few strategies for ensuring everyone stays fresh:

Working schedules – Make sure your team isn’t working too many days in a row or too many long shifts, get your team to take regular breaks and schedule tasks throughout the day to maximise peak energy periods.
Sleep – design rosters or workweeks in a way that doesn’t negatively impact normal sleep patterns too much
Ask questions –be sure to check in with your team, how they are feeling may be impacting their energy levels at work
Avoid extreme conditions – working in extreme heat or cold weather is extremely draining. Limit prolonged exposure to these conditions if possible
Understand your team – everyone in your team or on-site is different. Make sure workloads and requests are manageable and within skill and experience levels
Develop a fatigue policy and plan – this will formalise everyone’s role in reducing fatigue on-site. This should clearly outline all of the above points.

Workers

Everyone is personally responsible for turning up every day in the best mental and physical conditions possible so that what you do on-site doesn’t affect the health and safety of others. Here are some tips:

Put yourselves in a position to get the most sleep and recovery as possible between shifts and workweeks
Inform the boss or Principal Contractor if their circumstances change or if there is anything affecting your energy levels which may impact your ability to work
Know and listen to your body, and take action when it’s saying “I’m tired!”
Report fatigue-related incidents, whether it’s you personally or someone else, report all incidents or near misses on-site

Practical steps for managing fatigue seasonally

Our bodies operate differently during the cooler and warmer months. During winter, fatigue levels tend to increase. With the colder temperatures, longer nights and reduced sunlight, our bodies naturally tend to shut down earlier in the day. During summer, we benefit a lot from longer days and more sunlight, however we need to consider fatigue due to hot weather and maintaining our hydration levels.

Here are a few steps you can take.

Enjoy the sun and get outdoors as much as possible during your day
Prioritise good sleep. Everyone needs somewhere between 6-9 hours of sleep a night. Getting good quality uninterrupted sleep will help recharge the batteries and fight off the winter drowsiness
Exercise regularly. Regular exercise will help keep you energised and can actually help you sleep
Relax, don’t stress
Eat well and fuel your body with the nutrients it needs to recover and sustain itself
Keep yourself hydrated during the warmer months
Seek shade where possible

Fatigue is something that we all face in our busy work lives and it is often unavoidable.

However, it is critical we can recognise the signs of fatigue in ourselves or someone on-site and take the necessary steps to prevent fatigue-related problems from happening.

Health can often be overlooked in the construction industry, but it’s a big contributor to time off work and workers compensation costs across Australia. Both physical and mental health risks can significantly impact the health of your workers and negatively impact your business if not taken seriously.

Physical Health

Musculoskeletal injuries

Work-related musculoskeletal injuries account for the majority of workers compensation costs in Australia compared to any other type of injury. Musculoskeletal injuries account for 37% of serious claims in Australia*.

Work-related musculoskeletal injuries can arise from body stressing such as:

handling, lifting, carrying or putting down of objects
Repetitive movement

Common injuries for construction workers can range from sprains, strains, and bruising which can be caused by heavy lifting, repetitive movement, poor body posture, forcefulness or muscle effort, or the vibrations from continuous use of hand tools. It’s important to note that these types of injuries can occur suddenly or develop over a period of time. Symptoms of a musculoskeletal injury may be in the form of pain and/or discomfort located in and around the neck, shoulders, wrists, back, and knees.

There are many factors to consider when it comes to managing the risks associated with body stressing, however two key areas you can focus on are:

Physical factors:

Heavy loads
Lack of equipment
Challenging environments
Poor layout
Forces
Repetition
Awkward postures

Work Organisation factors:

Work hours / Time pressure
Lack of help
No breaks
Poor work planning
Training / Skill level

Prevention Tips

Some effective ways to help prevent these types of injuries include:

Pre planning the task / job
Task rotation with others
breaking up your tasks throughout the day
warm-up and cool down stretches
Use mechanical aids for lifts
Ensure correct manual handling techniques
choosing a different piece of equipment
Encourage workers to report all instances where they may feel pain or discomfort. Don’t let it escalate into something more serious

For more information on musculoskeletal injuries, refer to one of our recent blogs on What treatments might look like and prevention tips.

Health Monitoring

Did you know businesses are legally required to monitor the health of their workers in certain circumstances?

On construction sites, workers can be exposed to many hazards that can cause them harm over time. Some common hazards are:

Airborne dust and fibres (i.e Asbestos, Silica)
Hazardous chemicals
loud noises

Continuous exposure to these hazards can cause progressively worse health issues for your workers. This is why it is important to monitor your worker’s health where there may be a risk to their health. How monitoring is conducted can vary based on the hazard they may be exposed to. For example it may involve a hearing test, lung function or vision assessment.

If your worksite exposes your workers to environments that can cause them harm, we recommend beginning the process of monitoring your worker’s health.

Mental Health

Workplace hazards that create risks of harm to psychological (mental) health are known as psychosocial hazards. These hazards, when excessive or prolonged, can cause serious harm. It can have a significant impact on workers, their families and business.

Psychosocial hazards can come from:

work relationships and interactions, including bullying, harassment, discrimination, aggression and violence
the way the work or job is designed, organised and managed
the equipment, working environment or requirements to undertake duties

Some work-related factors that can affect a mentally healthy work site include:

Work-related violence and aggression
Workplace bullying
Lack of recognition and reward
Low role clarity
Low support
Poor environmental conditions
Poor organisational justice
Remote and isolated work

Knowing where to start can feel overwhelming but getting started doesn’t have to be. Take action to improve the mental health of your team today. Identifying risks and controlling them should be done by communicating with workers about what workplace conditions may be affecting their mental health.

Some other tips to help build and maintain a mentally healthy work site include:

Create a more positive and supportive work site
Establish awareness and support for workers experiencing mental health issues.
Celebrate workers and their efforts.
Take steps to improve role clarity and job satisfaction
Increase workers’ ability to make their own decisions about their work
Focus on retaining staff
Promote work-life balance
Commit to zero tolerance for workplace bullying, violence and aggression

To learn more, we have developed a great resource on How to build a mentally healthy work site which provides useful tips to help build and maintain a mentally healthy work site.

The hidden costs to your business

There is a large range of costs that surface when someone has an incident on the job that impacts their physical or mental state, especially when they can’t return to work the next day or sometimes for weeks or months. This can have a huge impact on deadlines, bottom line, skills on-site and team dynamics.

How HazardCo can help

Get the best from your team and work safer and healthier. Some simple ways to do this include:

Monitor and Review
- Conduct regular Site Reviews using the HazardCo App, to help identify and manage both physical and mental health hazards on-site.
Communication and Consultation
- Start managing mental health at work today. Have a toolbox meeting to discuss the common issues that impact your worker’s mental health. Discuss ways to eliminate or minimise these risks. It’s good practice to keep records of your meetings, this can be done in the HazardCo App.
- Stuck on toolbox talk topics? Discuss recent incidents, site review results and ideas on how to make the site safer both physically and mentally
Ensure any near misses, injuries, incidents or illnesses, including mental health related incidents are reported using the HazardCo App and investigated.

If you have any further questions in regards to this topic or need more support, reach out to HazardCo and speak to one of our expert Health and Safety Advisors. You can contact us on 1800 954 702.

* Safe Work Australia reporting period of 2019 – 2020.

Taking care of your mental health can be difficult, as sometimes you don’t even know you are struggling until you are in the thick of it. Even though we all respond to mental health differently, there are some common signs to look out for. There are also some recommended things we can do to improve or manage our mental health.

Here are some common signs that you may be struggling with your mental health:

Difficulty sleeping, or sleeping too much
Feeling sad or down.
Not enjoying things you usually would
Changes in eating habits
Feeling anxious or worried constantly
Mood swings
Excessive drinking, taking drugs, or violence

These feelings and behaviours can be onset by a variety of life events or stressors such as; work-related stress, dealing with Covid-19 restrictions, financial concerns, relationship troubles, and many more. If we have been through a tough time or are aware that we aren’t feeling quite right there are some tools we can use that can improve our mental health. Using these tools to proactively manage our mental health is a great idea but it is also useful if you are currently struggling with your mental health.

Here are some common things people do to manage their mental health:

Connect with people – Family, Friends, Workmates, Team Mates
Be Active – Go for a walk or to the gym. Get out in nature
Prioritise Sleep – Sleep has a big impact on mental health
Talk to people you trust – Sharing the good and bad in life helps build a trusted community and support group around you.
Take a break – Schedule in time to rest, recover or energise yourself. Find what helps make you feel like yourself.
Eat well – A healthy diet and staying hydrated can help mental wellbeing

These tools and many more can all help you take care of your mental health. If you notice a colleague or friend is struggling or going through some tough life events, reach out to them and see how they are going. They could benefit from some of these tools or at very least a friend. Remember that taking care of yourself mentally is hard and you don’t need to do it on your own. Reach out to your family and friends or a doctor to talk about your mental health. If you are struggling there is help out there, below is a list of some places you can call if you need support.

Lifeline – 13 11 14
Beyond Blue – 1300 22 4636
Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467

Did you know that one in six Australians is currently experiencing depression, anxiety or both? The construction industry employs more than 625,000 people across Australia, making it one of the biggest employers in the country, this means that there is a good chance that you or someone you work with is struggling with or at some stage has struggled with their mental wellbeing.

There are some pretty shocking stats that show how mental health and wellbeing affects Aussies:

1 in 4 Australians are lonely and have no-one to speak to
Workers in the construction industry are six times more likely to die by suicide than through workplace accidents
It’s estimated that 45 percent of people will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime
In any one year, around 1 million Australian adults have depression, and over 2 million have anxiety

We are increasingly more aware that mental health and wellbeing is a serious issue that affects so many of us. When people are struggling with their mental health and going through a rough time it can be hard for them to seek help or talk about it. We can look out for our friends and colleagues because we know there is a good chance that at least one of them may need someone to talk to.

Poor mental health and well-being come in many shapes and sizes but there are some common signs to look out for. It typically looks like a change in behavior rather than a one-off incident or if they are just ‘having a bad day’. If you see any of these signs or changes in behaviour it might be time to reach out to your friend or workmate:

A talkative or sociable person pulling away or isolating themselves
Normally relaxed or easy going but now are agitated or aggressive
Coming in to work late or not at all
Finding it hard to cope with day to day things
Finding it hard to concentrate or finish tasks
Using alcohol and/or drugs to cope

If you see these signs, your friend or workmate might need a helping hand. They might need you to check in on them and see how things are going. This can be hard and scary if you don’t know what you are doing when dealing with mental health and wellbeing. Reaching out to someone who is struggling can be the first step towards getting them the help that they need. You don’t have to be an expert, you just have to be a friend.

Fortunately for us in Australia, there are so many organisations that exist solely to help people with their mental health and well-being. If you see someone struggling, encourage them to get in touch with one of these organisations for more help. If you need more guidance in dealing with the situation you can call too. Here is some of the places (there are more) you can contact if you or a friend are struggling with mental health:

Lifeline – 13 11 14
Beyond Blue – 1300 22 4636
Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467

For more resources on how to check in on a workmate download the free guide from RUOK? Here

The year’s end has snuck up on us once again, bringing the added pressure of work deadlines, projects, social events, and family commitments.

With these additional pressures occupying our headspace over the festive season, injury rates and incidents tend to increase. The team at HazardCo have a few tips on ways to manage your stress, energy levels, and overall wellbeing at this busy time.

Deadlines – short deadlines for projects and pressure to reach end-of-year-goals can add additional stress to the holidays and cause health and wellness to fall by the wayside. As always, communicate early on, and involve everyone in the project timeline and any dependencies… that way time pressures become a shared problem. And if you do have a looming deadline you don’t think you can make, now’s the time to start talking about it and looking at options with your wider team and client.

Temporary Workers – great for covering annual leave and busy periods, these staff members are often at a higher risk as they don’t have the experience or knowledge of processes specific to your workplace. If you engage temporary workers to cover annual leave or busy periods, it is important that they are inducted correctly, and receive full and correct safety instructions and supervision for any work with machinery or unfamiliar tasks they may be doing.

Social Events – whether it’s purely a social catch-up, or an end of year work party, remember to drink responsibly; monitor and manage alcohol provided to staff, and never drink and drive. This way everyone can have a safe and enjoyable time celebrating their achievements throughout the year.

So, whether you are actively working, or in the midst of the holiday season, try to stay focused on the job at hand, and pay close attention to the task you are performing.

The HazardCo team wishes you all the best for a safe and happy holiday season and look forward to catching up in 2022!