Forty-one percent. That's the proportion of Australian workers aged 14 to 24 who report living in a state of psychological distress for six months or more. Not a bad week. Not exam stress. Six months or more of sustained mental ill health — and they haven't even hit the middle of their careers yet.
In the financial year 2022, Australia accepted 13,000 workers' compensation claims for mental health. In that same period, 4.1 million Australian workers reported living with a mental ill health condition for six months or more. That's 4.1 million out of a total workforce of 14 million and barely a fraction of them showed up in the system.
When most leaders think “workplace injury,” images of slippery floors or heavy machinery come to mind. Yet, the data—and recent high-profile court cases—tell a different story: psychosocial hazards now account for a significant and rapidly growing portion of workers’ compensation claims.
The work health and safety landscape is ever evolving, and I think the last few years has seen an acceleration of development in one specific area – psychosocial safety. As an early adopter of psychosocial safety law, the Australian experience should be reviewed for others to learn.
Mental health conditions account for an increasing proportion of serious workers compensation claims and has significantly increased over the past 5 years.
In this episode of RelyOn host, Nathan Luker, talks to Professor Megan Reitz about creating a culture where employees feel safe to speak up, and leaders know how to listen.
Host, Nathan Luker, talks to child safety expert and lawyer, Skye Rose, about how leaders can prevent, detect and respond to child safety issues and how kids are leading the way in speaking up about safety concerns.
Host, Nathan Luker, is joined by AMP's former Chief Risk Officer, Anne-Marie Paterson, to discuss how to lead an intelligent risk culture that supports innovation and high performance without sacrificing good governance.
Host, Nathan Luker, is joined by human rights lawyer, writer and whistleblowing expert, Kieran Pender, to discuss the role of whistleblowing programs in building a better, integrity-led workplace culture
