Week 2 of National Safe Work Month broadens focus to long-time health outcomes

Entering the second week of National Safe Work Month, this week’s theme is ‘For health: What WHS protects’ — highlighting the many ways work can affect both physical and psychological health.

“The Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2023–2033 identifies ongoing challenges including musculoskeletal conditions, psychological injuries, occupational diseases, psychosocial risks and exposure to harmful substances. Addressing these risks is critical to creating healthier workplaces and preventing harm before it occurs,” Safe Work Australia (SWA) said.

“Many workplace hazards can have impacts that are not immediately visible. Exposure to hazardous chemicals and airborne contaminants, repetitive work, high job demands and fatigue can all contribute to serious long-term health outcomes.”

Encouraging workplaces to identify one physical or psychosocial hazard and discuss how it could affect workers’ health, SWA suggested using the activity kit to map hazards, review existing controls and identify opportunities for improvement. It is available to download here.

Resources this week also cover the hierarchy of controls — a practical framework that helps workplaces select the most effective control measures by prioritising actions that eliminate or minimise risks at their source. You can watch the Week 2 campaign video here, while to learn more about this year’s theme, click here.

Image credit: iStock.com/SDI Productions. Stock image used is for illustrative purposes only.