The Sickness of Safetyism When I do training and safety people attend there is invariably someone who introduces themselves by the nominal ‘Safety Sam’ or ‘Safety Sally’. This is how they are known at work and want to be identified and unfortunately are proud of it. Funny, I’ve never met a ‘Teacher Tom’, ‘Dentist Debbie’, […]
mental health
No Help for Mental Health in Zero
No Help for Mental Health in Zero I came into work in the safety industry after many years in various professions including Community Services, not-for-profit services, Social Work, Education, Youth Services, Youth Detention, Pastoral Counselling, EAP and Corrections. In all of these professional service cultures a core value is tolerance. You never know who will […]
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Safety, mental health and the safety paradox
It’s great to see such a focus on mental health at the moment and the activities being conducted for RU OK day etc. However, I do wonder if perhaps we are over doing it and if such an overt, theatrical or contrived approach may have unintended, harmful by-products for people with mental health issues? My […]
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Making the World fit the Safety Worldview
Making the World fit the Safety Worldview One of the drivers of the work of Martin Heidegger was his reaction to the determinist and reductionist view of Rene Descartes . The Cartesian worldview understands the world in an atomistic way, reducing certainty down to first causes. This is the view that dominates the archetype of […]
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Mental Health, Risk and Safety
Mental Health, Risk and Safety – Part 1 (see part 2 here) One of our most popular articles ever! Republished by Request Understanding, awareness and response to mental health issues at work is challenging. There are some particular challenges that mental health holds for risk and safety people. The purpose of this article is to provide […]
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‘Wrestling in the Mud’
‘Wrestling in the Mud’ First published here: http://dolphyn.com.au/wrestling-in-the-mud/ He began crying without notice, it took me by surprise. We were in our late teens and just finished cricket practice. Following our usual routine, we stuck around for an extra ½ hour, just the two of us, as best mates do. As soon as we finished he […]
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Do You Treat EAP’s Like a Smash Repairer?
Great article by Rob Sams published recently on LinkedIn Pulse HERE Do You Treat EAP’s Like a Smash Repairer? Could it be that listening is one critical skill that we all need to focus on if our aim is to ‘help’ others? What lessons could we take from Lifeline about how to best help someone […]
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What Safety and Risk Could Learn From Patch Adams
What Safety and Risk Could Learn From Patch Adams Gesundheit – Toward Holistic Health Last night I watched the movie Patch Adams starring the late, and amazingly talented, Robin Williams. The story for those who don’t know it is broadly based around the work and life of the real life medical doctor called Patch Adams. […]
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The Challenges for Organisations in Dealing with Mental Health
The Challenges for Organisations in Dealing with Mental Health How does adopting a ‘reductionist’ approach impact on mental health at work? Organisations world-over[1], including in Australia[2], are challenged by the difficulties[3] of dealing with mental health[4] in their workplaces. Factors relating to poor mental health, including anxiety[5] and depression[6], create significant costs[7] and challenges for […]
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Could Zero Harm be Unlawful?
Could Zero Harm be Unlawful Although 2 days ago I committed to the goal of zero zero harm articles I could not let this can of worms sit unopened on the shelf! If this doesn’t create a little cognitive dissonance in the zero proponents then nothing will! This feast for thought was just published on […]
