Browsing: Emerging risks

Giving workers with musculoskeletal pain access to ergonomic equipment and more autonomy can prevent poor work ability across long periods of time, a study has shown. Another study has identified a significant workplace health risk among those with diabetes.

Australian workers are suffering significant stress from enforcing COVID-19 rules for customers, and their managers must adopt a zero-tolerance approach to customer abuse with the busy Christmas period approaching, new research has highlighted.

Co-designing tasks and processes with employees is key to removing complexity from their jobs, reducing their stress and helping them stay mentally healthy in the lead up to Christmas and other peak periods, a logistics safety webinar has heard.

A unique study focusing on the three dimensions of burnout, instead of total burnout scores, has found time pressure is the most important predictor of emotional exhaustion, and can be addressed through supervision and skills development where job demands can't be reduced.

Psychosocial risk management is not only crucial to preventing workplace musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) but ensuring injuries don't become chronic and block rehabilitation, a major safety agency has found.

A study of work-related acute kidney injuries spanning 10 years shows heat stress is not exclusive to the realm of outdoor work, and comprehensive heat stress interventions, particularly around acclimatisation, are crucial.

COVID-driven telework arrangements, which are likely to become permanent practices, are creating new psychosocial risks arising from "intense virtual team collaboration", and must be managed, according to a major study by Europe's peak work safety body.

Millions of workers are exposed to excessive noise, and thousands of injuries, including lacerations, burns and amputations, are linked to the hazard, which affects concentration and situational awareness, environmental health researchers have found.

• Employers need strategies for rapid antigen tests, says lawyer;
  
• COVID isolation rules eased in Victoria; and
  
• Regulations guide and Code released for WA's WHS transition.

A strong workplace psychosocial safety climate can reduce the psychological demands on migrant and refugee workers, who are at high risk of abuse and harassment in workplaces, leading Australian safety researchers say.