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When Performance Management Becomes a Psychosocial Hazard
Late last year, Australia crossed a significant legal threshold in work health and safety enforcement. For the first time, a Commonwealth employer was convicted for failing to manage psychosocial risks under federal work health and safety legislation. The case was brought by Comcare against the Department of Defence, following the death of a Royal Australian Air Force technician. The message from the court was unequivocal: performance management, when poorly designed or execu
Jan 143 min read


Social Media Posts Outside of Work Can Constitute Sexual Harassment
Below is a synopsis of the recent case based of the Fair Work Commission decision Pushik v Woolworths Group Limited [2025] FWC 3290. Circumstances A long-serving Woolworths Manager, Mr Pushik, was summarily dismissed after sending a series of unwelcome Facebook messages, emojis, and comments to a younger colleague, Ms Ghimire, over several months. These included multiple “love”, “I love you”, “Do you love me” messages, heart-eyes emojis, Valentine’s Day GIFs, red-rose images,
Dec 7, 20253 min read


“Oh, just ignore him. That’s just Fred, he’s always like that…”
Many of us have come across a ‘ Fred’ at work. (Made up name by the way and not intended to depict any Fred's I actually know! :-) )...
Oct 6, 20243 min read


Time to get psychosocial risk on your radar!
A South Australian Newspaper (The Advertiser, 20th Sept 2024) reveals a recent Freedom of Information request into South Australia's Dept...
Sep 20, 20241 min read


Don't drink the psych safety Kool Aid
I’ve had a two month hiatus from WHS and returned this weekend to a meteoric increase of information about psychosocial safety. As a...
Sep 8, 20242 min read


Don't drive through the rear view mirror
You don’t drive your car by looking in the rear-view mirror. You look ahead and focus on the road in front, with regular gazes behind to...
May 4, 20242 min read


Health & Safety is the global #1 risk for Execs & Boards!
This Global Directors’ & Officers Survey Report is an interesting read. (Check it here.) This annual survey maps key risks for Executives...
Apr 2, 20241 min read


It's safety's job, no it's HR, no it's safety's...!!!
This is a common statement in my Working with Monsters! workshops over recent months. As I help organisations navigate their psychosocial...
Mar 20, 20243 min read


What psychological safety is not!
I get this question a lot. “So is psychological safety all about letting people do what they want?” The answer is no. Not at all. As the...
Mar 5, 20242 min read


When do you submit an EU to the Regulator?
Here’s the next requested insight from my time as WHS Regulator and something that seems to have mystified senior leaders for a while....
Feb 28, 20244 min read


How WHS Regulators decide charges
After my last post regarding due diligence, some LinkedIn contacts asked for a little more information into regulatory decision making...
Feb 26, 20246 min read


Due Diligence for psychosocial risks
I recently presented to a large (ish) organisation about the new psychosocial legislation and options to implement a framework to deal...
Feb 23, 20243 min read


Don't shoot the messenger!
My top 5 killers of a psychologically safe Here are some common traits that kill workplace psychological safety. The trouble is, those...
Feb 15, 20242 min read


Investigating Workplace Psychosocial Events
With the current increased focus on workplace psychosocial risks, we also need to consider what to do when an event occurs in the...
Feb 12, 20242 min read


Job demands as a psychosocial hazard
Job demands are one of the most common workplace psychosocial hazards. This hazard can include excessive workloads, tight time...
Jan 10, 20241 min read
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