SafetyAtWorkBlog

In this episode, Kevin Jones reflects on key insights from the 2026 International Association on Workplace Bullying and Harassment conference in Canberra. He explores why policies, training, and awareness campaigns often fall short in managing psychosocial risks at work, and argues that lasting change requires stronger systems, clearer definitions, and deeper organisational reform. For the full ar...

A clear-eyed look at why Australia’s productivity debate is really a debate about work design. This episode unpacks the mismatch between old industrial‑era metrics and today’s knowledge‑and‑care economy, showing how performance, psychosocial risk, and productivity are all symptoms of the same system. A call for OHS to step into the national conversation with the maturity it has long developed. For...

A sharp look at the latest corporate scandal and what it reveals about the widening gap between leadership rhetoric and workplace reality. This episode argues that repeated ethical failures across major firms aren’t just governance issues — they’re psychosocial hazards — and makes the case for stronger regulatory intervention when organisations refuse to change themselves. For the full article wit...

A persistent OHS problem is presented by quad bikes. This episode challenges the long-standing reliance on education and voluntary measures in preventing workplace fatalities. I argue for stronger regulation, including mandatory engineering controls, clearer accountability, and a renewed focus on the hierarchy of controls—making the case that when harm persists in predictable ways, real safety imp...

A persistent OHS problem is presented by quad bikes. This episode challenges the long-standing reliance on education and voluntary measures in preventing workplace fatalities. I argue for stronger regulation, including mandatory engineering controls, clearer accountability, and a renewed focus on the hierarchy of controls—making the case that when harm persists in predictable ways, real safety imp...

This episode examines how decades of institutional denial shape today’s failures in managing psychosocial hazards. Drawing on lived experience and historical context, it traces how schools and workplaces normalised silence, minimised harm, and protected reputations rather than people, and how those attitudes still echo in modern organisational culture. It’s a reminder that psychosocial risk isn’t...

This episode explores how historian Mike Duncan’s “Great Idiot Theory of History” can offer a different way of thinking about workplace health and safety failures, arguing that serious incidents are rarely inevitable and more often the result of avoidable leadership decisions protected by elite consensus. Drawing connections among history, corporate power, and psychological harm at work, this epis...

This episode reflects on the return of “Big Data” through modern AI tools and what that means for professional judgement, using recent developments in the legal sector as a case study. It explores where artificial intelligence genuinely adds value, where it risks narrowing perspective, and why preventing workplace harm—particularly in occupational health and safety—still depends on human interpret...

On April 28, 2026 — a day marked globally as International Workers’ Memorial Day or the World Day for Safety and Health at Work — the official theme was psychosocial harm, yet Australian political responses largely avoided discussing it. This episode looks at what governments chose to say, what they left unsaid, and why that silence matters, particularly given recent legal recognition of psychosoc...

This five‑minute SafetyAtWorkBlog article summary discusses how executive health risks are symptoms of unsafe work design, not personal weakness. Drawing on recent media coverage, it argues that long hours, addictive workloads, and poor job control are organisational hazards disguised as ambition. With sharp commentary and evidence‑based insight, it challenges employers to stop treating burnout as...

In this audio version of a SafetyAtWorkBlog article (published 14 April 2026), OHS advisor and writer Kevin Jones argues that psychological harm at work isn’t a personal weakness—it’s a foreseeable workplace hazard that employers are required to control. He explores why many organisations still default to blaming individuals, why “consultation” often becomes empty theatre (especially when the sour...

In this episode, I compare two new books reviewed on the SafetyAtWorkBlog to explore where psychological harm at work really comes from. Setting Kat Page’s evidence‑based focus on job design and prevention against Graeme Cowan’s leadership‑led emphasis on empathy and care, the discussion asks whether harm sits with individuals, leaders, or the systems of work themselves. Drawing on occupational he...

I argue that Australia should stop treating occupational health and safety (OHS) as a compliance cost and start seeing it as a powerful economic lever that protects productivity, skills and human capital. By reshaping procurement rules, tax settings and incentives, Treasury could reframe safety as essential economic infrastructure and one of the nation’s smartest investments.

This episode summarises a SafetyAtWorkBlog article exploring a quiet but significant shift in occupational health and safety thinking — away from blaming individual workers and towards examining the systems that shape how work is designed and managed. Drawing on ideas from a recent US book about wealth, power and responsibility, the script contrasts “individual framing” with “systemic framing,” ar...

In this episode, I reflect on a SafetyAtWorkBlog article examining how overlooked disciplines—particularly accounting and governance—shape work health and safety, arguing that concepts like legitimacy theory and corporate purpose help explain why workplace harm is tolerated and normalised. The script challenges compliance focused OHS practice, links social licence and legitimacy to chronic and psy...

Today I explore how personal morality shapes leadership and workplace safety, inspired by recent comments from Donald Trump. I look at why safety is built on shared responsibility—not individual preference—and how leaders’ attitudes toward laws can affect everyone at work. Articles referenced - Red Flags for OHS Misunderstandings - https://safetyatworkblog.com/2025/01/02/red-flags-for-ohs-misunder...

This audio summary explores the provocative concept of "safety anarchism" through a conversation with Professor Sidney Dekker, author of The Safety Anarchist. Originally broadcast in 2017, the discussion challenges conventional views on workplace safety and bureaucracy, contrasting the disorder of anarchy with the collaborative ethos of anarchism. Dekker critiques Australia’s massive compliance bu...

This episode explores the tragic death of Karla Jordan, an accountant whose workplace environment was identified by the Victorian Coroner as the primary stressor leading to her suicide. It examines the toxic culture at Ballarat Health Services—marked by intimidation, poor communication, and mismanagement—and the systemic failures that contributed to Karla’s decline, including ignored warnings, ina...

What if safety behaviour wasn’t just about ticking boxes or following procedures? In this episode, we unpack the deeper forces that shape how people act at work—from leadership signals and peer norms to production pressures and psychological safety. Moving beyond blame and compliance, we explore how safety behaviour reflects what organisations truly value, and how it can serve as both a mirror of...

This episode exposes the hidden realities of Australia’s FIFO mining jobs, challenging the glamorous image promoted on social media. It highlights issues of isolation, harassment, and psychological harm, and calls for urgent reforms to workplace culture, safety systems, and recruitment practices. The discussion urges a broader approach to safety—one that prioritises dignity and mental health in th...

This episode examines Australia’s current focus on Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) in workplace safety reform, questioning whether this emphasis accurately reflects the diversity of Australian workplaces. It highlights concerns about the lack of comprehensive national data on HSRs, the potential for survey bias, and the need for a more inclusive, evidence-based consultation approach that...

This episode explores the hidden dangers and cultural failures within Australia’s horse racing industry, drawing broader lessons about workplace safety, leadership accountability, and institutional denial. It examines how harmful practices were excused as “back then,” why such justifications fail, and how silence and reputation protection perpetuate unsafe environments. Parallels are drawn to othe...

This episode explores the widespread use of workplace stretching programs and questions their effectiveness in preventing injuries. Drawing on recent research and industry observations, it examines the psychological and cultural impacts of these initiatives, contrasting them with more trusted interventions like suicide prevention programs. This episode challenges assumptions about safety rituals a...

This episode explores how pandemic preparedness is being reframed as part of a broader workplace biological hazard strategy, highlighting updates from Safe Work Australia, the development of a new model Code of Practice, and the importance of proactive risk management for all biological threats. It discusses lessons learned from COVID-19, the challenges of implementing effective ventilation, the n...

This episode marks the 50th anniversary of the Whitlam government’s dismissal, reflecting on a lost opportunity for transformative workplace safety reform in Australia. Just before the dismissal, a national no-fault accident compensation scheme—based on the visionary Woodhouse Report—was poised to provide comprehensive support for all Australians affected by injury, but the scheme was shelved and...