National Safe Work Month is coming up in October and the theme this year is For Everyone’s Safety, Work Safely.
The primary objective of this initiative from Safe Work Australia is to encourage all individuals and organisations to prioritise safety in their workplaces, with the aim of working towards reducing the number of work-related injuries, illnesses and fatalities.
This year, Safe Work Australia has outlined four key topics to cover the four weeks of October:
Week 1 (1-8 October) – Working together to manage risks at work.
Regular WHS risk assessments will help prevent injuries or fatalities at your workplace. Our friends at Bodycare are injury prevention experts and offer a range of early intervention strategies, injury management consulting, strength and conditioning programs, risk assessments, manual handling training, flexibility testing, nutrition advice and even workplace vaccinations.
Week 2 (9-15 October) – Working together to protect workers’ mental health
Safety in the workplace doesn’t mean just physical safety. Mental Health is an integral component of any workplace wellbeing program. The increasing uptake of R U OK? Day as a focus to kick off many mental health programs and lead into October as a Mental Health month has shown just how willing organisations are to commit to the wellbeing of their workforce. This week’s focus coincides with World Mental Health Day on 10 October 2023 and with most States’ Mental Health Weeks. Healthworks has a range of mental health seminars and workshops and also offer accredited Mental Health First Aid courses.
Week 3 (16-22 October) – Working together to support all workers
In week 3 of National Safe Work Month, the focus is on what needs to be done to manage risks to the health and safety of vulnerable workers, such as those who are young, work alone or are from diverse backgrounds. Loneliness in the workplace can have profound impacts on mental and physical health, contributing to increased stress, anxiety, and even potential long-term health issues for affected individuals. Seminars such as ‘Creating Connections‘, and promoting companywide challenges designed to foster teamwork and cameraderie can help workers feel more a part of something larger.
Week 4 (23-31 October) – Working together to ensure a safe and healthy workplace
This week is about ensuring WHS is core to how we do business in Australia and reviewing changing patterns and ways of working as well as the emergence of new forms of work. In addition to all the services outlined above, we can suggest and customise one off events or provide an annual program of WHS events to suit your requirements and to ensure that a safe and healthy workplace is always front and centre for your workers. It can even be as simple as arranging a monthly newsletter to be emailed to all your workers.
We have a range of services in each of these areas suitable for all types of workplaces – ask us how we can help you keep everyone safe and working safely in your workplace.
