Articles tagged under ‘Workplace systems’

Articles 1 - 102 of 102

• Systems for a changing workplace — Inside the updated 2026 Workplace Systems Handbook

  The Workplace Systems Handbook has been fully updated. Here's what's changed and why it matters for your practice.

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• Extinguishing barriers — Practical options to support firefighters’ recovery

  Firefighters risk their lives for the community. With a few practical adjustments, the compensation system could do even more to support their recovery and well-being.

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• The cost of NSW Police’s failure to address the root causes of psychological injury

  NSW Police has spent $1.75 billion on psychological injury claims in 5 years while failing to address the root causes. An audit shows why reactive support isn’t enough, and what needs to change.

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• Healing the whole worker — Why holistic care is the future of workers' comp

  Traditional injury-focused approaches are proving inadequate for modern recovery needs, driving a shift toward holistic, inclusive care that addresses the whole worker.

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• Improving injury outcomes in Tasmania — An evidence-based transformation

  When the data revealed a troubling truth, the WorkCover Board Tasmania chose real change over quick fixes.

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• Two routes, two destinations — How small decisions drive big outcomes in injury management

  Small differences in approach during the early stages of injury can lead to vastly different long-term outcomes.

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• Bringing ‘It Pays to Care’ to life — How biopsychosocial care can prevent long-term disability

  When a truck driver develops chronic back pain, the approach to managing his physical condition and psychosocial factors can determine whether he keeps working or faces long-term disability.

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• Webinar recording: The Workers' Voice Project — Re-imagining workers’ compensation from a lived experience perspective

  Professor Alex Collie, Director of the Healthy Working Lives Research Group at Monash University, presents research that aims to address the stress and complexity that many injured workers face during the claims process.

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• From doctor's office to work-ready — The tech revolution in RTW

  An award-winning tech solution improves RTW by transforming the traditionally paper-based workers' compensation system into an efficient electronic process that connects all stakeholders in real time.

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• Upstream is where it’s at — The case for systemic mental health reform at work

  To reduce psychological claims, organisations must move beyond surface-level interventions and address the upstream factors through better job design, enhanced leadership capability and systemic changes to workplace culture and risk management practices.

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• Workers’ compensation re-imagined from a lived experience perspective — Part 2

  What would a workers’ compensation scheme designed by people with lived experience of such claims look like? An innovative research study aims to find out.

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• Workers’ compensation re-imagined from a lived experience perspective — Part 1

  What would a workers’ compensation scheme designed by people with lived experience of such claims look like? An innovative research study aims to find out.

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• WorkSafe ACT’s Psychosocial Maturity Indication Tool — in a nutshell

  RTWMatters speaks to WorkSafe ACT about their Psychosocial Maturity Indication Tool

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• Screening for risk — a ‘holy grail’ in workers' compensation claims

  In a talk recorded for the It Pays to Care Biopsychosocial Symposium, Associate Professor Ross Isles suggests some important guidelines for better results in managing workers' compensation claims. These guidelines focus on using risk screening processes to benefit injured workers.

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• Can you hear that sound? It’s the wake-up call for employers to manage psychosocial hazards

  The era of prioritising mental health and psychological safety in the workplace has arrived. There’s been a transformative shift in what employers are expected to do to manage psychosocial hazards at work.

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• Job crafting — another way to self-manage long-term pain problems

  Self-management of long-term pain conditions doesn’t just mean doing things to manage the physical symptoms of the condition. It can also involve other ways to improve overall quality of life — like job-crafting.

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• Comcare’s management of IMEs — the Commonwealth Ombudsman takes a look

  The Commonwealth Ombudsman’s investigation into Comcare’s management of IMEs addresses reports of unreasonable and unethical behaviour and offers up suggestions for improvement.

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• What happens to workers when their long duration compensation claims stop?

  In a study, one in 4 workers with long-duration workers compensation claims moved onto Centrelink payments after workers’ compensation benefits stopped — or 1 in 2 if their payments stopped because of changes to the law that capped their payments at 5 years. What does this mean for workers and policy makers?

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• 'Above all, do no harm'. Towards a therapeutic approach to workers’ compensation.

  Is the concept of ‘Above all, do no harm’ relevant to our workers compensation schemes?

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• Regulation toolkit: compliance as a way to influence RTW

  Workers get the bad press, but other scheme participants behave in ways that are unethical. This article looks how regulators can constructively influence our work injury scheme through their compliance and enforcement role.

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• Regulation toolkit: encouragement, engagement and upskilling as a way to influence RTW

  Regulators can constructively influence our work injury scheme through encouragement, engagement and skilling up the industry.

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• IRRI-sistable (Part 1) — WorkCover Queensland’s Injury Risk Reduction Initiatives improve outcomes for all

  RTW practices are a team sport. WorkCover Queensland’s Injury Risk Reduction Initiatives show what can be done when injury scheme players work collaboratively to reduce the barriers to recovery and RTW.

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• RTW: from research to practice. The ‘know-do gap’ through a complex systems lens

  In our ongoing quest to find ways to translate research into practice in our work injury schemes, we ask ‘What we can learn from complexity thinking?

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• ‘WorkWell: Preventing mental injury and promoting mental health’

  There are 11 work-related factors that employers must identify and manage to prevent mental injury and promote safe and mentally healthy workplaces.

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• Too tough, too scared, too busy

  A quarter of construction workers don’t report injuries. Why - and what are the consequences?

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• No reporting does not equal no psychological injury

  You should be worried if no workers at your organisation complain about bullying, harassment or workplace pressures, and none claim for psychological injury, says Dr Rebecca Michalak.

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• Webinar recording: Deal with it early, deal with it right

  The value of effective injury reporting systems

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• Webinar recording:Taking control of Workers' Compensation

  Understanding risk management when it comes to Workers’ Compensation premiums is valuable knowledge for Return to Work Coordinators and Employers in managing both health outcomes and in reducing costs.

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• PEMA results at work

  Workplace examples illustrate how employers use (and misuse) the results of pre-employment medical assessments

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• Using and abusing PEMA results

  A doctor’s assessment that a prospective employee is “fit” for a particular role does not guarantee a clean bill of health. How should employers understand and use the results of pre-employment medical assessments?

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• PEMAs ain't PEMAs

  There's no "one size fits all" pre-employment medical assessment: individual role demands and safety requirements determine the appropriate type of PEMA for the job.

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• Intro to PEMAs - pre-employment medical assessments

  What is a PEMA? What can - and can't - be achieved with this earliest of early interventions?

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• Six steps to good governance in RTW

  Ever looked at someone else’s injury management results and thought: I want what they’ve got? Here’s how RTW coordinators, supervisors, senior managers and the Board of Directors interact to get it done at high-performing organisations.

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• Webinar recording: Online Functional Job Dictionaries

  Maximising their benefit in your workplace

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• Webinar recording: Implementing a 24/7 injury reporting line

  This webinar discusses the values and outcomes of 24/7 injury reporting lines

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• Psychological Cases: developing a psychologically healthy workplace

  The workplace is a social environment. For many, this is one of the most enjoyable aspects of their job. For others, depending on the workplace, the negative impacts on their psychology can be enormous.

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• Disputes: is avoidance the best policy?

  Workers compensation disputes are often both costly and time consuming. While sometimes they're necessary, generally they should be avoided – but how can you do this?

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• Management tips: Resolving conflict in the workplace

  Unresolved conflict can cause many problems in the workplace. Don't let it!

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• Wellness: a whole of industry approach

  While the health and wellness concerns of the bus industry are similar to other industries across the transport area, their methodology may provide a useful template to the wider workplace community.

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• Grief at work: when an employee dies

  Managing the aftermath of an employee death is extraordinarily challenging. What do managers need to know and do when the worst happens?

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• Historical Workplace Diseases: we've come a long way

  The history of work disease is as old as the concept of work itself. This article takes a look back in time at some of the serious and deadly workplace hazards which were faced in the past.

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• Banishing Burnout: Strategies for a Constructive Engagement with Work

  Dr Michael Leiter, a professor at the Centre for Organisational Research and Development at Acadia University, offers strategies for enabling employees to constructively engage at work and avoid burnout.

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• Surgeons: what can other organisations learn from the report?

  The Royal Australian College of Surgeons recently released a report into discrimination, bullying and sexual harassment in the practice of surgery. What lessons have been learnt and how are they applicable to other businesses?

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• Critical Ideas for the Psychologically Healthy Workplace

  In this webinar on Conflict, Emotion, Incidents, & Behaviour, Pierre Nadeau, Respectful Workplace Specialist at Proactive ReSolutions, explores the key ideas to help you to deal with problematic situations in the workplace.

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• Health and Wellness in the Workplace: how to promote it

  Every business wants to increase productivity and make money. Many businesses are, however, unaware of the benefits to their 'bottom line' finances, of investing in staff well-being.

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• RTW cooperation is more effective than control

  Cooperation is vital in return to work. Whose buy-in is essential? How can you get it? And why should RTW Coordinators prioritise a team approach?

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• Better Workplace Systems: how to implement them

  This article takes you through some effective ways of making sure that your workplace systems are in order.

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• Case management in a nutshell

  The management of the work attendance of people with health condition is sometimes called case management. Here we cover the basics, including who, what, where, when.

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• Template Injury Management Policy

  Are injury management policies a mystery to you? This template should help.

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• Injury Management: how to create your policy

  An injury management policy provides broad guidelines on the company’s approach to injury management. It provides clear procedures, and lays out the foundation for dealing with injuries in the workplace.

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• RTW Systems - How does your workplace stack-up?

  Developing effective workplace systems can be challenging. It can also be difficult to know if they are working.

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• Exploring Injury Reporting Systems

  Early reporting can have a huge impact on RTW outcomes, so the system used should be well-suited to the purpose.

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• Case Study: Time to heal

  Mr L, a tall, solid-framed, right-handed 58 year old man, reported pain in his right elbow. While improvement was reported over six months, he began to notice similar symptoms at his left elbow.

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• Case Study: It pays to do the right thing, even when dubious about a claim

  Michael was a 48-year-old machine operator. He had been at the workplace for nine months. During his probation period he worked well, but once permanent he missed considerable time from work with unplanned absences.

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• Case Study: Injured, but not at work. What to do?

  Workers with injuries sustained away from work may be tempted to protect their financial interests by lodging a compensation claim anyway. Dr Wyatt describes how support and boundaries can help.

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• 2015 RTW Matters Reader Survey: what barriers are you facing?

  A huge thank you to everyone who responded to our reader survey. It helps us to understand some of the issues around RTW, as well as helping us to provide the information you want and need.

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• Case Study: I Told Them but They Didn't Listen

  Ms L is a right handed 46 year old who was employed for ten years to pack domestic cleaning chemicals. She was exposed to these chemicals in dust form.

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• RTW and the workplace: Reciprocity rules

  Results from the national Return to Work Survey show the strength and consistency of workplace influence on employee RTW behaviour

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• Webinar Recording: Pre-employment functional assessments: a physiotherapist's evidence based perspective

  Dr Eva Schonstein.

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• Gender wars

  Women are more likely to be bullied in the workplace than men. Yet most female bullies target other women.

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• Bridge the gap

  The 'bridge' between a proactive Health and Safety focus and Workers Compensation claims is often managed ineffectively.

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• Developing a successful rehabilitation program: case study

  Interview with Garry Pearce, Director of Rehabilitation for the Tasmanian Department of Health.

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• WEBINAR - Using surveys to understand your workplace and prevent claims

  Dr Peter Cotton explains how understanding workplace morale and quality of management allows improvements to be made.

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• Why train supervisors and line managers in return to work?

  A Powerpoint presentation on the whys and wherefores of supervisor training in RTW management.

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• Case study: Tact and trust

  Are your innovative ideas constantly met with suspicion? This case study from cotton-milling industrial revolution Scotland looks at how tact builds trust - and what squanders it.

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• HR and RTW

  HR and RTW are together as often as peas and carrots. Is it a match made in heaven or an organisational disaster?

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• What do you bring to work?

  Not your roll or leftover pasta - but what attitude or outlook do you bring? Find out why it's a question worth asking.

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• Are you happy with your working relationships?

  Workers' Comp has a high staff turnaround, so a working relationship still great after 11 years is worth attention.

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• OHS and Return-To-Work

  On developing a good relationship with OHS Managers.

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• Workplace policies and return to work

  We look at how organisational policies and practices can have a big impact on RTW outcomes.

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• Video presentation: Participatory ergonomics

  Combining ergonomics WITH participation opens up a treasure load of possible solutions.

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• Supervising wellbeing

  How do managers and supervisors impact the mental and emotional wellbeing of their team? Is it possible to manage in a way that promotes good mental and emotional health?

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• Job Rotation - 3

  Implementing job rotation.

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• Job Rotation - 2

  Overcome the common barriers and ensure employee buy-in.

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• Estimating turnover costs

  Making the business case for best practice injury management? There are simple methods to assist you in calculating the rate and cost of staff turnover in your organisation.

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• Job Rotation - 1

  Want to boost productivity, improve job satisfaction and reduce the incidence of musculoskeletal injuries?

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• Managing disaster compensation

  Richard Green, injury and claims manager with the CFA after Black Saturday, knows what to expect from disaster-exposed workers, and how to help them through.

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• Worksite wonders

  Visiting injured workers at home and at work is an integral part of the Scenic Rim Regional Council's award winning injury management program. What makes this approach so effective?

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• Designer jobs

  Does job design affect health and performance in the workplace? And if so, how can jobs be redesigned to improve both?

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• Managers VS workers

  Hang on! Isn't RTW supposed to be all about the love? We count down ten ways to improve tetchy worker / manager relationships.

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• Walk this way

  Finding it hard to move your company on workplace wellbeing? Run these case studies by them and see if they don't step to a new tune.

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• Doctor, doctor give 'em the news

  We consider why doctors fail to communicate well about return to work, and offer strategies for helping them tell their patients what they need to hear.

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• Strategic implementation Q&A

  How to take the long view and get where you want to go, faster.

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• What's with 'That Department'?

  Want something done at work? It helps to know what and who you're working with. Start by asking yourself these questions...

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• Disability management pegged: Part 3

  Iron out problems by taking action

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• Disability management pegged: Part 2

  Identify "dirty" laundry and take it to the cleaners

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• Disability management pegged: Part 1

  You don't have to hang anybody out to dry to get your systems pegged. Instead, make plans and make friends.

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• Top ten ways to reduce sick leave

  Keep workers and reduce sick leave with a dose of sick leave sugar (and a dash of lemon!)

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• Dealing with downsizing

  A quick guide to minimising negative impacts of downsizing on workers' comp claims and return to work.

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• Strategic planning - how can I and why should I?

  Arranging resources helps to achieve long-term workplace objectives. Here's how to make injury management planning work.

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• Sprains and strains causing RTW pain?

  How-to Guide: Using modified duties to promote durable return to work.

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• Small business, big problems?

  Smaller businesses don't necessarily have fewer problems with return to work - simply different ones.

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• Good RTW ain't easy - but boy is it worth it

  Work can't stop when results improve. In this interview with an Injury Management specialist, we learn that creating the right RTW culture needs to be a continuous process - or else everyone pays.

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• Backing up case management with software

  Intuition Software's Paul Eastman gets technical, explaining the ins and outs of an underused resource - workers comp software.

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• Returning to work in the Netherlands: a different approach

  Dutch occupational physician Frederieke Schaafsma describes a new Netherlands system of return to work that has seen the number of employees on long-term sick leave dramatically reduced.

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• Top ten tips for preventing long term claims

  Changes to your injury management system can help reduce claim duration.

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• No need for negative nellies

  Words may not break bones like sticks and stones, but they can still do a lot of damage.

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• Is work good for you? Professor Kim Burton explains the UK's changing answer

  In this interview with UK expert we learn that modern vocational rehabilitation is not about delivering an expensive service.

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• How one company turned 13 workers' compensation claims into two

  Seventy work-sites to manage, different styles of management, a tough work culture, misconceptions about what's involved. Annette Photios had her work cut out when she stepped into her role.

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• Tuna farmers turning the tide in return to work management.

  An investment in occupational health, safety and welfare has paid dividends for a South Australian tuna farm.

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• The sleepy shift-worker

  The keys to managing sleepiness in the workplace.

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• Towards a better workplace

  Opening up lines of communication is essential in the return to work process.

Archived Articles 1 - 10 of 10

• The Black report transforms health, work in UK

  The implementation of "Working for a healthier tomorrow" is revolutionising health and work in the UK. What are the key initiatives?

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• How Victoria Police put a stop to poor performance

  One strategy improved Vic Police's poor workers' comp results - getting to know it could help your workplace too.

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• Angry ambos run on empty

  Victorian paramedics are fatigued and striking for the first time in 36 years. What's gone wrong in their workplace and how can it be fixed?

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• Absence Management - Are You Ready?

  Ms Sharon Kaleta and Mr Kenneth Mitchell discuss the steps organisations need to take in order to practice effective absence management.

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• Hiring workers with disability

  One solution to the national skills shortage remains overlooked

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• Harnessing the power of information

  Sharing RTW information with workers creates connections and ensures consistency across diverse workplaces. This case study, from Scenic Rim Regional Council in QLD, shows you how to engage workers from induction onwards.

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• Return to Work Matters Strategic Summer Reading Package

  Three volumes of RTWMatters Greatest Hits to get you pointed in the right direction

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• Nurses Return to Work in Hospitals Project

  Project Officer of the Nurses Return to Work in Hospitals Project, Julia Suban, talks about the particular barriers to return to work in nursing, and just how she hopes they can be overcome.

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• From the sporting arena to the workplace.

  Introducing an elite sports model of injury prevention and management into the workplace is the key to reducing the frequency and severity of workplace injuries.

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• Building Employee Engagement and the Impact on Health: David Brown

  In order to be truly engaged and contributing fully at work, there needs to be a work-life balance

Research 1 - 26 of 26

• What drives workplace violence? And what can we do about it?

  Workplace violence isn’t just about frontline interactions. It’s shaped by a web of organisational, environmental and social factors that need to be addressed through system-wide prevention.

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• Inside the minds of Australian workplaces — Part 1: The stats

  Research conducted by Monash University’s Healthy Working Lives Research Group reveals how 4 million workers are struggling in silence, and who's most at risk.

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• Will I stay, or will I go? How much do workplace accommodations decide an injured worker's fate?

  Proper workplace accommodations aren't just a legal requirement — they're an important and effective strategy for preventing unnecessary job loss among injured workers.

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• An (a)gender for change — how workplace injustice harms female police officers' health

  A study reveals how deeply embedded unfairness in police organisations threatens both the well-being and advancement of female officers.

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• Let’s get personal — how we ask for and receive help matters

  A study shows that personal contact is the best way for people to get the help they need.

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• ‘I rest my case’ — the evidence is in on psychosocial hazards for law teachers

  Universities need to support student well-being, but this requires them to support the well-being of their teachers too. Some simple but effective changes would reduce the psychosocial risks for law teachers.

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• Do inspections by regulators prevent psychosocial risks at work?

  A study found that visits by inspectors can improve how companies manage psychosocial risks

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• Can work health and safety management systems address psychosocial risks?

  Using anonymous data in workplace risk assessments, taking the results seriously and having a systematic approach to managing them can help organisations deal with psychosocial risks.

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• The relationship between work disability and suicide or self-harm

  A study confirms the strong link between work disability and suicide or self-harm.

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• Victorian Injured Worker Outcomes Study Part 4 — suggestions for improvement to the workers’ compensation system

  It’s the people who have first-hand experience of a service or system that can give the most valuable feedback about what works and what doesn’t. Participants in the Victorian injured worker outcome study tell us what they think.

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• Delay feeds delay

  Early reporting and prompt claim adjudication and payment may reduce the number of workers who have prolonged absence after injury, while delays are a red flag.

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• Where are the mental health nuts and bolts?

  Mental health capabilities, culture, policies and procedures are lacking compared to leadership and workplace connectedness, according to Superfriend.

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• Fair winners, fair losers in dispute resolution

  What makes dispute resolution outcomes seem fair to workers?

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• Research short: Bad for the body, bad for the workplace

  A major study from the Netherlands shows productivity can be improved by helping workers improve their lifestyles.

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• Research short: Attending work while sick

  Flexible sick-leave policies can reduce sickness absence.

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• Research short: The pre-employment examination drain

  Do pre-employment medical examinations reduce sick leave? Are they value for money?

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• Research short: Doctors or managers - who affects sickness absence?

  Danish researchers find that management approaches and levels of employee decision-making latitude exert considerable influence on sick leave. So who should you try and influence?

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• Research short: flexible work reduces sick leave

  Workers who have the option to work from home are 1.5 times less likely to take sick leave than those who must be in the office.

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• Job control, job demand and workplace health

  Changes in psychosocial aspects of work affect employee health and wellbeing

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• Screening for distress

  Studies suggest that it is possible to identify workers at risk of developing psychological distress and intervene before productivity suffers

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• "But I didn't touch him"

  What is non-physical violence, and how does it impact the workplace?

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• She'll be right: Under-reporting injury in the workplace

  According to one study, only 52% of work related injury and illness gets reported

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• Back pain World Cup

  How do different country's disability benefits and policies for occupational low back pain affect return to work rates?

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• Learn to return

  A number of simple initiatives can have a positive impact on timely return to work and decrease costs.

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• Balance at work, balance at home

  Workplace flexibility is associated with better employee health

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• Who's the boss? Health and control in the workplace

  If a sense of workplace control is linked to good health, how can it be fostered?