The Healthy Workplace

Question 1

The workplace plays a critical role in the maintenance and promotion of

Answer 1

employee health and wellbeing

Question 1

In Australia, the average number of hours worked for all employed persons was

Answer 1

34 hours per week (ABS, 2016

Question 2

There is broad recognition within the health promotion literature that psychosocial and organisational working conditions can influence

Answer 2

employee health and wellbeing

Question 3

Job demand, control and social support are among the most commonly studied

Answer 3

psychosocial working conditions and are the foundation for the demand-control-support

Question 4

The demand-control-support underpins a substantial body of

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occupational stress research

Question 5

organisational fairness/ justice

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the extent to which employees perceive they are treated fairly at their workplace, tend to make independent contributions to employee health — over and above the influence of psychosocial conditions

Question 6

For example, after adjusting for the typically studied job stressors (job demand, control and social support), organisational justice explained unique variance in a range of employee health outcomes including

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self-rated health (Kivimaki et al., 2004),

coronary heart disease risk scores (Kivimaki et al., 2005),

minor psychiatric disorders (Elovainio et al., 2002),

sickness absence (Kivimaki et al., 2003b)

depression (Ylipaavalniemi et al., 2005).

Question 7

Traditional workplace health promotion programs focus on the individual worker and take a

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lifestyle-oriented approach

Question 8

Increase awareness of mental health conditions

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Provide mental health awareness resources and training (online or face to face) to staff and managers.

Question 9

Reduce stigma

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Arrange for someone to share their personal experience of a mental health condition and their recovery. This could be a beyondblue ambassador, or you may have an employee or manager willing to speak openly and share their story.

Question 10

Increase awareness of people’s roles and responsibilities

Answer 10

Provide information to all employees on their specific roles and responsibilities relating to mental health. This might cover areas such as work health and safety, discrimination, privacy and taking care of their own mental health, and should be tailored for different levels and specific job functions. Induction or refresher training is an ideal time to ensure everyone knows what is expected of them.

Question 11

Increase awareness of your business commitment to creating mentally healthy workplaces

Answer 11

Engage your employees – let them know what you’re doing, share your action plan and seek their input. Get your communications, marketing or HR teams to promote your progress, both internally and externally. Focus on the specific benefits for your employees, business and the community in your campaign.

Question 12

Supporting employees with mental health conditions to stay at or return to work

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Develop and implement return to work or stay at work plans, tailored for employees’ needs.

Question 13

Build the skills and confidence of employees to approach someone they may be concerned about.

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Promote free resources to help your employees have a conversation if they’re worried about a colleague. Make these available on your intranet and display.

Question 14

Create a discrimination-free workplace where diversity is respected.

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Provide gender and sexual diversity, cultural and disability awareness training for staff and managers.

Question 15

Monitor workload and work hours

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If employees are regularly working long hours, taking work home or working through breaks, address the issue directly and look at your resourcing levels.

Question 16

Ensure a zero-tolerance approach to bullying

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Develop formal and informal confidential complaint handling processes for employees to report inappropriate behaviour. Deal with any cases of bullying or harassment quickly.

Question 17

Provide clarity on job roles and responsibilities

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Ensure employees have an up-to-date job description which includes role purpose, reporting relationships and key duties expected of them. Have a clear process and time frames to resolve any uncertainty.

Question 18

Ergonomics involves the assessment of

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Factors such as design and use of tools

Design and layout of the work environment

Posture and movement required for the completion of work tasks

The repetitiveness of tasks; and

The physical strength needed to complete a task

Question 19

The purpose of this area of psychology is to reduce

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the likelihood of accidents, improve health and safety at work, and to improve job satisfaction.

Question 20

Physical ergonomics refers to

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how the physical aspects of individuals, such as body shape and size, affect their work capabilities

Question 21

Four main areas need consideration in physical ergonomics:

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The user. Who is the equipment designed for?

Posture. Will the person be sitting, standing, reaching or moving?

Clearance. What is the minimum space needed for people to get in and out?

Reach. Reaching in a task is inevitable, i.e. has enough space been allowed for?

Question 22

Cognitive ergonomics considers the

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human brain and sensory system in the processing of information. This includes touch, smell, taste, hearing and vision.

Question 23

The physical work environment also requires

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consideration

Question 24

Noise, lighting, air quality, radiation, and vibration, are all elements of

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physical environment that can be measured and controlled