Every October, the Filipino-Australian community ought to be made aware of two of the month’s major highlights. Namely, World Mental Health Day is celebrated on the 10th and, spanning across the whole calendar month, is National Safe Work Month.
As intuitive as the names of the events imply, these two celebrations are aimed at addressing two of Australia’s common problems—particularly, occupational health and safety in the workplace, as well as the growing issue of mental health.
The topic of work health and safety is very important and should be a concern to all Australians. Everyone has a role to play in ensuring workplace safety – not just managers. Employers, however, have an obligation under Section 21 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, “to provide and maintain for employees of the employer a working environment that is safe and without risks to health.”
What is alarming is that workplace hazards do not just afflict injuries to those in a more susceptible disposition at work, but they, in some instances, can cause fatalities.
According to a statistic from Safe Work Australia, which tallied the overall number of deaths in 2022, the top six industries that have reported work-related deaths include transport, postal and warehousing; agriculture, forestry and fishing; construction; manufacturing; mining; and electricity, gas, water and waste services.
That is a total of 169 deaths across the span of one year in 2022. This is rather concerning considering how the statistics alone suggest that occupational health and safety is not necessarily improving in workplaces around Australia, despite the growing awareness from various campaigns, which have been rampant on both TV and social media.
Each death in the workplace is one too many, and the impact on the victim’s family and work colleagues can be significantly traumatic. One must remember the psychological impact on a worker who has witnessed a workplace incident.
The topic of mental health is also an important aspect of the month as celebrated on the 10th in this country where it has been regarded as a significant issue. The aim of 10/10 each year is to reduce the stigma around mental health and to encourage people to check in with each other by asking simple questions like “Are you okay?”
There are striking statistics from the Black Dog Institute that relate mental illness to one in every five individuals (20%) between the ages of 16 and 85, suggesting the severity of the issue. According to the same findings, the common forms of mental illness include anxiety, depression, and substance abuse, often in combination with one another.
To address these issues, your workplace can get employee counselling services to support the mental well-being of staff, promoting a healthier work environment.
But what is probably more concerning is the fact that the research also seems to indicate that around 50% of the total population is predisposed to suffering from a form of mental illness at least once in their lifetime. This is a very worrying finding indeed.
Adding more to the complication is also the finding that around 54% of those who suffer from a form of mental illness do not receive treatment to either alleviate or treat their condition entirely.
Aside from this growing problem in Australia, other developed countries, too, like the USA, Canada, the UK, and other European nations also share the same plight in their general population.
These statistics highlight that it is a significant issue in our society. The impact of disorder affects a person not just on a personal level but also significantly impacts socially and economically.
