Equal Opportunity Act Update

The new Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) took effect on 1 August 2011. One of the major changes under the Act is that employers now have a positive duty to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation.

The following tips will assist your organisation meet its obligations under the Act as well as help promote a healthy workplace.

Five Tips to keep your workplace on the right side of positive!

1. Make certain your equal opportunity policies are up to date and reflecting recent changes to law.
 
2. Check that your EO complaints procedure is simple and accessible to all staff so if they have an issue they know what to do.
 
3. Ensure that staff are aware of your current policies and procedures by providing training.
 
4. Make sure managers have access to tools, skill building and internal support so that they can have constructive conversations with staff and tackle issues  before they get too big.
 
5. If unsure about whether you are meeting your obligations access external expertise and support! 

LifeWorks offers training in:

• Equal Opportunity for General Staff (now also available online via e-Learning)
• Equal Opportunity for Managers
• Contact Officer
• Performance Management.

LifeWorks now offers Equal Opportunity training via e-Learning:

"Thanks to LifeWorks we were able to deliver an effective and affordable on-line training program to all our off-site and interstate employees. LifeWorks were able to customise our training needs by developing an e-learning program to specifically assist us in achieving our objective and responsibility in terms of Equal Opportunity training. Thank you to Cynthia, Mary and the rest of the team at LifeWorks!"
Nicole Sablyak and Denise Porter-Dewar, Human Resources, Merck Pty Ltd 

For more information contact LifeWorks on (03) 8650 6200.

Managing Mental Health in the Workplace

Did you know:

• in Australia, the total cost of worker's compensation claims for stress-related conditions is estimated at over $200 million every year. (National Health and Safety Commission)
• mental health has exceeded physical injury as the reason for increased absences from work. (ABS, Australian Social Trends, June 2011)
• one in five workers is taking one day off a month due to stress from unrealistic workloads and a lack of work/life balance. (Medibank)
• workers with job-related stress and mental health illness are absent from work for 10.8 weeks a year (Safe Work Australia)
• a recent survey of senior managers believed that none of their staff will experience a mental health problem at work. (Australian Human Rights Commission)

What these statistics are telling us is that mental health illness impacts on the bottom line and that managing mental health in the workplace is critical to ensuring a healthy and capable workforce.

The stigma associated from mental health illness still prevents people from seeking assistance and treatment. Stress is often reported as the cause of absence from work and prolonged stress can lead to mental health issues of depression, anxiety and increased use of substances. 

LifeWorks in the Workplace offers a number of solutions to help employers to manage mental health issues in the workplace:

Employee Assistance Program - Confidential counselling services offered to staff for a number of sessions (3-6) paid by the employer.  Counselling can assist with a range of issues including depression, anxiety, grief, family or relationship problems, conflict management and managing workload.

Managing Mental Health in the Workplace* - This training program for supervisors and managers provides an overview of the common mental health disorders, their characteristics, treatment and support strategies.  In addition, there is information about legal and managerial requirements and responsibilities and exploration of strategies to support the person, team and improve the health of the workplace.

Understanding Mental Health in the Workplace - This training program for all staff increases their knowledge and skills in understanding common mental health disorders, their characteristics, treatment and strategies to support employees in the workplace.

Managing Stress in the Workplace - This workshop helps participants understand and recognise how stress affects both workplace and personal performance. It explores personal stress triggers and provides practical tips on managing stress.  

*LifeWorks is running Managing Mental Health in the Workplace training at the LifeWorks training facilities (Level 4, 255 Bourke Street, Melbourne) on Tuesday 29th November 2011. To register or for more information contact LifeWorks on (03) 8650 6200. 

Mental Health Week - October 9-15, 2011

Mental Health Week runs from October 9-15th. World Mental Health Day is on Monday 10 October and Stress Less Day on Wednesday 13 October. The theme for this year's Mental Health Week is "Keeping the Balance: Investing in Your Mind and Body".

If you would like to join in and raise awareness in your workplace during Mental Health Week this year by running one of LifeWorks' training workshops, please contact us to book in a customised program today.

Workplace Bullying and Harassment

Victoria has become the first state to make bullying a criminal offence. The Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) (Crimes Act) has been amended so that the offence of stalking can apply to situations of serious bullying. This change arose as a result of the tragic case of the Café Vamp employee, Brodie  Panlock who committed suicide after being subjected to serious workplace bullying.

Around the same time that Brodies Law was introduced, WorkSafe released figures showing that the number of Victorians claiming to have been bullied has skyrocketed, more than doubling to 6000 in the past year.  Only 10 per cent were referred to the bullying response unit at WorkSafe and of those referrals only one in ten resulted in an Inspector visiting a workplace to conduct further inquiries. 

In a recent interview in The Age, Ian Forsyth, WorkSafe’s Executive Director of Health and Safety, said in the vast majority of incidents the types of behaviours which are described as bullying do not meet the criteria for them to investigate or prosecute.  “I think that what we are seeing is that the term bullying is being used quite loosely in the community now in many instances to describe something that has ‘gone against me’ or ‘that I haven’t liked’ or something that ‘I haven’t wanted to do’, said Mr Forsyth (Most Workplace Bullying Claims Fall Short - Rachel Wells, The Age 24 July 2011).

LifeWorks has also experienced a recent surge in demand to provide independent investigations into harassment and bullying.  In many cases we have found the allegations to be substantiated following investigation. However, there have been a number in which the behaviours and actions did not meet the definition of bullying.

This does not mean that the issues were insignificant or that the complaints shouldn’t be taken seriously. Rather, it does highlight the need for greater awareness about exactly what is, and what isn’t, bullying. It also indicates that there is a need to educate and upskill managers to deal with issues so that they are less likely to escalate into formal complaints.

There are a number of different ways in which to increase awareness and educate both staff and managers about bullying. Whichever approach you take, our recommendation is to segment and tailor information and training to suit different levels within the organisation.

If you are planning your 2012 training calendar, LifeWorks can offer you a free Training Needs Analysis to assist in determining your organisation's needs. For more information contact LifeWorks on (03) 8650 6200.

Meet the LifeWorks in the Workplace Team

The LifeWorks in the Workplace team of professional Consultants are experts in all workplace related matters and bring together a wealth of experience, skills and insights from a range of different industries and disciplines. 

Our team can offer an array of specialist consulting, training and EAP services that can help you build resilience and competency within your organisation, mitigate risk and resolve any immediate issues you may be experiencing within the workplace. 

In addition to the core consultancy team of Cynthia Logan, Rebecca Henshall and Meredith Brown, LifeWorks in the Workplace also has a team of sessional Consultants available to work on key projects and an in-house administrative team that can provide online training and consulting solutions. 

		Cynthia Logan Principal Consultant with LifeWorks in the Workplace, Cynthia has worked extensively both training and consulting in the areas of equal opportunity, human resources and employment law within the public and private sector.  Click here to Email Cynthia.
		Rebecca Henshall A Psychologist specialising in the area of organisational development and education, Rebecca has worked across a number of industries including local government, community services, telecommunications, retail and education, in a variety of leadership roles. Click here to Email Rebecca.
		Meredith Brown With over twenty years experience in counselling and psychology, Meredith is a registered psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia, an Accredited Supervisor with the Psychologists Registration Board and LifeWorks' Manager of Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Services. Click here to Email Meredith.