Browsing: Emerging risks | Page 3

Australian researchers have found the rate of same-level falls in workplaces is set to surge among a major group of workers, and urged employers to implement tailored interventions, including for remote-work arrangements.

Importers, manufacturers, logistics service providers and many others types of companies, as well as their officers, have a duty to ensure containers are transported safely on Australian roads and to prevent rollover incidents, the risk of which is increasing with the surge in consumer-driven freight activity, a senior transport lawyer says.

Employers need to educate remote employees on detaching from work after hours and making prudent decisions around working while ill, according to researchers examining the prevalence of presenteeism in working-from-home arrangements.

Lawyers have urged companies to keep on top of emerging evidence on the effects of medicinal cannabis on workers and testing regimes, outlining a wide range of challenges in this area. Meanwhile, Victorian stakeholders have just weeks left to contribute to a parliamentary inquiry into workplace drug tests.

With environmental temperatures rising, certain workers face an increased risk of heat strain made worse by PPE requirements, increasing the likelihood of health problems and highlighting the need for "adequate cooling provisions", a study has concluded.

A burnout study of nearly 7,000 workers across 2,000 companies has highlighted the importance of supplying workers with reliable technology, and technical assistance, to help them maintain their mental health and productivity.

Researchers have identified three factors that increase the risk of sleep problems and consequential health conditions in shift workers.

A leading legal expert on technology and the workplace has warned of the WHS risks and implications of using "bossware" to track workers' productivity, including that it can trigger cease-work orders under safety laws.

Workplace hazards ranging from long hours to vibrations increase the risks faced by pregnant workers, but all these risks can be controlled by modifying roles and should not affect workforce participation, according to Australian public health researchers.

Workers denying not getting enough sleep, and fearing being exposed as having sleep issues, are two of four barriers that need to be addressed to implement an effective sleep health program for white-collar workers, the authors of a global study say.