Central Safety Group Melbourne

Return to Work – What research is telling us

This was a fascinating presentation, in which Dr Carys Chan was able to take us through some very detailed research in a really accessible manner.

Carys is one of the authors of a paper commissioned by Safe Work Australia and published last year, entitled "Response To Injury: Research to support workers’ psychological responses to injury and successful return to work". It is an 88-page report that gathers research from the past decade, and Carys was able to give us a concise summary of the main findings and recommendations that certainly piqued the interest of all present.

It is good to know that Australia is doing reasonably well in this area compared with the rest of the world though, of course, there is still room for improvement. Carys explained how a multi-disciplinary approach is the most impactful in achieving success. She also spoke about enhancers to return to work, such as removing the stigma of disability and ensuring role clarification.

Other enhancers include characteristics of the person themselves, one of which is education. I was intrigued by this and followed it up with Carys during question time. I wanted to know if that meant a person's level of education or rather how much they have been educated in the RTW process. Carys said it was actually the former: the higher the level of education, the better the RTW outcome. As an example, someone who has learnt that failure is a part of success will have a more positive approach. I thought that was a really valuable message.

If you would like to read the whole research paper, click here.

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Return to work in COVID times: managing psychosocial risk

We had an amazing turnout for our last presentation of the year, which was not surprising considering the topic and the calibre of speaker. Natasha Lazareski's presentation covered some interesting ground that included the inherent contradictions one must face as we all venture back to work post the latest phase of the pandemic.

One such contradiction is within our reactions to situations, where our instinct can be in conflict with a more rational response. Natasha advised organsiations to normalise the fact that we all have different responses to COVID, but still to establish clear guidelines for the workplace that all must follow. Another aspect of this balancing act is to ensure that you don't give out mixed messages, because this can erode trust. We only have to think of how that played out in the community when authorities communicated ever-changing rules and information.

With communication being such a key to successful return to work, Natasha said she believes that workplace Health & Safety Representatves will become the new frontline heroes. That was a great way to emphasise the importance of those roles!

Natasha's presentation went at a cracking pace with a lot of information in her slides, some of which were skipped over due to time constraints. Therefore, do check out the powerpoint slides as well as the video itself.

If you'd like to hear more from Natasha, you can also take a look at her short video as part of our free CSG Talks series last year, Workplace safety in pandemic times.

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What Covid-19 means for workplace safety

Normally on the 2nd Tuesday of December we would be gathering together at Parliament House for our annual Christmas lunch. While it was disappointing not to be able to do that this year, we were thrilled to have Professor David Caple present to us instead. Having such an engaging and high-calibre speaker was a ray of sunshine at the end of a gloomy year.

Amongst some research results David shared with us, it was interesting to learn that in some states, which have been opened up for a while, there is still a relatively low percentage of people returning to the office. It is clear that many people have relished the opportunity to work from home; however, the presentation and subsequent discussion highlighted the physical and psychological risks associated with this. David provided a number of links to useful resources for dealing with this delicate balance between working from home and returning to the office.

Thank you, David, for ensuring we ended the year on a high!

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Psychological Conditions & Return to Work

As well as having a vast experience in this area, Frank was also the recipient of the National Outstanding Achievement in RTW Award in 2017, and so we were very fortunate to have him as our first speaker for the year.

He shared some very valuable information about the challenges associated with return to work for people who have suffered workplace psychological injury or illness.

Research data he presented showed how important it is to aim for a timely return to work. There has also been a recent increase in the reporting and acceptance of mental injury conditions and claims, which has found many employers unsure and unprepared when it comes to dealing with the challenges of rehabilitation and preventing recurrence of the problem.

Frank outlined a number of ways to assist employers -and consequently the workforce -with these challenges.

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Date & Time: Tuesday 13 February 2018 at 12:00pm Venue: Level 1, 333 Queen Street Melbourne (AMS Consulting Group)

Mental/Psychological Conditions and Return to Work

Frank Imbesi, Managing Director of AMS Consulting.

Return to work for people who have suffered workplace psychological injury or illness can be a complicated and challenging process.

The best-practice approach and potential problems when helping employees recovering from mental health issues will be discussed by Frank Imbesi at Central Safety Group’s meeting on Tuesday, February 13 2018.

This area is of special interest to Frank, who has been working in in the field of return-to-work planning, management and support for many years and is Managing Director of an occupational rehabilitation company.

He says a lot is known about rehabilitation and return to work after physical injury, but far less about how to help people recovering from events or situations in the workplace that led to mental injury.

There has been a recent increase in the reporting and acceptance of mental injury conditions and claims, which has found many employers unsure and unprepared when it comes to dealing with the challenges of rehabilitation and preventing recurrence of the problem.

Please note: this presentation will be followed by a brief AGM.

About the Speaker

Frank Imbesi is Managing Director of AMS Consulting, an award-winning company specialising in injury management and occupational rehabilitation. He began his career as a physiotherapist, working in sports medicine and clinical private practice, before moving to the field of occupational rehabilitation. He is also Director & Co-founder of R2W Group and been a Clinical Panel Consultant with WorkSafe. He has degrees from Latrobe University and RMIT and attended Harvard Business School.

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