Governing the working population : knowledge, self and power in workplace health programs

This paper reports a case study of a workplace health programme in an international information technology company. Discourse analysis was used to identify how specific forms of knowledge create understandings of health and influence power relations between employee and organization. These forms of knowledge are shown to make employee health both visible and invisible in particular ways. Workplace health discourse encourages the employee to take responsibility for self-assessment and behaviour adjustment to become healthier employees. This is shown to be an ethical project which results in the alignment of personal and corporate goals.

Benchmarking occupational health and safety performance of Australian construction companies.

It is mandatory for Australian construction companies to provide a safe working environment for their workers and sub-contractors. Consequently, occupational health and safety (OHS) is a major issue for construction firms mainly due to the fear of prosecution. The recent introduction of Zero Tolerance by the Victorian government WorkCover Authority provided even higher OHS safety standards for the construction industry. This has placed a increased burden on construction companies especially small firms that are not in a position of financial strength.

The size of the companies has been found to be a major contributing factor to the OHS performance of construction contractors. This research is based on benchmarking study of 44 construction companies in Victoria, Australia. The results show that the major factors influencing safety performance were; company size, and management commitment to OHS.

Measuring the occupational health and safety performance of construction companies in Australia

Many facility managers are now required to deal directly with small firms engaged in the maintenance, alteration and cleaning of physical infrastructure. Increasingly the performance of small firms reflects on the manager of the facility, and so an understanding of their operation is required. It is mandatory for all firms to provide a safe working environment for their workers and subcontractors. Consequently, occupational health and safety (OHS) is a major issue for companies mainly due to the fear of prosecution. The introduction of Zero Tolerance by the Victorian government WorkCover Authority in 1999 provided even higher OHS safety standards for the construction industry. This has placed an increased burden on construction and maintenance companies especially small firms that are not in a position of financial strength. The size of the company has been found to be a major contributing factor to the OHS performance of construction contractors. This research is based on a benchmarking study of 44 construction companies in Victoria, Australia. The results show that the major factors influencing safety performance were; company size, and management and employee commitment to OHS.

Effect of company size on occupational health and safety

It is mandatory in all Australian jurisdictions for construction companies to provide a safe working environment for their workers and sub-contractors. Consequently, occupational health and safety (OHS) is a major issue for construction companies mainly due to the fear of prosecution. The introduction of zero tolerance by the Victorian government “WorkCover Authority” in 1999 provided increased legislative OHS standards for the construction industry. This has placed an increased burden on construction companies especially small firms that are not in a position of financial strength. This research is based on benchmarking study of OHS performance of 44 construction companies in
Victoria, Australia. The results show that the size of the company is a major contributing factor to their OHS performance. Small companies employing less than 25 employees have comparatively low levels of OHS performance compared to larger firms. Company size is a limiting factor that impacts on the ability of small firms to implement comprehensive OHS plans. This research calls into question that notion that increasing legislative requirements will improve OHS outcomes.

The economic analysis of prevention in mental health programs

This article introduces the role economics can play in deciding whether programs designed to prevent mental disorders, which carry large disease and economic burdens, are a worthwhile use of limited healthcare resources. Fortunately, preventive interventions for mental disorders exist; however, which interventions should be financed is a common issue facing decision makers, and economic evaluation can provide answers. Unfortunately, existing economic evaluations of preventive interventions have limited applicability to local healthcare contexts. An approach to priority setting largely based on economic techniques— Assessing Cost-Effectiveness (ACE)—has been developed and used in Australia to answer questions regarding the economic credentials of competing interventions. Eleven preventive interventions for mental disorders and suicide, mostly psychological in nature, have been evaluated using this approach, with many meeting the criteria of good value for money. Interventions targeting the prevention of suicide, adult and childhood depression, childhood anxiety, and early psychosis have particular merit.

Effective recruitment and retention strategies in community health programs

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