Page 625 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 30 March 2021
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Bridge. However, unacceptable accidents and workplace deaths do still happen, even here in the ACT. Clearly, there is still a way to go.
Any situation where a worker does not come home from work is unacceptable. Work to prevent physical risks and their tragic outcomes continues in this place. It also continues within the union movements. Union members have been pivotal in pushing change throughout Australia’s history and they continue to do so. While much progress has been made over the past decades to reduce risks to the physical health and safety of workers, there is comparatively a lot more work to do when it comes to psychosocial health and safety at work.
Like with all psychosocial stress or injury, evidence of this stress or injury in the workplace may not be as obvious as physical stress or injury. Likewise, the risks which are responsible for psychosocial stress and injury are not always as obvious as they might be for physical stress or injury; however, they can be just as dangerous and impactful.
Psychosocial injury at work can be debilitating to a person. Anxiety disorders, depression and, in extreme cases, post-traumatic stress disorder can all occur after prolonged exposure to dangerous workplace pressures. Psychosocial injury can impact the lives of victims in many ways. Professional performance can be impacted severely by injury at work. In some cases—colloquially referred to as burnout—loss of motivation, ability and output can occur quickly and dramatically. This impacts both the employee and the organisation for which they work. Most importantly, these impacts can severely disrupt the lives of workers. PTSD can be a crippling condition which makes socialising and doing daily tasks difficult and stressful.
The effects of psychosocial injury are broad and can be severe and dangerous. Suicide can be and has been an outcome resulting from psychosocial injury at work, including from bullying and harassment, and sexual harassment. The risks and impacts of these injuries are felt by workers in all sectors. It has been well documented that bullying and sexual harassment are still major issues in the hospitality sector.
I would like to give voice to a statement from a young woman who is a current hospitality worker and a member of the United Workers Union:
As a woman who has worked in the hospitality industry for a decade, I know all too well how present and widespread sexual assault is throughout the industry. This harassment comes not only from the customers you serve but also your co-workers, managers and bosses. And it can feel almost never ending at times.
With work in hospitality totally insecure, being highly casualised, and the status of your employment often relying solely on how much the person writing the rosters likes you, it can feel like an absolutely daunting task to raise concerns to your superiors about sexual harassment occurring in your workplace. Even worse, when you do, your problems are often diminished and dismissed, totally swept under the rug. You’re made to feel like you are the problem for reacting at all.
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