Spotlight on SafeWork Australia Week

No matter where you are in Australia, October is definitely the month to focus on employee health & safety. But how? Will you encourage employees with an expo that focuses on their health and safety? Perhaps provide workers with booklets or a health pack (like our new Stress Less Pack) that encourages and educates? Conduct a seminar or two on manual handling or ergonomics? Will you put up posters that entertain and educate staff on health and safety issues relevant to your workplace? Kickstart staff interest with a team challenge (can you make it from Kakadu to Uluru in four weeks?). Maybe you can give your employees a whole year of health with a regular subscription to the Well at Work magazine or roll out an annual program that includes a focus on Safety.

Healthworks can help with all of these.

As a special offer for SafeWork week, we have made available a "Health and Safety" Poster pack. Get 5 posters covering a range of safety topics for $49.95 (includes delivery in Australia and GST). Download an order form here or order online!

And to assist in your preparations for SafeWork week, check out this webpage on creating a workplace Health and Safety event -  beginning with "an interesting idea" to "wow that worked well, because..."

source: SafeWork Australia www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au

Daffy over Daffodil Day

Cancer is Australia's biggest killer*, but did you know that over 13,000 cancer deaths each year are due to smoking, sun exposure, poor diet, alcohol, inadequate exercise or being overweight?

Daffodil Day, the Cancer Council of Australia's largest annual fundraising event, is on Friday 28th of August. Why not support the Cancer Council by donating to Daffodil Day? Volunteer some time to help out at a Daffodil Day site, organise to sell some Daffodil Day merchandise at the workplace or simply buy a daffodil on the 28th.

So why should this affect your workplace? Well, one in six Australians will develop cancer before they reach retirement age, meaning that very few people have been unaffected by it in some way - family members, friends, school or work colleagues. So reducing the risk of employees contracting cancer makes sense for an employer.

Adopting a healthier lifestyle can also support increased productivity and reduced absenteeism, and equipping employees with knowledge about prevention and early detection can not only increase the chances of cancer treatment being successful, but it can also enable employees to provide knowledgeable and practical support to workmates who have cancer. For example, donating some sick leave into a 'pool' for a colleague undergoing cancer treatment.

Check out the Healthworks Cancer Awareness booklet which covers the basics and will assist employees in gaining a basic understanding of what cancer is and what symptoms to look for. Our full range of booklets covers other topics which are effective in educating employees in how to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Healthworks also provide bowel cancer detection kits. One in twelve Australians will be diagnosed with bowel cancer by age 85. It's the second biggest cancer killer in Australia, yet it is one of the more treatable cancers. Early detection is the key, which is why testing is vital. More information can be found here.

The Cancer Council of Australia also provides information through its website.

source: The Cancer Council of Australia, www.daffodilday.com.au
*"Cancer is Australia’s biggest killer, with more than 35,000 deaths and 88,000 people diagnosed every year." - Department of Health and Ageing, Health Budget 2008-2009.

Spring into...Summer?

The days are getting longer - at last! But this also means the effect that the sun has is getting stronger. Now is the time to get your workplace ready for summer.

While Australia has a great climate, Australians do pay for it, as we have the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world. And with the hot weather, heat-related stress and illness are also something an employer needs to consider.

Heat-related stress occurs when heat is absorbed from surroundings faster than the body can cope. The body sheds excess heat by evaporating sweat and varying blood flow to the skin - which is why you may sweat and your skin may redden when you are hot. If you get too hot too fast, your body can't get rid of the heat fast enough and heat cramps, heat exhaustion, fainting or heat stroke can occur. The chances of this happening can be reduced by providing an environment that allows for a cooling effect, such as shade, air conditioning and/or insulation. Access to sufficient hydration should also be provided.

Skin cancer results from overexposure to UV rays, and these are present in varying levels every day of the year. If you visit the UV index at the Bureau of Meteorology, you may be surprised at just how high the UV index for your region is on any given day. Heat or high temperatures are no indicator of a high UV level. It is important for workers to be aware of this fact, and wear the appropriate clothing and take adequate precautions.

Appropriate clothing may consist of a broad-brimmed hat, loose, long-sleeved dark shirt with a collar, sunglasses with side protection and garments with a UV protection factor. Ensure that personal protection equipment does not create a hazard in itself - for example, clothing with plastic lining does not allow sweat to escape, increasing the likelihood of heat-related illness.

Protective clothing, sunscreen, adequate fluid, limited exposure - all of these will assist in ensuring workers do not succumb to heat and sun related illnesses, but the most effective way to ensure that heat and sun do not affect workers adversely is education. While outdoor workers such as construction workers, lifeguards, outdoor council workers and delivery drivers (among many others) are most at risk, the productivity of indoor workers can also be affected by summer heat. Education of all employees can help avert the nasty sunburn acquired at lunch-time, the time off work due to a weekend that resulted in heat-related illness, and the presenteeism of employees who have been overdoing it in the heat and are at work but not feeling 100%.

The Heat and Sun Safety booklet published by Healthworks provides employees with a handy guide on how to cope with heat and how to avoid damage from overexposure to the sun. Working Safely Outdoors is another booklet, specifically designed for outdoor workers, which covers safety in the heat and under the sun.

Healthworks will also be introducing a Heat and Sun Safety pack, which will feature the Heat and Sun Safety booklet and some useful items that will encourage employees to educate themselves about heat and sun safety. If you're interested in receiving more information about this, just let us know.

sources: Department of Justice and Attorney-General, Queensland, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, WorkCover NSW.

National Health Events

August is halfway gone already. So what's coming up? Well, Daffodil Day on the 28th August, World First Aid Day on the 12th of September, Diabetes Buzz Day on the 18th of September and Walk to Work Day on the 2nd of October are just a few of the events coming up in the next few months.

Have your say!

While we think this new look e-NewsFlash is a good start, we'd love to hear your suggestions for improving it. Please let us know what you think and what you'd like to see coming up next month!
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The Last Word

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye."
                         -- Miss Piggy