Aussie Cultures Worst In World
Shame on us Aussie businesses.
A new report had found that the rate of bullying in Australian workplaces is much higher than the international average, and comes at an annual cost of $693 million.
Research by a leading Australian work safety organisation has revealed that depression costs Australian employers a whopping $8 billion a year through sick leave and presenteeism – some $693 million of that is due to stress and bullying.
According to Safework Australia, work related stress has begun to represent such a huge cost to employers that by 2020 stress-related illnesses such as depression and cardiovascular disease will be the leading causes of the global disease burden.
It's a trend that's been on the increase for over a decade and not one we should be proud of here down under. In my former role as a Director at WorkCover NSW I witnessed the pleasing decline in workplace injuries resulting from slips, trips and falls, electrocution and tractor roll overs as we increased our awareness and prevention programs. However alarmingly this was overtaken by a steady and growing increase in the number of claims for psychosocial issues, particularly bullying, harassment and stress. It was part of my motivation for becoming a culture healer and consultant to support organisations and companies to reverse this trend and put their people at the centre of their culture.
There is clearly a lot more work to be done!
It not only makes social and compassionate sense to do so, it makes commercial sense also. The research found that workers with mild symptoms of depression take twice as many sick days as those who do not show any symptoms of depression at all. The number of working hours continues to be a major issue, and 18% of Australians work in excess of 48 hours per week.
Sadly it also showed we are not taking care of our newest employees with the most at-risk groups and those displaying the poorest psychological health being workers aged between 25 – 34 years
The statistics are not ones Australia should be proud of:
Levels of bullying are at 6.8% – substantially higher than international rates
Nearly 42% of males report that they have been sworn at or yelled at in the workplace
Over 20% of workers have been humiliated in front of others and almost 20% have experienced discomfort due to sexual inuendo and humour.
Some 14.8% of females experience unfair treatment due to gender.
It's time we did something about this. We cannot stick our heads in the sand and ignore what is happening to Australian workers across the country. We must begin to address harassment issues in Australian workplaces. We need to support and equip managers with the communication and leadership skills so they are able to create positive freedom based cultures that enable constructive communication and engagement and prevent bullying behaviour from emerging.
It's time.
To support this shift in culture I've created a free webinar series targeted specifically at Middle Managers, First Time Managers and Leaders so they can learn a new mindset, skills and techniques to take on the challenge of leading and coaching their people and building a positive, vibrant, resilient culture. Register now for this content rich, interactive free webinar series here https://www.uqpower.com.au/Masterful-Managers