The recent death of 12-year-old Hayden Waller has reminded of a debate that occured among IIRSM members during 2007. Hayden's pal slipped while trekking on a school trip in southern Austria, and Hayden attempted to help him, falling to his death.
Hayden, a 12-year-old school boy, died trying to save another child.
Rewind to the death of Jordon Lyon, who drowned in May 2007 in a pond after trying to save his step-sister when they got into diffulties. Another child who died trying to save someone else. The subsequent inquest into the 10-year-old's death prompted calls to scrap Police Community Support Officers, as it revealed that they "just stood by and watched".
So, if a small child is willing to risk his life to help another human being in distress, why didn't the PCSOs? Lack of training? Or should they not be required to risk their lives, as thousands of regular police officers do every day?
Far be it for me to drag up old arguments, but I thought it worth mentioning.
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Thursday 21 February 2008
Monday 18 February 2008
Long hours = stress
This Friday (22 February) is Work Your Proper Hours Day. The aim of the day is to get the average person who does unpaid overtime to just do their normal hours on this day and reflect on how well (or badly) they are balancing their life.
Scarily, nearly five million people in the UK regularly do unpaid overtime, giving their employers an average £4,955 of free work a year. But it's not just about the money. As a health and safety professional you are undoubtedly aware that long hours are not good for us!
Long working hours are bad for work-life balance, health, productivity and safety. In the UK we have reached epidemic levels. And overwork is definitely making us sick - a DTI survey found one in five men (19 per cent) had visited the doctor because of stress, rising to one quarter (23 per cent) of over 40s.
I for one will certainly be taking advantage of the promotion to work my proper hours in the hope I will enter the weekend far less stressed than I usually do ... I hope you do too!
Do you think campaigns such as Work Your Proper Hours Day help to alleviate stress in the workplace, therefore making it safer and healthier? Why not start the debate in our discussion forum?
Scarily, nearly five million people in the UK regularly do unpaid overtime, giving their employers an average £4,955 of free work a year. But it's not just about the money. As a health and safety professional you are undoubtedly aware that long hours are not good for us!
Long working hours are bad for work-life balance, health, productivity and safety. In the UK we have reached epidemic levels. And overwork is definitely making us sick - a DTI survey found one in five men (19 per cent) had visited the doctor because of stress, rising to one quarter (23 per cent) of over 40s.
I for one will certainly be taking advantage of the promotion to work my proper hours in the hope I will enter the weekend far less stressed than I usually do ... I hope you do too!
Do you think campaigns such as Work Your Proper Hours Day help to alleviate stress in the workplace, therefore making it safer and healthier? Why not start the debate in our discussion forum?
Wednesday 13 February 2008
An alarming trend
The Samaritans released a survey recently, which revealed that one in four people have suffered workplace bullying: an incredibly worrying statistic.
Young employees (18-24 years) are most vulnerable to stress, with 38 per cent feeling less likely than all other age groups to talk openly to their managers and 57per cent unable to talk to colleagues. Forty-eight per cent are more likely to be bullied by clients and customers whereas over half of other age groups reported being bullied by their managers.
Managing workplace bullying is an increasing challenge for employers. It is a serious health and safety issue that every employee and every company should be aware of.
A good anti-bullying policy and some company-wide workshops are invaluable to ensure that everyone understands and gets the message.
How do you manage workplace bullying? Click here to tell us.
Young employees (18-24 years) are most vulnerable to stress, with 38 per cent feeling less likely than all other age groups to talk openly to their managers and 57per cent unable to talk to colleagues. Forty-eight per cent are more likely to be bullied by clients and customers whereas over half of other age groups reported being bullied by their managers.
Managing workplace bullying is an increasing challenge for employers. It is a serious health and safety issue that every employee and every company should be aware of.
A good anti-bullying policy and some company-wide workshops are invaluable to ensure that everyone understands and gets the message.
How do you manage workplace bullying? Click here to tell us.
Wednesday 6 February 2008
The bigger picture
Last month I wrote an article for the IIRSM Newsletter on the recruitment policies of the Armed Forces.
The story came in response to a recently published report, which assessed whether potential soldiers are provided with an accurate and full description of a forces career, including the risks, found that a misleading picture is created.
One member wrote to me asking that we remember the bigger picture. "The Army, just like any other organisation, has to recruit and you cannot expect it to achieve this by stating too many negatives," he said.
Does this negative publicity simply feed the appetites of those who do not really appreciate or understand? Share your views in our discussion forums.
The story came in response to a recently published report, which assessed whether potential soldiers are provided with an accurate and full description of a forces career, including the risks, found that a misleading picture is created.
One member wrote to me asking that we remember the bigger picture. "The Army, just like any other organisation, has to recruit and you cannot expect it to achieve this by stating too many negatives," he said.
Does this negative publicity simply feed the appetites of those who do not really appreciate or understand? Share your views in our discussion forums.
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