Every day, millions of us head off to work. But do you ever stop to think - does my work affect my health? Does my health affect my work? For many of us, work plays a significant role in our lives. We understand the need to work safely, but we don't often reflect about how 'work' or what we do for a living, can be a major factor in either promoting or detracting from our ongoing health and wellbeing. 

In Australia, ensuring health and safety at work is legislated by the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 in Victoria, and Harmonised Work Health and Safety legislation across all other states and territories. (Check out the handy legislation list we made here.) WHS/OHS legislation mandates (amongst other things), an employers duty of care to protect health and safety at work, and a workers duty of care to work safely. When specifically considering occupational health - it's not just about having workplace wellness programs or the odd health promotion day, it's also about protecting against hazards such as radiation, chemicals, or noise, or minimising our risk of injury when we perform manual tasks, or work in environments were aggression or unpredictable behaviour may be an issue.

The health side of safety (as we like to call it!), is all about protecting and promoting a workers health and their capacity to work over their lifetime. It's about creating systems of work, and working environments, that not only promote safety, but also foster optimal working conditions for hazard reduction, engagement, inclusivity and participation, and many other factors that make 'work' safe and healthy...and in some cases, absolutely awesome. 

If you're interested in occupational health and want to learn more, check out the following links, download our resources or get in contact. We'd love to help!

• World Health Organisation - Occupational Health 
• RACP - Health Benefits of Work
• Safe Work Australia, or
• Contact your local Worksafe or regulator for your industry.