We All Run a Different Race

Across Australia October is National Safe Work Month, with the theme being “Sharing safety knowledge and experience benefits everyone”.

Workplace Health and Safety are always top of mind here at ATOL HQ, especially as we recently completed the release of our ISO 45001 courses.

The team were fortunate enough to step away from our desks for a morning and attend WorkSafe Breakfast Forums across South East Queensland. These events were an opportunity to engage with safety professionals across a range of industries, gain insight into health and safety initiatives and gain a different perspective about what safety in the workplace means to others.

October also happened to be the month I committed to a Marathon for charity.

I can see the confusion on your face now, so what does my commitment to a Marathon have to do with Safe Work month? Quite simply, my story is one of workplace rehabilitation and the importance of Mental Health in the workplace.

Two of the key note speakers at the event were former Olympian Libby Trickett, Queensland Mental Health Ambassador and ACT Australia who shared with us 'The Jed Millen story'. Each of these speakers resonated with me quite deeply at a personal level.

A bit of background on my story; In January of 2015, I underwent what I thought was to be a routine dental procedure, only to come out the other side with Bilateral Disc Displacement of my jaw and severe Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMJD). For some this can be a short-term ailment, for others it can be completely debilitating and permanent, for me it has turned out to be the latter.

I was required to take several months off work while searching for an initial diagnosis and various types and stages of treatment. Ultimately, the condition resulted in me losing my job and not being able to do many of the things I took for granted beforehand.

While my injury was not incurred in the workplace, the process of returning to work is much the same. I needed to find a part-time role that would allow me to ease back into the workforce, while allowing me to be flexible with my medical appointments.

Fast forward to August 2015 and my treatment plan was in full swing, and I found Jackie and the team at ATOL who were willing to give me a go.

My role here at ATOL is a broad one, I work across all aspects of the ATOL business.  In my years with the team, I have been required to do an hour here or there to attend appointments, a day or two to undergo further treatment and on my really bad days I have the flexibility to be able to work from home.

So, after all of that, what messages did the rest of the team get out of that Breakfast? Well, I asked them, and they delivered. Here are ten of our team’s top take-aways, when it came to Health & Safety in the workplace:

• Rules are not made to be broken
• Everyone has not only a right, but a responsibility to say NO if they don't feel comfortable with what is being requested is safe.
• Life-work-family balance is too important to ignore. The impact of unbalance is often at a mental cost of anxiety depression etc.
• No one is super woman or superman, quite simply it is ok to say I need help.
• Slow down, take the time to minimize risk regardless of the pressures to get the job done.
• The importance of inclusion and sharing knowledge for all team members in the workplace is not to be underestimated.
• Everyone knowing who is responsible for what, fulfilling that responsibility and taking responsibility for your own actions.
• Don't work without safety gear even if the foreman/your supervisor says 'there is no chance of danger'
• Be prepared to say no or question instruction if you can see potential risk to yourself or others.
• The importance of following the "plan" or "guidelines" in the workplace – they are in place for a reason.