PODCAST · business
SafetyAtWorkBlog
by Kevin Jones
SafetyAtWorkBlog is an award-winning blog written in Australia that reports on, and discusses, a range of issues that relate to workplace safety. These articles touch on Human Resources, Industrial Relations, stress, politics, organisational culture, workplace death, gender, and a large number of issues that affect how we work and how we manage our workers and our leaders.
Episodes
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Safe Work, Real Talk - Episode 1 - Conflict and Confusion
Safe Work, Real Talk is a limited-series conversation about psychosocial hazards and psychological safety at work. Hosts Kevin Jones and Michael Plowright bring together OHS practice, workplace-bullying research and lived workplace realities to examine what causes harm, and what organisations can...
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SAWB - Working From Home Politics
This episode examines Victoria’s work-from-home debate through an occupational health and safety lens, cutting through the political noise, business lobby claims, and media commentary to ask what evidence is actually being used. Rather than treating working from home as a workplace perk or...
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SAWB - Construction Industry Royal Commission
This episode examines Victoria’s new Royal Commission into the integrity of major construction projects, arguing that occupational health and safety must be treated as more than a compliance phrase or political shield. I explore how safety can be used, ignored or manipulated across procurement,...
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SAWB - BHP Annual Report
This commentary offers a critical look at BHP’s latest Annual Report, exploring how the company presents safety, how it buries sexual harassment data in its Sustainability chapter, and why psychosocial hazards deserve to sit alongside traditional injury metrics. It reflects on the cultural...
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SAWB - Concussion and CTE in Sports
This episode examines concussion, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), duty of care and occupational health and safety in Australian sport, drawing on many SafetyAtWorkBlog articles about the AFL, Nick Lowden, player welfare, junior football, contact training, compensation and the limits of...
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SAWB - HR and Burnout
This episode looks at the HR spin on burnout and exposes what’s really going on: unsafe work design and breached OHS duties. Using a recent media story about a government IT contract demanding 24/7 availability, I ask why psychosocial hazards aren’t “invisible threats”; they’re predictable…
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SAWB - Farm Safety Week 2026
This episode explores how Farm Safety Week continues to repeat familiar themes while WorkSafe Victoria quietly shifts its messaging toward the real issue: farmers becoming desensitised to risk. Drawing on Sam Jenkin’s recent Country Hour interview and WorkSafe’s powerful new farm safety...
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SAWB - WFH update
This episode examines why some Australian business leaders continue to resist working from home despite evidence showing no productivity loss and clear mental‑health benefits. With Victoria preparing to legislate a limited WFH right, the debate has become more ideological than evidence‑based,...
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Brodie Panlock
Kevin Jones reflects on the death of Brodie Panlock, the workplace bullying case that helped reshape Australian thinking about psychosocial hazards, prevention, and OHS responsibility. This episode considers what workplaces should have learned from the tragedy, beyond just law reform and public...
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SAWB - KPMG and Leadership
KPMG is the latest major firm exposed for unethical conduct — misusing confidential client data, misleading investigators, and failing to protect whistleblowers. It follows a decade of corporate scandals across banking, finance, consulting and law, all involving cultural failures that intersect...
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SAWB - Football, Brain Injury and Workplace Safety
A 23‑year‑old footballer, Nick Lowden, died with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the youngest known case linked to Australian rules football. His story exposes a risk the AFL can no longer treat as “rough and tumble” or part of the game. Concussion protocols were ignored, symptoms...
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SAWB - IAWBH 2026 1
In this episode, Kevin Jones reflects on key insights from the 2026 International Association on Workplace Bullying and Harassment conference in Canberra. He explores why policies, training, and awareness campaigns often fall short in managing psychosocial risks at work, and argues that lasting...
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SAWB podcast - Productivity & maturity
A clear-eyed look at why Australia’s productivity debate is really a debate about work design. This episode unpacks the mismatch between old industrial‑era metrics and today’s knowledge‑and‑care economy, showing how performance, psychosocial risk, and productivity are all symptoms of the same...
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SAWB podcast - Corporate
A sharp look at the latest corporate scandal and what it reveals about the widening gap between leadership rhetoric and workplace reality. This episode argues that repeated ethical failures across major firms aren’t just governance issues — they’re psychosocial hazards — and makes the case for...
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SAWB - Quad Bikes and Farm Safety
A persistent OHS problem is presented by quad bikes. This episode challenges the long-standing reliance on education and voluntary measures in preventing workplace fatalities. I argue for stronger regulation, including mandatory engineering controls, clearer accountability, and a renewed focus on...
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SAWB - Quad Bikes - consultation
A persistent OHS problem is presented by quad bikes. This episode challenges the long-standing reliance on education and voluntary measures in preventing workplace fatalities. I argue for stronger regulation, including mandatory engineering controls, clearer accountability, and a renewed focus on...
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SAWB - Legacy Values
This episode examines how decades of institutional denial shape today’s failures in managing psychosocial hazards. Drawing on lived experience and historical context, it traces how schools and workplaces normalised silence, minimised harm, and protected reputations rather than people, and how…
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SAWB - Great Idiots of History
This episode explores how historian Mike Duncan’s “Great Idiot Theory of History” can offer a different way of thinking about workplace health and safety failures, arguing that serious incidents are rarely inevitable and more often the result of avoidable leadership decisions protected by elite...
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SAWB - Big Data
This episode reflects on the return of “Big Data” through modern AI tools and what that means for professional judgement, using recent developments in the legal sector as a case study. It explores where artificial intelligence genuinely adds value, where it risks narrowing perspective, and why...
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SAWB - IWMD 2026
On April 28, 2026 — a day marked globally as International Workers’ Memorial Day or the World Day for Safety and Health at Work — the official theme was psychosocial harm, yet Australian political responses largely avoided discussing it. This episode looks at what governments chose to say, what...
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SAWB - Quitting
In this audio version of a SafetyAtWorkBlog article (published 14 April 2026), OHS advisor and writer Kevin Jones argues that psychological harm at work isn’t a personal weakness—it’s a foreseeable workplace hazard that employers are required to control. He explores why many organisations still...
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SAWB - Executive Psych
This five‑minute SafetyAtWorkBlog article summary discusses how executive health risks are symptoms of unsafe work design, not personal weakness. Drawing on recent media coverage, it argues that long hours, addictive workloads, and poor job control are organisational hazards disguised as…
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SAWB - Leadership and Psych Books
In this episode, I compare two new books reviewed on the SafetyAtWorkBlog to explore where psychological harm at work really comes from. Setting Kat Page’s evidence‑based focus on job design and prevention against Graeme Cowan’s leadership‑led emphasis on empathy and care, the discussion asks...
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SAWB - Treasury and OHS Reform
I argue that Australia should stop treating occupational health and safety (OHS) as a compliance cost and start seeing it as a powerful economic lever that protects productivity, skills and human capital. By reshaping procurement rules, tax settings and incentives, Treasury could reframe safety…
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SAWB - Reframing to Systemic Perspectives
This episode summarises a SafetyAtWorkBlog article exploring a quiet but significant shift in occupational health and safety thinking — away from blaming individual workers and towards examining the systems that shape how work is designed and managed. Drawing on ideas from a recent US book about...
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SAWB - Accounting
In this episode, I reflect on a SafetyAtWorkBlog article examining how overlooked disciplines—particularly accounting and governance—shape work health and safety, arguing that concepts like legitimacy theory and corporate purpose help explain why workplace harm is tolerated and normalised. The...
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SAWB - Leadership Morality
Today I explore how personal morality shapes leadership and workplace safety, inspired by recent comments from Donald Trump. I look at why safety is built on shared responsibility—not individual preference—and how leaders’ attitudes toward laws can affect everyone at work. Articles referenced…
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SAWB - Dekker 1
This audio summary explores the provocative concept of "safety anarchism" through a conversation with Professor Sidney Dekker, author of The Safety Anarchist. Originally broadcast in 2017, the discussion challenges conventional views on workplace safety and bureaucracy, contrasting the disorder…
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SAWB - Ballarat Suicide
This episode explores the tragic death of Karla Jordan, an accountant whose workplace environment was identified by the Victorian Coroner as the primary stressor leading to her suicide. It examines the toxic culture at Ballarat Health Services—marked by intimidation, poor communication, and...
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SAWB - Safety Behaviours
What if safety behaviour wasn’t just about ticking boxes or following procedures? In this episode, we unpack the deeper forces that shape how people act at work—from leadership signals and peer norms to production pressures and psychological safety. Moving beyond blame and compliance, we explore...
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SAWB - Mining, Harassment and TikTok
This episode exposes the hidden realities of Australia’s FIFO mining jobs, challenging the glamorous image promoted on social media. It highlights issues of isolation, harassment, and psychological harm, and calls for urgent reforms to workplace culture, safety systems, and recruitment practices....
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SAWB - HSRs and Best Practice
This episode examines Australia’s current focus on Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) in workplace safety reform, questioning whether this emphasis accurately reflects the diversity of Australian workplaces. It highlights concerns about the lack of comprehensive national data on HSRs, the...
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SAWB - Horse Racing and Churches
This episode explores the hidden dangers and cultural failures within Australia’s horse racing industry, drawing broader lessons about workplace safety, leadership accountability, and institutional denial. It examines how harmful practices were excused as “back then,” why such justifications…
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SAWB - Stretching
This episode explores the widespread use of workplace stretching programs and questions their effectiveness in preventing injuries. Drawing on recent research and industry observations, it examines the psychological and cultural impacts of these initiatives, contrasting them with more trusted...
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SAWB - COVID
This episode explores how pandemic preparedness is being reframed as part of a broader workplace biological hazard strategy, highlighting updates from Safe Work Australia, the development of a new model Code of Practice, and the importance of proactive risk management for all biological threats.…
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SAWB - Whitlam
This episode marks the 50th anniversary of the Whitlam government’s dismissal, reflecting on a lost opportunity for transformative workplace safety reform in Australia. Just before the dismissal, a national no-fault accident compensation scheme—based on the visionary Woodhouse Report—was poised…
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SAWB - Gig
This episode examines recent developments in workers’ compensation for gig workers in Australia, focusing on legislative changes and ongoing challenges. It explores the evolving definitions of gig work, the complexities of coverage, and the need for national coordination in policy and regulation....
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SAWB - Woods WFH
This episode explores the latest evidence on occupational health and safety (OHS) in the context of working from home. Drawing on recent research and expert commentary, this discussion examines the rise of hybrid work arrangements in Australia, their impact on productivity, and the broader...
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SAWB - NSW Comp
This episode unpacks a heated parliamentary exchange over workers’ compensation premiums in New South Wales, revealing a deeper crisis in workplace mental health. While political leaders debate costs and reforms, the conversation sidesteps the root causes: rising psychological injury claims,...
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SAWB - Psych Code (Maddocks)
This episode explores a major shift in workplace health and safety: Victoria’s new psychological safety regulations, effective December 1st. With no transition period and no room for delay, employers now face a clear legal duty to prevent psychological harm—not just manage it. The discussion…
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SAWB - Sex Work
This episode explores the overlooked and often misunderstood world of occupational health and safety in Australia’s sex work industry. Drawing on 18 years of reporting and analysis from SafetyAtWorkBlog, the discussion highlights how stigma, legal ambiguity, and political inertia have left sex...
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SAWB - WorkSafe Psych
14,000 tuned in to WorkSafe Victoria’s webinar on new psychological health regulations—taking effect December 1, 2025, with no transition period. This episode unpacks the urgency, the compliance code, and the cultural resistance to real change. From retail violence to “adequate resourcing,” we...
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SAWB - Verbs
This episode explores how language—particularly verbs—shapes perceptions of leadership and commitment in political and workplace safety contexts. From the AUKUS submarine announcement to COVID-era vaccine pledges, it examines the use of “soft” verbs that dilute responsibility and obscure intent....
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SAWB - Government as Client
This podcast examines who truly shapes safety on infrastructure worksites — and why the client often holds the decisive power. The episode explains how client decisions on budgets, timelines and procurement set the incentives that drive safety culture, why current procurement and political...
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SAWB - Emotional Energy
This episode explores the evolving concept of workplace safety, inspired by Matthew Hallowell’s book "Energy-Based Safety". The discussion expands on traditional safety frameworks, highlighting the importance of considering not only physical hazards but also the impact of emotional energy and...
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SAWB - SHINe
In this episode, I reflect on RMIT University’s inaugural SHINe Symposium—an overbooked, research-driven event that brought international safety experts to Melbourne during Safe Work Month. From Dr Matthew Hallowell’s insights into the Construction Safety Research Alliance (CSRA) to Professor...
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SAWB - Clients' Social Duties
In this episode, I explore a critical question: If clients—especially government bodies—hold so much influence over workplace safety, why aren’t we using it to protect workers? I discuss how clients set project budgets, timelines, and standards, yet often fail to enforce basic safety protections.…
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SAWB - Psych webinar
Join me, Kevin Jones, I share a candid audio summary reflecting on a recent webinar about psychological safety in the workplace. In this episode, I critique the dominance of HR concepts and pop psychology in safety discussions, highlighting the lack of focus on legal obligations and genuine...
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SAWB - OHS and Politics
Kevin Jones explores the political tensions and evolving landscape of workplace health and safety in Australia, tracing the journey from the heated OHS harmonisation debates of 2010—when NSW Premier Kristina Keneally clashed with the federal government—through to today’s renewed focus on...
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SAWB - Culture
In this episode, Kevin Jones—OHS adviser and writer of the SafetyAtWorkBlog—dives deep into the messy, misunderstood world of workplace culture. Drawing on nearly two decades of writing and research, Kevin explores how safety culture is inseparable from organisational culture, and why…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
SafetyAtWorkBlog is an award-winning blog written in Australia that reports on, and discusses, a range of issues that relate to workplace safety. These articles touch on Human Resources, Industrial Relations, stress, politics, organisational culture, workplace death, gender, and a large number of issues that affect how we work and how we manage our workers and our leaders.
HOSTED BY
Kevin Jones
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does SafetyAtWorkBlog have?
SafetyAtWorkBlog currently has 82 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is SafetyAtWorkBlog about?
SafetyAtWorkBlog is an award-winning blog written in Australia that reports on, and discusses, a range of issues that relate to workplace safety. These articles touch on Human Resources, Industrial Relations, stress, politics, organisational culture, workplace death, gender, and a large number of...
How often does SafetyAtWorkBlog release new episodes?
SafetyAtWorkBlog has 82 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to SafetyAtWorkBlog?
You can listen to SafetyAtWorkBlog on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts SafetyAtWorkBlog?
SafetyAtWorkBlog is created and hosted by Kevin Jones.
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