It’s been a busy couple of months at Respect at Work, not only with the usual(ish) training and travel (Canberra, Sydney, Moonee Ponds, Doreen, Hallam, Burnie, Launceston, and Hobart), but with some new, very specific, Positive Duty compliance content. 

Changes to sexual harassment legislation and Safe Work Australia’s Code of Practice: Sexual and gender-based harassment, mean that organisations have a positive duty to take all reasonable steps to eliminate sexual discrimination, sexual harassment, and victimisation. Safe Work Australia’s Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work, states that employers must be proactive about prevention and that they have an obligation to take all reasonable steps to manage psychosocial hazards and risks. These changes and obligations have left some organisations unsure as to how to get started. I have now delivered several training/awareness sessions to Senior Leadership Teams and Boards to assist them to understand the legisation and Codes, and to identify where they currently sit and how they can meet their compliance obligations. Preparing training sessions is one of my favourite things to do - and knowing that I have met a training brief and delivered good content makes me buzz.

Thinking about the importance of the 2 Codes, how they sit side-by-side, and how the foundation for both is thinking about diversity and inclusion, prompted the development of 2 new posters/magnets. I have added the designs to my suite of downloads (now all refreshed to include QR-codes), you can access them here Posters — Respect at Work, or please get in touch if you would like some magnet versions for the office fridge/filing cabinets.

Another thing that makes my day is receiving great feedback, this feedback is from one of the above SLT sessions:

‘The session gave us an increase in awareness, understanding of next steps. Very informative and great presentation style. Could be a dry topic but liked that it was interactive.’

This feedback is from a general Respectful Workplace training and the group kept me on my toes - we had some frustrating (but positive) conversations and I really appreciated the groups engagement, as well as the awesome feedback:

‘Thank you so much for your time on Friday, I know that everyone found it insightful and informative and have received nothing but positive feedback so far, even though some initial reactions to undertaking this session had been somewhat underwhelming, so I think you won everyone over in the end!’

For those that know me, you may know how much I look forward to WorkSafe month every year. Not only as a presenter/facilitator (I have delivered sessions every year except for 2023), but as a participant. The opportunity to engage in FREE quality training across a range of relevant topics is irresistible to me, unfortunately my diary won’t allow me to attend as many sessions as I want to this year, but I have already registered for a few. Check out the program here WorkSafe-Month_2024_Program-of-Events.pdf, perhaps I’ll see you at one of my Respectful and resilient workplaces - Managing conflict and disrespect and increasing resilience sessions :)

Respect at Work facilitates discussions about respect, respectful communication, and respectful behaviours, please get in touch if we can be of assistance for your workplace.