15 Dec Risk Factors Don’t Have Holidays
As we roll into another festive season and New Year it is worth mentioning that managing any risk in the workplace remains a full-time job. Risk factors keep on presenting even in the holiday season.
At the end of any calendar year everyone in your teams is looking for a break. They have more going on in the life outside of the work environment which can impair concentration, diligence and performance.
At this time of year, it is also time to review the year and celebrate the impact we have had on the workplace and the risk profiles of individuals. This year developing extensive working relationships with clients has been a feature. This has led to greater trust, resilience and progress in what we offer to help our clients manage risks within the workplace.
We have built a Risk Rating Score and displayed this in one graphic. It means clients can profile their entire workforce, highlighting the level of risk across many elements. These elements range from Heart and Head Health to the impact Sleep is having on the performance of individual and the organisation.
We now have a database of over 250,000 data points on Aussie workers across the country.
We have seen the number of individuals in the High Risk (red zones) classification decrease significantly across two of our most popular risk profiles – Heart Health and Sleep and Fatigue. The data from our Head Health Profile suggest the opposite trends.
Correspondingly, we have also seen the number of individuals in the Low Risk (green zones) classifications increase significantly within the Heart Health and Sleep and Fatigue. The Head Health profile does not follow this trend.
For example – Heart Health has seen the high-risk zone individuals decrease from 35% to 13%. A wonderful achievement. At the same time, the low-risk group has increased from 27% to 60%. Another wonderful achievement.
Such an outcome does not happen by luck. It takes a well-integrated approach in the workplace to mitigating one of our major risks. The time required to get the desired traction we believe is between 24 and 36 months. Constant support, education, on site visits and feedback sessions with individuals provides the fillip to keep people working on what needs to be done to mitigate the risk.
Another example – The quality of sleep has remained in the low-risk category for most individuals since we have been collecting data. However, the quantity of sleep has been the focus this year because the data was indicating over 45% of workers were turning up for work sleep deprived. This had to change. We can report that the low-risk group has increased from 55% to 82% while the high-risk group has decreased from 45% to 18%. A wonderful achievement.
These significant changes reduce the overall risk of individuals as well as the organisation. Employees have established lower risk profiles. Lower risk means money can be saved, performance can be optimised, there is more engagement reflected in greater harmony and enjoyment in the workplace.
Another example – The lifestyle choices being made because of our work have all improved in eight out of the nine elements we measure and track. The only element that has not returned such a positive outcome is the number of individuals smoking (including vaping. This has increased from 18% to 23%.
Another focus over the year has been on Head Health. This relates to Depression, Anxiety and Stress. This is not a diagnostic tool. What we have found is despite the work we do around Head Health those individuals in the increased and high-risk categories have increased.
For example – Rates in the increased and high-risk category for self-report Depression have increased from 10%-15%, Anxiety has increased from 12% to 15% while Stress has increased from 7% to 19%. This also means that those individuals in the low-risk categories have decreased across all three elements. This trend is of concern. Head Health must be measured as the risk factors can be covert.
When you and your organisation want to see the benefits and impact on how to manage your risks in the workplace over 2026, then contact us.