WorkSafe, a regulator in New Zealand, has implemented three crucial goals to improve workplace health and safety in the country. The team believes that this may prevent negative outcomes and decrease workplace risks, motivating all sides to cooperate. On their website, WorkSafe have a broad range of important documents, surveys and studies that specify their objectives for the future and they offer individuals to report health and safety concerns on their website.
Its goals are focused on three aspects: working smarter, assessing risks, and cooperating. The first area is implemented by guaranteeing comprehensive data, advice and training. Thus, employees will know their employers’ expectations “in relation to health and safety” (WorkSafe, n. d.). The second part is revolved around dangerous occupations and locations. The team’s harm prevention revolves around “lifting health and safety capabilities in all businesses”. Finally, cooperation is supported by WorkSafe because they believe that everyone wants to decrease harm in their workplaces.
Two factors emphasized the value of the regulator’s current mission. They are the Coal Pike Mine Tragedy and the data from the Independent Taskforce. The team’s website offers rather valuable and relevant documents and information. They explain how the regulator intends to achieve their objectives for the near future. One of those documents is the file Workplace Safety and the Future of Work in NZ. It explains the current work environment and the issues it faces. Meanwhile, the file uses quite insightful commentary from the team. Moreover, the regulator provides the opportunity to report a safety or health concern. To help one address it, the group includes important information on the matter. Thus, such measures help WorkSafe achieve their mission as the main regulator of workplace health and safety.
I have chosen this content, because I believe that workplace safety is a rather crucial aspect of people’s lives. Understanding the goals of regulators similar to WorkSafe may not only provide people with the necessary information but encourage the government to implement various laws and projects to improve the situation as well. Moreover, as the group’s website mentioned, assessing risks and securing the reputation ensures that the goals will be achieved.
What makes the regulator interesting is that they have various informative data on aspects such as health and safety management (COVID-19, risk control), topics and occupations listed in an alphabetical order (agriculture, cranes, energy safety), research and the depiction of laws. The research they provide consists of various surveys and evaluations conducted in New Zealand. Regarding the laws and acts, WorkSafe depicts various projects such as the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Electricity Act.
Moreover, I find this information newsworthy, since nowadays, a lot of studies and articles are examining various ways the necessary changes for workplace safety and health can be implemented. For example, with the help of such efforts, employers, researchers and policymakers will have a better understanding of the correlation between working conditions and safety and health (Sorensen et al, 2018). This makes the actions performed by WorkSafe crucial for addressing some gaps and flaws in the current workplace environment and combating them.
As mentioned earlier, the regulator provides the significant amount of research necessary to improve the situation. One of the most interesting documents commissioned by the team is called Workplace Safety and the Future of Work in New Zealand. This text is a report that depicts various issues such as mental and chronic disorders, including some comments from the employees of WorkSafe (Hennecke, Meehan & Pacheco, 2021). Files similar to the aforementioned one guarantee a detailed and precise explanation of the current situation and what consequences it may lead to.
I have chosen to focus on the two aspects of the regulator, such as the roles and aims because I find them to be the most important out of all of the pages on their site. This is by no means a way of saying that the other data is irrelevant, as reviewing it may be quite entertaining as well. However, I find the depiction of these two features to be more suitable, because I want to introduce the reader to the regulator and what they do. Depicting minor topics, such as their side articles, may derail from the main idea of the release.
In my media release, I have used the following structure: A summary of the article, the depiction of the goals of the regulator and the description of the regulator itself.
The consequences of decisions I have taken are rather simple. First, the reader will be intrigued by the introductory paragraph and the way it prepares them for the topic. Second, the focus on the main aspects, as mentioned earlier, will not distract from the main goal of the media release, which is to depict WorkSafe and emphasize its importance. Third, the reader may later want to inform themselves on the regulator more thoroughly, since they have various data that I have mentioned, but have not depicted, because it was not the general focus. In conclusion, I hope that once my audience reads this file, they will not only be motivated to review the site, but to do extra research as well.
References
Hennecke, J., Meehan, L., Pacheco, G. (2021) Workplace Safety and the Future of Work in NZ. New Zealand Work Research Institute.
Sorensen, G., Sparer, E., Williams, J. A., Gundersen, D., Boden, L. I., Dennerlein, J. T., Hashimoto, D., Katz, J. N., McLellan, D. L., Okechukwu, C. A., Pronk, N. P., Revette, A. & Wagner, G. R. (2018). Measuring best practices for workplace safety, health and wellbeing: The Workplace Integrated Safety and Health Assessment. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 60(5), 430.
WorkSafe New Zealand. (n. d.). Our priorities. WorkSafe.
WorkSafe New Zealand. (n. d.). Role and responsibilities. WorkSafe.