Young workers (aged XXXXXXXXXXmake up a sizable proportion of the Australian workforce, and are noted for their enthusiasm and being more savvy than their older counterparts about theincreasingly...

WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY
Table of Contents
Introduction    3
Magnitude of serious illness among young workers in Australia    3
Cause of injuries and industry types    4
Consequences of workplace injuries on workers and organizations    5
Legal rights granted to employees with respect to workplace safety laws    6
Legal responsibilities placed on organizations as a result of workplace health and safety laws    7
Application of HR practices to reduce and eliminate risks of workplace injuries    8
Conclusion    10
References    11
Introduction
Young workers (aged 15 to 24 years) have a passion for all kinds of work and are dedicated to their work in every aspect. In Australia, a considerable amount of young workers is working on a part-time or full-time basis. Working in an office as well as working on-site can expose young workers to various kinds of physical and mental health-related complications. These risks vary among industries and sectors. As young workers are more active than the old ones they neglect to assess the risks involved in the work, therefore, causing serious illness and even loss of life. Governments and organizations have introduced numerous workplace safety policies to reduce the probability of accidents and injuries in the workplace. Human resources are a valuable asset for any organization. Thus, organizations have to provide health care benefits to their workers for the sustainable and effective functioning of the organization.
Magnitude of serious illness among young workers in Australia
Young Australian workers comprise 36% of the young population, which includes males and females. The young male workers are more prone to be injured at the workplace and be hospitalized. Young workers in Australia experience many health illness issues ranging from acute to severe in many cases. A huge spike was experienced among young Australian workers in work-related injuries in the year 2005-06. The four factors that usually influence the health and safety of young workers are workplace culture, mind and body, educational learning and work design. Young workers working at constructions and other machinery sites suffer from traumatic joint muscle-tendon injury. The fatality rate is negligible in such kinds of illness. When the workers are working with less care at working sites especially the mechanical jobs, they get cut wounds and lacerations as well as amputations. In many cases, young workers have been injured but they do not report the illness and take proper medications regarding the same (Thamrin, Pisaniello & Guerin, 2017). Leading to serious illness, young workers working in nuclear power plants and other chemical industries are exposed to different kinds of carcinogens and are likely to develop cancer. Despite taking safety measures there is always some chance of getting acute carcinoma while working in nuclear plants. Young workers report cases of acute carcinoma but lose life in chronic scenarios. The fatality rate is much higher compared to other illnesses.
Young workers working in unhealthy working conditions can begin developing infections and parasitic diseases, which reduces the immunity power among the workers. Fractures, burns and injuries because of movie objects are commonly seen among the illnesses. However, cases of workers losing limbs can cause serious illness among the young working groups. Excessive welding and heavy machinery noise can have adverse effects on the eyes and ears of workers. Workers have complained of acute hearing loss and hazy vision, but the worst-case scenario causes loss of sight and hearing in individuals. With the alarming targets in mind and low job satisfaction, young worker fall prey to various mental illnesses (Milner & LaMontagne, 2017). Mental illness has lower fatality rates compared to other injuries but can lead to musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders. Extended working hours and sitting on the office chair can lead to chronic spinal cord illness. Body stressing problems is reported by many young workers due to work-life imbalance and other factors. Workloads and un-sociable hours cause workers to suffer from stress and anxiety. Hypertension, diabetes and anxiety can lead to various heart diseases. In Australia, workplace hazards and occupational violence can also pose a threat to young workers. These generally include a hostile work environment, bullying, abuse and harassment of young workers.
Cause of injuries and industry types
There are a countless number of reasons causing serious illness among young workers. However, a few of them are as follows. Inexperience is found to be the major cause of accidents. Lack of training while handling machinery tools can cause harm to workers and loss of life in severe cases (Mayhew, 2018). Workers are sometimes aware of the risks involved in their job but lack of preparedness causes complications. Young workers always experiment with technology and mechanism tools therefore supervisors are required to take care of the young workers. Lack of supervision also leads to accidents among young worker groups. Students who work part-time and study suffer from fatigue disorders. Newly hired young trainees focus more on work and avoid socializing; this leads to depression and anxiety. Depression often disrupts the mental stability of an individual. Young students and workers develop suicidal tendencies and acts of self-harm due to anxiety, depression and high-stress levels. The young deliverymen in Australia have faced serious injuries due to road accidents. Road accidents among young workers in Australia are also linked to the mental stress, depression and anxiety.
The manufacturing industry has shown the highest claim rate that is most of the accidents and injuries are suffered from these industries among young workers. Manufacturing companies widely use extensive machinery and other technology. Thus, appropriate training and knowledge are required to use heavy machinery. The transportation and storage industry has high levels of fatality rates among all the industries (Xiang et al., 2020). Several factors such as environmental factors vehicle malfunctioning and many more cause accidents that add up to the risks in the logistics sector. Finance, property and business services include mainly desktop jobs. Targets drive the services sector and customer satisfaction is at the topmost priority. Young workers develop from spinal cord disorders, constantly sitting in front of their laptops and desktops. The stress involved in chasing targets is much more than scoring high distinction. Newly recruited young workers resign within a year, as they are unable to bear the stress. Construction sectors are male-dominated sectors and tend to...