Of course, injuries do affect the body and, sometimes, they negatively impact our ability to do our jobs efficiently. This was reinforced by ‘The Wise Study’ in 2018 after it delved into the full extent of workplace injuries in this country. It found that 3.2 million of us live with chronic pain, with back problems accounting for 4% of all forced retirements. Meanwhile, 90% of people with severe pain report interference with work and reduced quality of life. It went on to predict that these issues will only get worse – noting that five million Australians will live with chronic pain by 2050.
But the study also found that workplace injuries caused psychological issues as well. Indeed, it discovered 44.6% of those living with chronic pain suffered from depression and anxiety. As a result, not only were these people not going back to work because of their physical injuries, but their mental ones too.
These mental issues are a form of secondary psychological injury. After suffering an initial physical or mental shock, someone can develop secondary problems such as depression, sadness, anger, poor sleep and lower levels of drive and engagement. This psychological damage can be made worse by ongoing pain, medication and isolation from friends and colleagues.
For organisations, this scenario can quickly turn into a bigger financial problem. The Wise Study reported that workplace injuries were responsible for an estimated 9.9 million absent days from work each year, costing the Australian economy $34bn per year in treatments, injury claims and other associated costs.
As businesses and individuals, we can try to limit the depth of this impact by attempting to reduce the number of physical injuries. Ergonomic chairs and desks, raising awareness of repetitive stress and increased workplace safety measures can all go some way to achieving this goal. But, ultimately, injuries will happen – and they will often need to be treated.
At Converge, we believe to truly reduce the impact workplace injuries have on people and businesses, targeted and individualistic care is needed that incorporates not just physical rehabilitation, but psychological help too.
Secondary psychological injury — John’s story
John’s story is all too common when it comes to a workplace injury. John is a 62-year-old male working full-time as a mail delivery cyclist. John sustained an injury to his lower back whilst riding his bicycle, however continued to work in his usual role for a further six months as he was able to tolerate the pain. At that time John had only informally mentioned the incident to a colleague and refrained from submitting a formal incident report for two key reasons:
- He didn’t consider his back injury to be a reportable incident because he didn’t deem it severe enough.
- John had been rejected from a previous WorkCover claim for an unrelated injury of repetitive movement. He had also heard negative stories from his colleagues about feeling unsupported with their injuries. Therefore, from his perspective, he assumed he too would have a negative experience.
It was not until John’s pain became increasingly aggravated that he went to his personal GP, who diagnosed a fracture in his vertebrae, and recommended commencing a WorkCover claim.
John’s early assumptions and his lack of confidence had caused him to suffer from a secondary psychological injury. He endured acute stress and anxiety, lowered mood, loss of sleep, and was constantly worried about being perceived as a “liar” by his employer and having a negative reputation of being “on compo” if he was to submit a WorkCover claim.
John was also worried about his capacity to return to the work that he loves doing and felt that downgrading his duties to limit the stress on his back would be ‘degrading’. John also fretted about his personal life as he wanted to continue to pick up, carry and play with his young grandchildren.
When John was finally referred to Converge International, he was suffering from ‘extremely severe’ depression and anxiety, and at a point where his mental state was impacting his ability to work.
We’ll finish John’s story in just a little bit, but this case study provides a perfect snapshot as to why workplace injuries can end up being a massive issue for both the individual and the business they work for.
For John (spoiler alert!) there is a happier ending, but for so many others the mental stress an injury can cause has the potential to keep them away from work permanently. If they do return to the workplace without proper care or a tailored return-to-work plan, their lack of confidence, the physical pain itself, and the ongoing fatigue of a psychological injury reduces their ability to be able to complete their original tasks as they once did.
Standard vs targeted care
At Converge, we have conducted a clinical trial to uncover the differences between standard care and a more targeted program that includes early intervention.
Using real people with real injuries from one of our major customers, we split 458 workers into two groups to test our hypothesis.
A control group of injured workers received the “standard” care program, which involved a common set of treatments and processes across all workers. An intervention group underwent a detailed assessment process and analysis, which created a tailored assistance program for each individual worker, inclusive of their mental and physical wellbeing.
The intervention group reported a staggering 46% decrease in depression, a 42% decrease in anxiety and a 31% decrease in stress compared to the standard group. On average, the intervention group were back at work 51 days earlier, reducing incapacity costs by 34% and medical costs by 17%.
In John’s case, although his condition was not picked up early by his employer, he also received the same targeted care as the intervention group. After completing his assessment, his first counselling session focused on John’s emotional responses to his injury and pain, as well as strategies on coping with lowered mood, stress and heightened anxiety.
John’s WorkCover claim was partially approved by the second counselling session. He felt validated by the acknowledgement that his injury was caused by an incident in the workplace. John was able to return to work by the third session, on limited hours, reduced capacity and with his mail delivery duties changed to a van rather than a bike.
A combination of organisational and specialist support in a workplace injury situation is proven to have a beneficial result for all parties. For the injured person, they are given the help they need to overcome their physical and mental scarring, helping them return to a fulfilling work life. Meanwhile, the business is far more likely to have an employee flourish in their role after their rehabilitation, reducing injury claims and other associated costs in the process.
Our WorkReset program
Our WorkReset program is specifically designed to reduce the financial impact of workplace injury by providing early intervention support to help people feel better and get back to work sooner.
Not only does the program reduce the incidence of injured workers developing secondary psychological illnesses, it helps operational managers detect the early signs of psychological distress.
Just like John, people are often worried about informing their employers of their injuries. Giving managers the tools they need to spot these signs early is key in an early intervention approach. By identifying the psychological issues in advance, the likelihood of long-term consequences decreases — meaning valued employees like John can continue working without the mental heartache.
To learn more about our WorkReset program, call our friendly team on 1300 687 327.