Key factors driving psychosocial workers' compensation claims
High job demands, inadequate managerial support and interpersonal work-related issues such as bullying and harassment are some of the key factors driving an increase in burnout and related psychosocial workers' compensation claims, according to the Black Dog Institute.
“We know from Safe Work Australia data that the major drivers in terms of psychosocial claims are high job demands, including excessive workloads, burnout, and interpersonal issues like bullying/harassment," said Dr Mark Deady, senior research fellow and research lead of the work and adult mental health research program at Black Dog Institute.
"This likely reflects a combination of changes in awareness and reporting systems and also a very real shift in experiences of job roles becoming increasingly complex and challenging. There is good evidence to suggest this is the case."
Furthermore, Deady said these demands are not isolated to the workplace, with workers' lives becoming busier and more demanding in a variety of ways, often with fewer resources to manage these stressors.
Deady also observed that the steady reduction in rates of physical injury in the workplace should be viewed as a “major public health success”.
“It is reasonable to assume that much of the decline in musculoskeletal and connective tissue injury may be the result of increases in workplace physical safety regulations and reduced risk exposures (eg via awareness or implementing manual-handling training and other safety protocols),” he said.
“This raises the important question of what is the mental health equivalent of physical safety regulations?”
This is a far more complex question; however, Deady said that adequate workplace resourcing plays an important role.
“Equipping managers to manage and support employee wellbeing is hugely valuable, but we must also ensure these managers are resourced to be able to provide this support,” he said.
Frontline managers play an important role in shaping psychologically safe work environments, and Deady said the evidence consistently shows the critical importance of a supportive manager, while employees who rate their manager as supportive of their wellbeing tend to have better mental health, lower burnout, and are more productive.
“At times, managers can struggle to know where to start with mental health at work; there can be a tendency to think they need to solve the problem. For this reason, there can often be a reluctance to engage in supportive conversation with their staff,” he said.
“Many managers do a great job of this, providing managers with these basic skills can build confidence, and this confidence is linked to changes in behaviour.”
OHS professionals play an important role in integrating psychological safety into existing risk management systems and processes, Deady added.
Employers are obligated to take reasonable steps to identify and manage psychosocial hazards (along with physical, chemical, biological, radiological, and ergonomic ones).
“Thus, compliance with legal obligations related to work health and safety, workers’ compensation, workplace relations, privacy and discrimination laws is fundamental,” he said.
In terms of broadly addressing the prevention of psychosocial workplace risks, Deady said it’s important to consider a variety of issues, including:
- Implementation of collective risk assessment and management/control measures;
- Increasing the coping ability of workers via job control increases;
- Improving organisational communication;
- Allowing workers’ participation in decision-making;
- Building social support systems within the workplace;
- Consideration of working and living conditions;
- Optimise safety and health culture within the organisation.
In addition to how organisations respond to regulatory requirements, he said systems and policies should also reflect the cultural beliefs and values regarding employee wellbeing and the prioritisation of psychological health within that organisation.
In many cases, Deady noted that these systems/policies provide the means for implementation of practices at various other levels (e.g., flexible working policies, procedural fairness standards).
In other cases, he observed that there are processes to better engage or communicate with workers (e.g., improving change management procedures, avenues for worker feedback/participation).
There are a number of important actions organisations can take to promote psychosocial safety, according to Deady – the first of which is “a genuine investment in this space”.
“This cannot be tokenistic or a tick-box exercise; this means that those in leadership roles lead by example and openly advocate, promote, and demonstrate workplace wellbeing practices,” he said.
“Second, there is a lot of noise in this space and limited resourcing, so it’s important that this investment is made in practices that are supported by evidence.
“Third, it is critical to train line managers in effective manager mental health training and to encourage (and listen to, and act on) staff feedback in terms of what the hazards they face day-to-day actually look like, and how these might be mitigated or managed,” noted Deady, who also said employers could benefit from a new Black Dog Institute resource which provides clear guidance for managers responsible for coordinating a safe and supportive return to work.
“The worker recovery toolkit equips managers with practical, evidence-based strategies to help managers support employees while also maintaining a healthy and productive workplace,” he said.
“Psychological injury is a complex and evolving area, and many managers and employers may feel uncertain about how best to support someone.”