Last year I was invited to chair the National Workers Compensation Summit 2009. During day two of the conference, Dr Ian Low impressed upon me the need for action in the area of diagnosing what we often describe as “gut intuition”. Dr Low encouraged us to sharpen our instincts by exploring the evidence that presented itself at the time of the claim and injury report. Return to Work Team leader Sarah Boolom says that small steps can mean giant leaps for an injured worker and their employer.
Returning 
an injured worker to their former position as quickly as possible is Actevate’s ultimate goal, according to Actevate Return to work Team Leader, Sarah Bollom. When this is not immediately possible, the rehabilitation consultant will determine other vocational options suitable to the worker and employer. This involves conducting occupational tests and identifying occupational interests. The process is complex and normally involves a multitude of stakeholders. Despite this it can be very rewarding for all involved. "Ultimately, when someone is placed in employment again and is financially secure, seeing them regain their sense of worth is one of the most fulfilling parts of this role. Sadly it is often the forgotten part of injury management", Ms Bollom said.
Often its the small steps that have the most profound impact on a person’s life, and according to Ms Bollom, "Some of the most challenging cases have greatest outcomes." This tends to happen when a person has had a particular role for most of their working life and on becoming physically injured needs to come to terms with the fact that they may never work in that role again, or go back to the same employer.
“I am often helping older workers. I’m currently working on a case with a 56 year old forklift driver who was planning retirement after 22 years in his job. It was looking unlikely he would return to the same line of work simply because his injury limited his manual dexterity. We are working on getting his quality of life back, even if it is not in the same type of employment,” she said.
Sarah doesn’t work alone on many of these cases. While her challenge is to identify appropriate work options and help the worker adjust to a new vocational goal, the injured person might need support in other areas as well. According to Sarah, sometimes people have lost some of their motivation and need to regain a sense of worth, or undergo physical therapy. “I am just one part of the ‘return to work team’ at Actevate. There are 19 of us working together across a number of cases at any one time. Within our team people have access to a range of help needed to get them back on their feet, including a nurse, occupational therapists, rehabilitation counsellors, doctors and psychologists” Sarah said.
Sarah holds a Bachelor of Health Science in Rehabilitation Counselling, which is specific to this role. Her previous role was with the Wesley Mission, working with disadvantaged youth, tackling homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse, and identifying training and employment options.
Sarah says her skills from this position are very transferable. “I learned to case manage people with Wesley Mission, despite their very different needs”.
Early intervention and management when it comes to soft tissue injury can help prevent the onset of long-term disability. Author: Robert Migliore
In a recent study published by The Australian Psychological Society, an interesting theme emerged from a case review that may indicate a vulnerability factor in relation to WorkCover claims for psychological injury. Amongst the cases reviewed the average age of claimants was 41 to 45 years, followed by 50 years and older. This could suggest that the effective management of individuals in the second half of their careers may be imperative in the quest to minimise psychological injury.
Return to work processes aimed at tackling the ageing Australian workforce and the psychosocial aspects of claimants in this age bracket are crucial to ensure speedy recovery and a reduction in premiums. Given that the average cost of a psychological injury claim has escalated in recent years to $27,798 per claim compared with $18,913 for a physical injury claim, and the average time off work has increased to a high of 21 weeks compared to eight weeks for a physical injury claim (WorkCover NSW Statistical Bulletin 2004/05).
Individual differences also affect how people cope with work stress. For example: Two people doing the same job could react in opposite ways to a shared occupational stressor.
A specialist in workplace mental health, Dr Peter Cotton presented at our June RTW Interest group a range of factors employers need to be aware of when identifying, preventing and managing psychological injuries. Dr Peter Cotton says that individual personality factors impact on psychological injuries (a preferred term for stress claims). Dr Cotton says that psychologists working in the area are increasingly assessing the role of personality, an issue that has been neglected in the past. Of the five recognised personality factors—openness, agreeableness, extraversion, conscientiousness and neuroticism (also known as ‘emotionality’), the latter two play a significant role in compensation claims.
Dr Cotton also says that people who are conscientious are over represented in musculoskeletal and occupational injuries. They are inclined to exhibit somatic symptoms, and because they experience increased peripheral muscle tension, they are prone to more wear and tear from repetitive movements.
“That’s often why, for example, you can have ten people doing the same job, but only one will get the overuse syndrome”, Dr Cotton says.
These individuals are likely to submit claims when the damage is done, so interventions include trying to identify them before reaching this point, and increasing their awareness of potential risks.
According to Dr Cotton, emotionality is the other personality factor that is over represented in individuals seeking psychological injury compensation, especially for long-term claims. Individuals with high levels of trait emotionality tend to experience negative emotions in response to life events, and think more negatively about themselves and the world. Individuals with this trait are also more likely to carry personal stressors into the workplace and vice versa.
“In response to the same sort of stressors, people with higher trait emotionality are likely to become more distressed, more anxious or more depressed”, Dr Cotton said.
You can visit the Actevate website to read Dr. Cotton’s presentation on ‘Stress and Bullying at the Workplace’.
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