How to support your worker
Your role as an employer is crucial in supporting your worker to recover at and return to work following a psychological workplace injury.
On this page
Managing difficult conversations
Supporting your worker
Research shows workers have an enhanced recovery if they can recover at work (State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) Recovery at work insider Issue 12).
To recover at work, there may need to be modifications in the way they work for a brief period.
You can support your worker through:
- identifying work tasks within their current capacity to work
- modifying working hours or days (if required and supported by medical evidence)
- staying in contact with your worker
- collaborating with your worker and their treating parties to understand requirements for recovery and return to work.
Back to top ⇡
Managing difficult conversations
The first stage in managing a difficult conversation is to understand the worker's perspective, their challenges and goals.
Start by acknowledging the difficulty of the situation. For example, stating: "I can see that you are feeling frustrated", "I understand that this didn't go the way you had planned".
Once you display understanding of difficulty, you can pause to clarify the problem and start to assess the cause and collaborate to identify possible solutions.
Messaging in the workplace
It's important to be proactive in your response to a workplace injury. This includes how you communicate and your messaging to the wider workforce.
When an employer demonstrates they are able to effectively manage injuries in a transparent and effective manner, they are creating an environment where workers feel supported and a return to work is more likely to be achieved.
When an injury occurs, it may be appropriate for you to:
- Communicate with relevant co-workers such as the worker's direct supervisor or buddy (if consent has been provided by the worker) that an injury has occurred, and the injured worker may need time away from the workplace to recover.
- Explain to co-workers the role they play in supporting the injured worker during the recovery stages and their eventual return to work.
- Ask co-workers for a statement relating to an incident.
- Give co-workers the opportunity to ask any questions or raise any concerns they have about the incident leading to the injury or any other risks in the workplace.
- Answer any general questions workers may have about the workers compensation process.
The workers privacy should be maintained at all times.
It is important that only relevant information is shared with the appropriate people in the workplace, once consent is obtained from the worker.
It would be inappropriate to discuss an injured worker's:
- diagnosis
- details of any medical history or pre-existing conditions
- details of treatment or medication
- details of interpersonal conflict with co-workers not associated with any grievances raised
- details of pay or workers compensation entitlements
- status of their workers compensation claim (for example is the claim accepted, declined, being investigated)
- any non-work-related barriers or concerns an injured worker has raised. Some examples include concerns at home, family and carers responsibilities, financial issues, relationship issues etc.
- any work-related barriers or concerns an injured workers have raised outside of general health and safety concerns. Some examples include grievances raised, performance issues, industrial relations/ human resources matters and investigations
- the arrangement or outcome of any assessments relating to the claim such as Independent Medical Examinations.
Things to avoid
As an employer, you can provide a supportive and positive environment by avoiding the following behaviours:
- Blaming the worker for their injury: Workers compensation is a no-fault system in NSW. Instead of blame, explore ways to prevent further injuries and focus on helping the worker to recover.
- Not keeping in touch with the worker: If appropriate, keep in contact with the worker. This can be done via phone, email, visit or text. Things like a chat about what's happening in the workplace or general news of interest goes a long way to reassure the worker, maintain positive relationships with the workplace and will assist with the recovery and return to work process.
- Leaving issues in the workplace unresolved: If a worker perceives there are issues in the workplace such as unresolved conflict or an unsafe work environment, this will create a barrier for their return to work. As an employer, you need to identify these barriers and look to remove them. Avoiding this will prevent an injured worker wanting to return to work and will increase the risk of injury to others in the workplace. Listening and taking action when workers raise any issues or concerns regarding the workplace plays an important part in the whole claims process.
- Stigmatising the worker: Unfortunately, there can still be a stigma associated with workers who are off work unfit and claiming workers compensation. At times, there is an unfair perception that a worker is 'milking the system' or using compensation to get out of work. It is crucial for employers and fellow co-workers to avoid this language and to be supportive rather than judgemental or confrontational. This is to ensure the worker remains motivated to return to work due to the positive environment.
- Isolating the worker: It's easy to isolate the worker out of fear of saying the wrong thing especially in the event of a mental health claim, however, a worker recovering from injury who remains connected to their work colleagues has a greater chance to return to work. If the worker feels well enough and has expressed they are happy to do so, look to schedule a regular phone catch up or even a face-to-face coffee catch up.
