Good Work and its influence on returning to work after injury
What makes work 'Good Work'? And how does this help us return to the workforce?
Research snippet
Good Work
Good work is about balancing the interests of individuals, employers and society in order to deliver performance, engagement and fairness.
There are 4 domains of good work:
Engaged workers - and where necessary partners with workers and suppliers.
Engages with the community culture that reflects the local, regional and operational contexts in which the work is performed.
Respect procedural justice and relational fairness - promotes civility and is intolerant of incivility, discrimination and bullying.
Appropriately balances job demands, job control and job security and requirements.
Aware managers, but not necessarily aware employees, who manage change
Effectively, focusing on mental and psychological well-being, security and life balance
Clear and realistic performance indicators to guide and acknowledge the efforts of the worker
Use of hard and transparent “people productivity metrics”; and
Matching “the work” to “the individual”
(The Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Australian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2013)
Why do we work
The human activity of work is of historic, philosophical and of individual importance. (Neves, D., 2018)
Work also has economic, sociological and psychological impacts. It provides a means by which humans can obtain financial resources for their livelihood, provides social interactivity outside of family, neighbourhood or social clubs, a sense of identity and personality, a capacity by which to contribute to society, social status and fulfilment (Kiliminik, M. et al (2019)
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) highlights the positive impact work has on health and wellbeing:
Work is generally good for health and wellbeing
Long-term absences, work disability, and unemployment have a negative impact on health and wellbeing
Work is an effective way to reduce poverty and social exclusion
Work practices, workplace culture, work-life balance, injury management programs and relationships within workplaces are key determinants for people to feel valued and supported within their roles, and for their individual well-being, health and productivity
Healthcare providers/professionals have a significant influence on work absence due to disability, or sickness. This influence provides health professionals with many opportunities for patient advocacy which includes but is not limited to recognition of the health benefits of working themselves
(The Royal Australasian College of Physicians. (2011). Australian and New Zealand Consensus)
Work and Injury
Returning to work positively impacts a person's rehabilitation and overall well-being (WorkSafe QLD, 2020)
The longer someone is away from work after an injury or illness, the less likely they are to return to some form of work
(WorkSafe QLD, 2020)
You're more likely to recover quicker if you stay at work after an injury or return gradually during recovery (WorkSafe QLD, 2020).
Returning to work can mean:
Going back to the previous job
Working reduced hours
Changes or adjustments to duties
Moving to a new job or role
(WorkSafe QLD, 2020)
Returning to work (RTW) processes require communication and collaboration between all stakeholders involved in the process, inclusive of the employee, employer, GP, health professionals, insurers, unions, family, friends and co-workers
(The Royal Australasian College of Physicians. (2011). Australian and New Zealand Consensus)
There can be significant physical, social, and psychological (psychosocial) ramifications of prolonged absence from work due to injury or illness:
Increased likelihood to suffer isolation and depression
Increase chances to face adverse socioeconomic consequences
Experience of the erosion of work skills that can result in unemployability in the long term
decreased confidence and a sense of self-efficacy
Experience family disruption
Increased morbidity and mortality due to possible increase of health conditions
(The Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Policy on preventing work disability, 2010)
Return to Work Attitudes
56% of larger employers (with wages totalling $10m+) are the most likely to hold the number one goal of an employee returning to work after an injury, followed by 45% for medium-sized employers (wages totalling $1.5 - $10m) and 31% for small sized employers (WorkCover)
External systemic factors that affect claim times, recovery and RTW include:
Workplace RTW policies
Lack of diligence from healthcare professionals
Retraining for appropriate work
Difficult logistical processes in workers' compensation
(MacEachen,E. & Kosny, A., 2010)
The following psychosocial states and personal beliefs influence an individual's RTW process:
Overall job satisfaction
Support at work or home
Relationships with colleagues and supervisor
Beliefs around re-injury
Belief that they can't return until fully recovered
Disagreement with the employer on whether an employee can return to work
The presence of stress factors that contributed to the original injury/illness still being present in the workplace
The belief that the worker may think they don't have the ability or skills to do any sort of work even if work is adjusted
(Work Comp Psych Net. 2016).
References
Anderson de Souza Sant'Anna, Zélia Miranda Kilimnik and Daniela Martins Diniz (August 23rd 2017). Human Work and its Discontents, Quality of Life and Quality of Working Life, Ana Alice Vilas Boas, IntechOpen, DOI: 10.5772/67611.
MacEachen E, Kosny A, Ferrier S, chambers, L. The ‘toxic dose’ of system problems: why some injured workers don't return to work as expected. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2010: 20(3), 349-366.
Neves, Diana Rebello et al. Meaning and Significance of work: a review of articles published in journals associated with the Scientific Periodicals Electronic Library. Cad. EBAPE.BR [online]. 2018, vol.16, n.2 [cited 2021-03-17], pp.318-330 ISSN 1679-3951.
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Australian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (2011). Australian and New Zealand Consensus
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Policy. (2010) Helping People Return to work using evidence for better outcomes - a position statement
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Australian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (2013). What is Good Work
