National Return to Work Strategy 2020-2030 – Research reports on stigma and psychological response to injury

Safe Work Australia has published two research reports by Griffith University under the National Return to Work Strategy 2020-2030:

Psychological response to injury: Research to support workers’ psychological responses to injury and successful return to work, and

Stigma towards injured or ill workers: Research on the causes and impact of workplace stigma in the workplace, and approaches to creating positive workplace cultures that support return to work

Recommendations to meaningfully support workers on their recovery and return to work include:

• empowering workers to play an active role in their own recovery and return to work by providing both practical and psychological support
• providing greater access to workplace arrangements such as flexible scheduling, task modifications, graded return, or role changes.

The 2018 National Return to Work Survey results showed that:

• of the workers who had returned to work, 36.1% of workers returned to modified hours,
• 32.2% of workers surveyed thought that people at work (including their peers) would treat them differently if they made a workers’ compensation claim, and
• workers who were not concerned about claiming are 3.1 times more likely to return to work.

For more, see the National Return to Work webpage: https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/rtw