The number of psychological injury claims lodged with the NSW Government’s Nominal Insurer – now known as icare workers’ insurance – has remained steady over a five-year period among the 300,000 businesses insured with icare. However, there are certain sectors where psychological injuries are more common, and it’s likely the reader of this article works in one of them.
Finance and insurance industry workers are the most vulnerable to psychological injuries, representing 15% of all icare workers’ insurance claims during the past five years, according to data from icare. This makes sense considering the recent report from mental health organization SuperFriend that found 44% of people working in the financial services industry ultimately left work because of a poor mental-health environment.
The second most at-risk workers were those in health and community services, representing 7% of total industry claims, though the sector also had the largest volume of claims – 21% of all psychological claims submitted to icare workers’ insurance over five years. Property and business services, and retail trade were likewise high on the list.
What’s driving people to lodge claims? The main culprits are anxiety stress disorder, which made up 45% of all psychological claims, depression and reaction to stressors, while workplace bullying was the most common cause of psychological injury, reflecting 39% of all claims, followed by work-related pressure and exposure to trauma – findings that are in line with national figures.
As mental health issues persist, their financial burden on NSW businesses is now estimated to be $2.8 billion per annum. Expensive mental health claims in turn have a negative effect on premiums of medium and large business in NSW, and can result in lower productivity in the workplace as well as making it harder for companies to retain employees where a broader problem in workplace culture has been identified.
This bleak picture is not a complete one since not all mental health cases become claims. According to icare, underreporting is rampant among casual employees, in part because of fears about job tenure. At the same time, claims only tell one part of the story. Mental health is not just a workplace problem, but a national one with 20% of Australians over 16 expected to experience a mental illness in any one year.
Preventative measures could be the solution to driving down claims and costs, and provide a substantial return for businesses – an estimated $1.50 to $4 for every $1 invested in addressing this issue at work.
