“Now there’s a lot more focus on understanding the injuries and getting people back to work in a sustainable way.”
Those were the words of Jo Kant (pictured) when Insurance Business caught up with the Gallagher Bassett client services manager to talk about what’s happening in New Zealand when it comes to workplace injuries. Kant, who is also a registered nurse, said there’s been a shift in the way injuries in the workplace are viewed and dealt with, which is benefitting both the workers and their employers.
“One of the things that ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) requires, and that Gallagher Bassett does,” she said, “is when you have an injured employee, it’s not just, ‘We’ll send you to the doctor’. Let’s say you’ve broken your foot, [we ask] ‘How are you going to get around? What’s it like at home? Do you need help at home?’ If you’re single or alone, and you have massive stairs, and you’ve hurt yourself and you can’t get up and down them, how are we going to help you with that?”
Essentially, staff are being looked after more and in better ways than previously.
Kant went on to note: “There is also an increased focus on the psychological impacts of injuries, and this is an important step in both rehabilitation and injury prevention. And the increased focus on ‘early’ – early reporting, early intervention, early rehabilitation – this is very important going forward.”
According to the client services manager, companies are taking note not just of the physical anymore, with other factors like fatigue now also being considered, as well as the effect of injuries on workers’ psychological wellbeing.
“It’s a really positive thing that people are now looking at everything more holistically and focussing on looking after employees, instead of seeing injuries as something that you’ve got to deal with,” she asserted. “I think that’s a really positive thing.
“And the attitudes are changing. I think back then, the average mindset was more, ‘Oh, she’ll be right, mate’ and ‘harden up’ kind of thing, whereas now there’s a lot more focus on understanding the injuries and getting people back to work in a sustainable way.”
Looking after employees first, stressed Kant, needs to be top of mind for organisations.
She told Insurance Business: “Looking after your employee when they’ve been injured, showing them that you believe that they’ve been injured and providing them with the necessary rehabilitation, support, and the light duties and the return to work that they need – that is the best thing for the worker, because they’re going to get to work quicker and they’re going to feel valued by the workplace.”
“But alternatively, on the other side,” continued Kant, “it’s actually best for the employer as well, because you’re getting back an engaged employee who feels and is looked after, who is going to be productive, and is going to come back to work quicker, instead of ending up sitting at home doing nothing for months.
“And we all know – and there’s a lot of ACC research around it as well – that the longer you’re off, the longer it takes to come back. It’s a lot harder to come back from doing nothing the longer that lasts. In that respect, it impacts the employer as well. So, basically, if you look after your workers, you’re looking after everybody, including your own pocket.”
The Gallagher Bassett executive believes that showing staff that you care goes a long way.
“It can make a world of difference,” she stated. “If an employer cares and shows that they care and value their worker, and provides support, this goes a long way in helping the injured person recover, as well as getting the injured worker back to work and productivity quicker.
“It ends up better for the worker as well, because they’ve got more money in their pocket as well. So, then you’re decreasing a lot of the stress that comes with less money because if you’re doing light duties, ACC tops you up. So, it’s better all round, even though you may have a slightly decreased productivity for a while. Again, you’ve got a more engaged worker, increased productivity, and less stress on other workers in the team.”
Based on data from the third-party administration giant, the most common injury type in the last 12 months was lumbar sprain, which made up nearly 35% of the pie representing workplace injuries at Gallagher Bassett’s clients. Coming in second and third, respectively, were shoulder and upper arm sprain (11.66%) and ankle sprain (9.79%).
Understanding the trends, said Kant, will assist in minimising workplace injuries.
She pointed out: “Once you know what your important trends are, and you’re looking at what’s causing it, you can put more into place to try and prevent it… If you’ve got commonly occurring injuries, you can look at what’s happening and you can start putting stuff in place, making your employees more aware, all those injury prevention programmes that you start to look at, instead of just saying, ‘We’re going to decrease our injuries’, and then not knowing how to do it.
“If you actually look at it, and you look at the data very carefully and you look at how it’s happening, then you can have a more targeted programme that actually may work as opposed to just putting something in place that makes you feel like you’re doing something but actually isn’t helping.”
“And under the Health and Safety Act,” added Kant, “you also have to keep your staff as safe as practically possible. So, that’s another angle that if it was a bad injury or death, and you have not done everything you can to prevent it, then as a business or employer, you can get prosecuted for not carrying out your duty of care.”
