Aug 7, 2019 | Workers' Comp
Workers’ compensation provides coverage for injured workers’ lost wages and medical expenses.
Originally posted on Property Casualty 360 by Patricia L. Harman.
Worker’s compensation is administered at the state level – all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have their own programs, as does the federal government for its employees. It is designed to provide coverage for injured workers’ medical costs, pay them for lost work time and even cover death and funeral benefits if necessary. Approximately 75% of workers who file a claim only require medical benefits coverage and benefits for replacement wages are determined by the severity and length of the workers’ disability. Benefits usually begin following a brief three to seven-day waiting period.
In order to file a claim, there are four eligibility requirements that must be met:
- The worker must be an employee of the company where the workers’ compensation claim will be filed.
- The employer must carry workers’ compensation insurance for employees.
- The injury or illness must be work-related.
- The employee must comply with the state’s deadlines for reporting the injury and filing a workers’ compensation claim.
Workers’ compensation provides six types of benefits:
Temporary total disability — This benefit covers approximately two-thirds of a worker’s pre-injury wages (tax-free) until the worker is able to return to work. The benefits end when the employee resumes full-time employment. The majority of employees receiving these benefits return to work.
Temporary partial disability — This benefit is paid to workers who return to work with reduced responsibilities and a lower salary and helps offset the loss in salary.
Permanent total disability — While few workers’ compensation cases result in permanent total disabilities, this coverage applies when an injury results in permanent impairment or the worker has reached his or her maximum for medical improvement from the injury.
Permanent partial disability — When an employee has permanent impairments that do not completely limit his or her ability to work, the permanent partial disability benefit kicks in until the employee has accomplished maximum medical improvement. These benefits are generally limited to a specific period or total dollar limit.
Death benefits — For workers who pass away from a work-related injury or illness, compensation for death benefits is based on a formula that calculates the worker’s earnings and the number of dependents who are determined to be eligible survivors.
Medical benefits — For workers whose cases do not extend beyond the three to seven-day waiting period, only medical benefits are paid.
Filing a claim
“The workers’ compensation system in the United States was built on a ‘grand bargain’ between employers and employees,” explains Desiree Tolbert-Render, Sedgwick AVP of national claims tech compliance. “Injured employees and their dependents gave up the right to sue their employers in civil court in exchange for assured and specific benefits, regardless of fault, provided by the employer. The employee’s rights and responsibilities under workers’ compensation, as well as the requirements and procedures for filing a workers’ compensation claim can vary from state to state.”
When a worker is injured, he or she should notify the employer as soon as possible, especially since each state has different timeframes for filing. By promptly filing a report, the injured employee can receive any necessary medical treatment sooner and the employer can address any safety issues to prevent additional injuries to co-workers.
Tolbert-Render shares some do’s and don’ts for injured workers considering filing a workers’ compensation claim:
- Do file a claim on a timely basis.
- Do take time to review the important information about your rights, responsibilities, benefits, and assistance available to you sent by the claims examiner and the state workers’ compensation agency.
- Do be honest and upfront about the injury and any prior injuries or accidents to the affected body parts.
- Do communicate with the employer and the claims adjuster about your medical status and work status to avoid delays in receiving benefits and the necessary medical treatment.
- Do follow the doctor’s orders.
- Do work within the established restrictions.
- Don’t delay in filing a claim.
- Don’t discontinue medical treatment before being released.
- Don’t work outside of the established restrictions.
- Don’t seek medical treatment from unauthorized providers in those states where the employer can manage medical care.
- Don’t delay returning to work and resuming a productive lifestyle.
In 2016, there were approximately 2.9 million work-related illnesses and injuries reported or approximately 2.9 cases per 100 full-time employees according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Interestingly, the areas of finance and insurance saw a slight increase in the number of illnesses and injuries, while the construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade and retail industries saw significant declines.
According to the federal government, benefit payments totaled $61.9 billion in 2015, a 1.3% decrease from 2014. Medical payments accounted for half of that spend, totaling $31.1 billion, while payments for lost wages were $30.7 billion.
Jul 3, 2019 | Workers' Comp
Originally posted on Metropolitan Risk by Charlotte Ulehla.
What is a return to work evaluation form?
Employers can provide their employees with a return to work evaluation form to give to their physician when the employee suffers a work-related injury. The form can facilitate communication between the treating physician and employer as to the employee’s status and capabilities. Many employers miss this step.
We encourage employers to send the physician the employee’s current job description AND a job description for an alternative duty position for which the injured employee might be eligible.
What is the importance of a return to work evaluation form?
It’s difficult to action plan the claim and get the employee back to work when there is no clear understanding of the employee’s injury AND job duties. This form along with the job description helps establish the baseline so all stakeholders can work in concert. This will get the employee back in some productive capacity.
Why should an employer provide this evaluation form?
If an employee is injured, they may not be able to perform their original duties. This return to work evaluation form helps the employer create accommodations enabling the employee to come back to work at the best of their ability.
A frequent (and very costly) mistake employers make is bringing the worker back too fast without having them medically cleared to perform their duties. We recently had an employer tell us their worker was injured playing softball for his recreational team on his own time. The employer never noted the incident formally in their employment records creating an incident. Further, they never had the employee medically evaluated to see how severe the injury may have been. Nor did they have the employee medically cleared to come back in the same capacity. Instead, he took a day off, came back to work too early. Sadly, he threw his back out on the job further, exacerbating the injury. Had the employer properly recorded the incident and had the employee fill out an injury form this would not have become a comp claim.
The original injury was non-compensable as it did not occur at work. It became compensable when he returned to work too early and made the injury worse. Following proper procedures and utilizing a return to work evaluation form would have gone a long way in preventing this type of situation from occurring.
What’s the impact on your workers’ compensation premiums by using a return to work evaluation form?
It creates a formal process around employee injuries that accomplishes several cost savings benefits:
- Prevents employees from coming back to work too soon. This saves you from driving up injury rates and costs as the injuries usually become worse.
- Facilitates very productive communication between treating physician, the injured employee and your company’s HR staff person.
- The goal after every employee injury is to get them back to work in SOME capacity as quickly as possible. This cuts down on the ultimate cost of the claim. Too often we see employers simply file the workers’ comp claim with their carrier then walk away and go back to their regular scheduled programming. Then their experience modification factor gets re-calculated which may result in significant workers compensation premium surcharges.
Can employees abuse the return to work evaluation form?
Employees can abuse this only if the employer allows it to happen.
If the employer:
- Meets with the injured employee every 10 days to check in on their healing progress
- Makes it clear that the accommodations aren’t temporary
- Allows open communication to provide the best accommodations and transition phase possible
- Follows up with the physician
There should be no possible chance that the employee would abuse the return to work evaluation form. Truthfully, we see far more abuse when employers have no form and no process for getting the worker back on duty.
Jun 26, 2019 | Workers' Comp
Originally posted on Business Insurance by Angela Childers.
Costly catastrophic claims are emerging in the workers’ compensation sector, partly driven by comorbidities and prescribing of expensive brand-name drugs, experts say.
Comp payers must quickly identify seemingly innocuous claims that have the potential to balloon out of control and proactively work to mitigate those costs, they say.
More than 80% of medical costs in workers comp are for claims between $10,000 and $500,000, according to Boca Raton, Florida-based National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. And although overall comp claims are declining, the number of claims exceeding $10 million in comp jumped to 10 in 2016, according to NCCI, compared with just four during the prior year.
While catastrophic injuries affect those figures, comorbidities, lower-body fractures, back strains, and shoulder injuries can also lead to substantial claims in some cases, experts say.
Comorbidities, such as hypertension and diabetes, can increase the cost of an injury that seemed to be a $30,000 to $40,000 claim to six or seven figures, said Anita Jovic, vice president of operations at Home Care Connect LLC in Winter Park, Florida, which provides home health services for injured workers.
“The injured worker may not know they have an underlying diagnosis,” she said. “For instance, in a crushing injury, if you find out (the worker has) diabetes, that claim balloons. The patient may have a wound that may not be healing as quickly … that prolongs the care.”
“Comorbidities, in general, are something we keep at the forefront of our purview,” said Helen Froehlich, the vice president of case management services for Wayne, Pennsylvania-based Genex Services LLC. “What I have seen have a drastic impact on our claims has been very consistently high blood pressure, obesity and adult-onset diabetes. Being aware of where comorbidity is, whether it has a direct potential impact on that individual case … is imperative.”
Patchez Pirtle, the director of catastrophic services for Owings Mills, Maryland-based Restore Rehabilitation LLC, said she’s seen pelvis fractures, heel fractures, and rotator cuff injuries grow into very expensive claims.
Those injuries don’t “necessarily set off alarm bells, but do tend to become very expensive claims,” she said. Often complications from those types of injuries aren’t realized until the employee has been sitting home for months on pain medications, making it more difficult to get that claimant going in the right direction.
Brand-name medications can be a big concern, said Dan Anders, an attorney, and chief compliance officer for Tower MSA Partners in Delray Beach, Florida, which specializes in Medicare set-asides in workers compensation.
“If there’s a brand-name medication … that comes out during the course of their treatment that the doctor thinks is the next wonder drug, it gets placed on the claim and drives up the cost,” he said. “Opioids, for the most part, are available as generic and may not be too pricey, but it’s the long-term effects … they require a lot more management by a physician, which means more visits, and tend to have side effects. The side effects can increase such that there are more medications being prescribed that are nonopioids to deal with those side effects.”
Injuries like back strains or shoulder trauma, which at the outset seem like a standard claim, can also become catastrophic claims because if the initial treatment doesn’t work, “brand-name medications are prescribed and then pain management escalates into a psychiatric issue,” Mr. Anders said.
The key is identifying which claims could escalate, including those driven by expensive medications, said Amy Bilton, shareholder at Nyhan, Bambrick, Kinzie & Lowry P.C. in Chicago. For example, one of her current cases involves a man in his 20s who had a previously asymptomatic condition become symptomatic due to his exposure to fumes at work, ultimately leading to renal failure. His monthly infusion drug, Soliris — which was the only treatment option — costs $1 million a month. However, she said they’re constantly looking to see if any new drugs or treatment options are in the works.
“This is obviously an extreme example, but that’s what a lot of these (high cost) cases come down to — extreme examples,” she said.
Tracy Ryan, chief claims officer of global risk solutions at Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., said in the past 10 years the company has used a predictive model for claims it designates as “slow developing medical” to help identify these types of expensive claims earlier. The model looks at medical bills, comorbidities, pharmaceuticals, and treatments, and by combing through that data constantly, it can send an alert to the claims adjuster to review it before the costs potentially soar.
“We have seen significant reductions that we associate with putting that model in place, and the ability to get nurses on those files sooner, engage with doctors, talk about treatment plans … it’s an area that is always important because (these types of claims) can look innocuous at the beginning.”
Warning signs that a claim may require more scrutiny may also be evident. “You can see the writing on the wall when a worker goes in and asks for an opioid by name — you know you’re in trouble,” said Ms. Bilton. “And intuition is super important. If you feel like the claim could go bad, treat it as if it’s going to.”
Another key is maintaining a “settlement mindset” from the day the claim is filed, according to Mr. Anders, and ensure that you’re clearly communicating with the worker and getting medical case management early on in the claim.
“You should be thinking about what should be addressed in that claim to ensure, of course, that the injured worker gets the treatment that they need, that the treatment doesn’t go beyond what’s reasonable, and that you’re not paying for treatment that’s unrelated to that injury,” said Mr. Anders.
Jul 11, 2018 | Informative, Workers' Comp
Employees must do their part to ensure they get enough rest to perform their work duties, experts say.
Fatigue is “not always the employer’s responsibility,” said Bill Spiers, Charlotte, North Carolina-based vice president, unit manager and risk control strategies practice leader for Lockton Cos. L.L.C.
Wellness initiatives have been catching on to that way of thinking, helping to explain to employees the importance of sleep because much of the fatigue can be caused by factors outside of work, he said.
“The interesting thing is fatigue really hits that bridge between wellness and safety that companies have been struggling (to link) for many years,” said David L. Barry, Kansas City, Missouri-based national director of casualty risk control and senior vice president in the risk control and claims advocacy practice for Willis Towers Watson P.L.C.
Fatigue awareness needs to be a part of employer culture, said Emily Whitcomb, senior program manager for the Itasca, Illinois-based National Safety Council. “You want to make sure your employees understand fatigue is a hazard… push them to prioritize seven hours of sleep.”
Other issues such as employee mental health and diet and exercise also come into play when it comes to adequate rest, said Mr. Spiers.
“We are not robots — we are human beings,” he said. “With human beings, you have physical and mental things” occurring outside of work, he said. “You can’t just isolate one thing.”
“A lot of times it’s just having a good conversation” with employees, said Mr. Barry.
May 25, 2018 | Informative, RIsk Management News, Workers' Comp
1. Layoffs
A first question of course is who should be laid off. While this is largely a management decision based on which positions are the most important to future financial stability, an important HR component is making sure that the layoffs don’t put the organization at risk. Check the personnel handbook for policies that address layoff and/or severance pay, and check to see whether employees marked for layoff are on any kind of protected leave (such as family or medical leave, workers’ compensation leave, or pregnancy disability leave). If possible, speak with an HR or labor law attorney about employees on protected leave.
In most community nonprofits there aren’t, for example, 15 people holding the same position of Social Worker I, with an intention to lay off 3 of these employees. In such an instance, though, it will be important to clarify whether the layoffs are being made based on seniority, on merit, or on a combination of factors. Most organizations would prefer to lay off the least meritorious individuals with the least seniority. The nonprofit should check past evaluations and documentation of performance in order to avoid discrimination claims. For most community nonprofits, however, it will be clear that a position is being eliminated, rather than an individual being selected for poor performance. In all cases, document the whys of each decision you make, perhaps with business necessity as the main theme and with merit and seniority as considerations.
A few specific tips:
- Determine whether your organization is subject to either federal or state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) regulations. Generally applicable if you have 100 or more employees, and for layoffs of 50 or more employees or 1/3 of your workforce, WARN requires 60-day layoff notices and other steps.
- It’s generally better to do a deeper layoff once than to lay off a few people at a time in dribs and drabs: the staff who remain need to feel confident that they will stay on their jobs.
- Most professionals recommend that individuals finish the day or the week after hearing about being laid off, but not longer than that. It’s usually difficult for the laid off employee to feel positive about work, and others may feel awkward around them. (See Layoff Stories from Blue Avocado Readers for examples.) But it will be key to discuss how the employee’s clients or projects will be managed after his or her departure.
- Letting people know on a Friday will give them the weekend to absorb the news.
- Have a FAQ (frequently asked questions) sheet for people who will be giving layoff news, such as what references can be given, how long the employee will have access to his organizational email account, how will her clients be notified of a change in organizational contact, and so forth.
- Give layoff information face-to-face. Don’t tell the employee how hard this is on you. Give the employee a chance to ask questions. Let them know how long their insurance benefits will continue, that they will be receiving the required COBRA (option to continue their health insurance), and unemployment insurance information. Tell them what other support the organization can provide them (such as employment references, severence pay and so on). Employees should also receive most of this information in a formal letter. (We’ve posted a sample layoff letter as a guide.)
- After layoffs have been announced, managers may be tempted to retreat to their offices and look buried in work, but encourage them to circulate with the staff, ask and answer questions, and demonstrate confidence.
Temporary layoffs, furloughs, and temporary shutdowns
Nonprofits tend to consider only permanent layoffs. Sometimes short-term layoffs can be effective ways to save jobs while protecting the organization’s financial status. For example, there may be an unexpected two-month gap between the completion of one government contract and its renewal. In the past, your organization may have been able to keep paying the individuals on that contract during the gap, but this time you may need to lay them off, letting them know that if the renewal comes through they may be called back within several weeks. However, check your state laws to see if you are required to pay out all accrued vacation if you close down for a week or more. We know of at least one nonprofit charged with violating such a requirement that had to pay substantial fines and penalties before it reopened its doors two weeks later.
A furlough is specified unpaid leave, such as workweeks reduced by one day, or months reduced by two full days each. Typically employees request the days they would like to use for their furloughs. In effect, furloughs change full-time positions into slightly part-time positions for non-exempt staff. Some furlough tips:
- Exempt employees cannot be paid for less than a full week if they have worked any day that week (remember that obscure definition of the workweek in your personnel handbook?), so furloughs don’t reduce payroll costs for exempt staff. What you can do, however, if you are furloughing exempt staff for one day per week, is to reduce their full-time salaries by 20%.
- Be clear whether employees will continue accruing vacation and receiving benefits at their full-time levels (typically yes), and whether an employee taking a furlough on a holiday will still be paid for the holiday (typically no).
- Keep in mind that some international staff on H1-B visas may need to work a certain number of hours a week to be eligible to work in the United States.
- Remind employees whose wages are being garnished or who have deductions for child support that these amounts may be affected.
Some nonprofits pick a slow week (perhaps Fourth of July week, school spring vacation, etc.) to close down. Closing for a full week allows the organization to save on both exempt and non-exempt payroll (remind exempt employees that they cannot do any work that week — even checking their work email — lest they trigger a legal requirement to pay them for the full week). Some employees may find this a relatively easy cut to accept, but for others, even a one-week closure may result in a loss of pay that is untenable. Give employees the option of using their accrued vacation pay during the shutdown or taking the week off as unpaid leave, otherwise you may be required to pay out all accrued but unused vacation.
Finally, remember that many, many nonprofits (and for-profits) are feeling the pinch. Reach out to contacts in other nonprofits to see how they’re handling things, and to identify local resources for people losing their jobs. And post a Comment below to let Blue Avocado readers know your ideas and tips.
Source: Blue Avocado
Author: Pamela Fyfe
Oct 4, 2017 | Blog-All, Workers' Comp
According to the World Health Organization, mental health is described as: “a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stress of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” But the World Health Organization’s definition applies only to part of the population.
At any given time, one-in-five American adults suffer from a mental health condition that impacts their daily lives. Stress, anxiety, and depression are among the most prevalent for injured workers. Left untreated they can render a seemingly straightforward claim nearly unmanageable, resulting in poor outcomes and exorbitant costs.
Increasingly, many in our industry are recognizing the need to proactively do all we can to address this critical issue. We must openly discuss and gain a deep understanding of a subject that until now has been taboo.
Four prominent workers’ compensation experts helped us advance the conversation on mental health in the workers’ comp system during a recent webinar. They were:
- Bryon Bass, senior vice president for disability, absence, and compliance at Sedgwick
- Denise Zoe Algire, director of managed care and disability for Albertsons Companies
- Maggie Alvarez-Miller, director of business and product development at Aptus Risk Solutions
- Brian Downs, vice president of quality and provider relations at the Workers’ Compensation Trust
Why it matters
Mental health conditions are the most expensive health challenges in the nation, behind cancer and heart disease. They are the leading cause of disabilities in high-income countries, accounting for one-third of new disability claims in western countries. These claims are growing by 10% annually.
In addition to the direct costs to employers are indirect expenses, such as lost productivity, absenteeism, and presenteeism. Combined with substance abuse, mental health disorders cost employers between $80 and $100 billion in these indirect costs.
In the workers’ comp system, mental health conditions have a significant impact on claim duration. As we heard from our speakers, these workers typically have poor coping skills and rely on treating physicians to help them find the pain generator, leading to overutilization of treatments and medications.
More than 50% of injured workers experience clinically-related depressive symptoms at some point, especially during the first month after the injury. In addition to the injured worker himself, family members are three times more likely to be hospitalized three months after the person’s injury. Many speculate that the distraction of a family member leads the injured worker to engage in unsafe behaviors.
Mental health problems can affect any employee at any time and the reasons they develop are varied. Genetics, adverse childhood experiences and environmental stimuli may be the cause.
The stress of having an occupational injury can be a trigger for anxiety or depression. These issues can develop unexpectedly and typically result in a creeping catastrophic claim.
One of our speakers relayed the story of a claim that seemed on track for an easy resolution, only to go off the rails a year after the injury. The injured worker, in this case, was a counselor who had lost an eye after being stabbed with a pen by a client. Despite his physical recovery, the injured worker began to struggle emotionally when he finally realized that for the rest of his life he would be blind in one eye. Because his mental health concerns were raised one year after the injury, there were some questions about whether he might be trying to game the system.
Such stories are more commonplace than many realize. They point out the importance of staying in constant contact with the injured worker to detect risk factors for mental health challenges.
Challenges
Mental health conditions — also called biopsychosocial or behavioral health — often surprise the person himself. Depression can develop over time and the person is not clued in until he finds himself struggling. As one speaker explained, the once clear and distinct lines of coping, confidence, and perspective start to become blurred.
In a workers’ comp claim, it can become the 800-pound elephant in the room that nobody wants to touch, talk about or address. Organizations willing to look at and address these issues can see quicker recoveries. But there are several obstacles to be overcome.
Stigma and social prejudice are one of the biggest challenges. People who do realize they have a problem are often hesitant to come forward, fearing negative reactions from their co-workers and others.
Depictions of people suffering from behavioral health issues in mass media are often negative but are believed by the general public. Many people incorrectly think mental health conditions render a person incompetent and dangerous; that all such conditions are alike and severe; and that treatment causes more harm than good.
As we learned in the webinar, treatment does work and many people with mental health conditions do recover and lead healthy, productive lives. Avoiding the use of negative words or actions can help erase the stigma.
Cultural differences also affect the ability to identify and address mental health challenges. The perception of pain varies among cultures, for example. In the Hispanic community, the culture mandates being stoic and often avoiding medications that could help.
Perceptions of medical providers or employers as authority figures can be a deterrent to recovery. Family dynamics can play a role, as some cultures rely on all family members to participate when an injured worker is recovering. Claims professionals and nurses need the training to understand the cultural issues that may be at play in a claim, so they do not miss the opportunity to help the injured worker.
Another hurdle to addressing psychosocial issues in the workers’ comp system is the focus on compliance, regulations and legal management. We are concerned about timelines and documentation, sometimes to the extent that we don’t think about potential mental health challenges, even when there is clearly a non-medical problem.
Claims professionals are taught to get each claim to resolution as quickly and easily as possible. Medical providers — especially specialists — are accustomed to working from tests and images within their own worlds, not on feelings and emotional well-being. Mental health issues, when they are present, do not jump off the page. It takes understanding and processes, which have not been the norm in the industry.
Another challenge is the fact that the number of behavioral health specialists in the country is low, especially in the workers’ comp system. Projections suggest that the demand will exceed the supply of such providers in the next decade. Our speakers explained that with time and commitment, organizations can persuade these specialists to become involved.
Jurisdictions vary in terms of how or whether they allow mental health-related claims to be covered by workers’ comp. Some states allow for physical/mental claims, where the injury is said to cause a mental health condition — such as depression.
Less common are mental/physical claims, where a mental stimulus leads to an injury. An example is workplace stress related to a heart attack.
“Mental/mental claims” mean a mental stimulus causes a mental injury. Even among states that allow for these claims, there is wide variation. It typically hinges on whether an “unusual and extraordinary” incident occurred that resulted in a mental disability. A number of states have or are considering coverage for post-traumatic stress among first responders. The issue is controversial, as some argue that the nature of the job is itself unusual and extraordinary, and these workers should not be given benefits. Others say extreme situations, such as a school shooting, is unusual enough to warrant coverage.
What can employers do
Despite the challenges, there are actions employers and payers are successfully taking to identify and address psychosocial conditions.
For example, Albertsons has a pilot program to identify and intervene with injured workers at risk of mental health issues that are showing promise. The workers are told about a voluntary, confidential pain screening questionnaire. Those who score high (i.e. are more at risk for delayed recoveries) are asked to participate in a cognitive behavioral health coaching program.
A team approach is used, with the claims examiner, nurse, treating physician and treating psychologist involved. The focus is on recovery and skill acquisition. A letter and packet of information are given to the treating physician by a nurse who educates them about the program. The physician is then asked to refer the injured worker to the program, to reduce suspicion and demonstrate the physician’s support.
Training and educating claims professionals is a tactic some organizations are taking to better address psychosocial issues among injured workers. The Connecticut-based Workers’ Compensation Trust also holds educational sessions for its staff with nationally known experts as speakers. Articles and newsletters are sent to members to solicit their help in identifying at-risk injured workers.
Ongoing communicating with the injured worker is vital. Asking how they are doing, whether they have spoken to their employer when they see themselves returning to work are among the questions that can reveal underlying psychosocial issues. Nurse case managers can also be a great source of information and intervention with at-risk injured workers.
Changing the workplace culture is something many employers and other organizations can do. Our environments highly influence our mental health. With the increased stress to be more productive and do more with less, it is important for employers to make their workplaces as stress-free as possible.
Providing the resources to allow employees to do their jobs and feel valued within the organization helps create a sense of control, empowerment, and belonging. Helping workers balance their workloads and lives also creates a more supportive environment, as does provide a safe and appealing workspace. And being willing to openly discuss and provide support for those with mental health conditions can ensure workers get the treatment they need as soon as possible.
As one speaker said, “By offering support from the employer, we can reduce the duration and severity of mental health issues and enhance recovery. Realize employees with good mental health will perform better.”
Source: PropertyCasualty360
Photo: Shutterstock
