In Australia, 2 in 5 people have been affected by a mental health condition at some point in their lives, making it more important than ever to employ safeguards to protect your employees psychological health. If a workplace doesn’t adopt early intervention for psychological injuries, it can negatively impact the quality of life for employees. This can lead to more expensive claims for the employer and extended time away from work, resulting in poorer outcomes. A report published by Safe Work Australia on ‘Psychological health and safety in the workplace’ revealed that since 2017-18 the average time lost for work-related psychological injuries was four times greater than those who suffered from physical injuries and illnesses.
Early Intervention PracticesÂ
Early intervention for psychological injuries plays a crucial role in supporting an employee’s wellbeing. The implementation of early intervention practices can contribute to:
- Improved recovery outcomes resulting in less time away and an improved capacity to remain at work.
- Reduction in the occurrence of future absences due to adverse impacts to mental health.
- Foster positive employee opinions about their employer thereby improving their willingness to remain in their current employment.
- Fostering a positive work culture and environment showing a degree of commitment towards an organisation’s employees.
- Reducing the cost of incapacity due to payment of premiums because of the injury.
- Reduction in the indirect cost of incapacity by the employer such as recruitment and training costs associating with the need to replace staff and lost productivity impacting organisational goals.
Early Warning Signs of Psychological Distress
Identifying early warning signs of psychological distress in employees is essential for timely intervention and support. Some key indicators include:
- Reduction in productivity and complaints about workloads with a fixation on specific issues.
- Minimal/reduced participation in work activities and engaging in withdrawal specific behaviours.
- An inability to concentrate with impacts to memory and judgement combined with a loss in confidence in meeting role requirements.
- Reliance on substances as a crutch to assist with difficult emotions experienced.
- Portrayal of physical and psychological signs such as difficulty sleeping, being tired all the time, reduced reaction times and a dishevelled appearance.
What can employers do to promote early intervention services?
It is important that as an employer you implement ways to that you can promote early intervention services to your employees. This may include:
- Ensuring there are policies and guidelines in place for employees showing early signs of psychological distress. This should be provided irrespective of a claim being made.
- Engaging in continuous education with people-managers to be able to identify and adequately respond to a potential psychological injury.
- Engaging in early contact with the employee to offer assistance.
- Engaging and direct employees to mental health experts and early intervention services where appropriate to provide additional support where required. For example, employees can be provided with access to an EAP provider who can provide ongoing support especially during crisis situations.
- In consultation with the employee and the treatment provider assist the employee who has experienced a psychological injury to remain at work. For instance, this could be facilitated through the provision of modified hours or flexible work arrangements.
How we can help
EAP
An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a free, confidential counselling service conducted by a registered psychologist that can be offered to employees. A registered psychologist will provide support by helping them navigate personal or work-related emotional challenges that may be affecting their mental health.
At Recovery Partners we provide an EAP to businesses just like yours. It includes:
- A 24/7 service
- Confidential support
- Conducted either face to face or remotely
- Goal and solution focused support
- Cost competitive services that provides a ROI
Psychological Services
Want to find out more?
Our services are available nationwide. Our consultants love to have a chat, so go ahead and give us a call on 1300 OHS RTW (647 789) or email enquiries@rrp.com.au
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Disclaimer – these articles are provided to supply general safety information to people responsible for OHS in their organisation. They are general in nature and do not substitute for legal and/or professional advice. We always suggest that organisations obtain information specific to their needs. Additional information can be found at https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/Â