The most impactful action you can take to support an injured worker is also the simplest

Acknowledgement: Dr Josie Sundin, MBBS FRANZCP Senior Psychiatrist, Chair – Psychiatric Assessment Tribunal.

Caring, supportive, early and regular communication helps injured workers to feel valued and connected to their workplace. It’s one of the most impactful actions you can take to help prevent psychological distress after a work-related injury.

Best practice

Show genuine care and concern for your injured workers.

Reach out, express compassion and offer support as soon as it’s clear they’ll need time away from work.

Express regret and acknowledge the worker has been hurt (this doesn’t equate to admitting liability).

Respect your worker’s preferences for when, how often and by what means you communicate. With their consent, stay in regular touch and maintain their connection to their workplace while they recover.

Why this is important

Workers are connected socially and emotionally to their work and their workplace. Following a physical injury, without access to work they find meaningful and to their workmates, they may feel isolated, abandoned, angry or resentful. These negative feelings can complicate the recovery and return to work process and may evolve into secondary psychological issues.

Showing that you care through early and regular communication helps injured workers feel valued and remain connected to their workplace. Although simple, its impact can be profound, acting as a preventative factor against developing a secondary psychological injury which can delay rehabilitation and return to work.

Workers who feel supported by their workplace and are contacted soon after a work-related injury are up to five times more likely to return to work—which means better health and wellbeing outcomes for injured workers and lower costs for your business.

What actions can I take now?

Let your worker know that you support them.

Ensure you know (and that your worker knows) who’s responsible for keeping in contact during their recovery. This should be someone they know and trust—usually a rehabilitation and return to work coordinator (RRTWC) or their supervisor/manager.

Support your supervisors/managers and RRTWCs to invest in developing their soft skills (also known as people skills or interpersonal skills).

Your communication strategy should include the following steps:

• Make immediate contact: Make an initial call to express genuine care and concern as soon as you are aware of the injury. Find out what help or information the worker needs. Talk to your insurer if you’re unsure how to help.
• Remember, making an apology or expressing regret are not admissions of liability. Simple expressions like ‘I'm sorry you are hurt’, ‘I am sorry that you were injured’, or ‘You have our full support’ offer comfort and connection and are important during recovery.
• Offer free, confidential and independent support services to your worker and business.
• You can contact the Workers’ Compensation Information Advisory Service for Employers.
• You can support your workers by providing them with details of the
• Workers’ Compensation Information Advisory Service for Workers
• Workers’ Psychological Support Service, a service that connects workers experiencing a work-related psychological injury with community services appropriate to their needs.
• Understand and address the hazard that caused the injury: Talk to your injured worker and consult with your workforce to understand the factors that led to the injury. Assess if there are psychosocial hazards that may impact return to work and address them. Let your worker know what steps you’re taking to prevent similar injuries (if applicable). Find out from your worker what matters to them to support a safe return to work.
• Stay in regular contact: Work with your worker and respect their preferences to schedule when and how to stay in touch. Listen actively, convey your genuine care and concern and your ongoing support.
• Encourage team interaction: Invite your injured worker to the workplace for team meetings and social events, even if they are not fit for work. With your worker’s consent, have a trusted colleague reach out to check in on them as well.

Your toolkit

• Refer to the Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice 2022 to return the worker to a psychologically healthy and safe environment.
• Access our psychological health and safety information and resources, including the Mentally healthy workplaces toolkit.
• Revisit our past e-bulletin articles on why It pays to talk and listen and Genuine care and understanding.
• Watch this presentation, featuring Julia Bunn, occupational therapist and founding member of the Australian Rehabilitation Providers Association. Julia covers why early intervention and support is crucial for psychological injuries, and the role of the employer and RRTWC in a rehabilitation and return to work plan for a psychological injury.
• Review your existing communication templates and letters against Safe Work Australia’s national principles for communicating workers’ compensation information to workers, to ensure they are clear, accessible and empowering.
• Read Safe Work Australia’s guide to managing the relationship with an injured or ill worker during return to work for conversation starters and tips throughout a claim journey.