Safe Work Australia has published a new snapshot exploring the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on employees returning to work after an injury or illness.
Launching its snapshot Returning to work during COVID-19, Safe Work said it provided valuable insights for workers’ compensation authorities and other key stakeholders about what it was like for workers making a return to work during the pandemic.
It said the snapshot was based on findings from the 2021 National Return to Work Survey summary report.
“[The Survey] asked 1,620 workers about their experience in recovering from an injury and returning to work during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Safe Work said.
“Responses were mixed with 78.9 per cent injured workers responding that the COVID-19 pandemic had ‘not much’, ‘not at all’ or a ‘neutral’ impact on their return to work while 20.2 per cent of respondents said that it had impacted them ‘somewhat’ or a ‘great deal’,” it said.
“Those with musculoskeletal conditions and mental illness claims were more likely than other workers to respond that COVID-19 had impacted their recovery with 24.2 per cent of those with a musculoskeletal condition and 27.2 per cent of those with a mental illness claim responding either it had impacted a ‘great deal’ or ‘somewhat’.”
Safe Work said respondents were also asked about the ways COVID-19 affected their recovery and return to work.
It said workers were able to select multiple responses, with ‘COVID-19 limited my access to social and family support’ (47.3 per cent of respondents) and ‘COVID-19 limited my access to treatments’ (40.7 per cent of respondents) being the most frequent.
“The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic was most felt in injured workers aged 35-44 and 45-54 with 24.5 per cent and 25.2 per cent reporting that COVID-19 had affected their return to work,” the Agency said.
“The largest impacts on workers from COVID-19 on their return to work were limited access to social and family support, limited access to treatments and limited access to mental health support,” it said.
“Those with a physical injury reported these COVID-19 impacts at a much lower rate than workers with a psychological injury.”
Safe Work said despite the overall negative influence of the pandemic there were some positives, with 18.3 per cent of workers with a psychological injury and 20.3 per cent with a physical injury reporting that the COVID-19 pandemic positively impacted their recovery.
However, it said only 11.2 per cent of workers reported that the pandemic made their return to work easier.
“This proportion was even lower for those with a psychological injury,” Safe Work said.
Safe Work’s four-page snapshot can be accessed at this PS News link.
