A report on workplace trends in which workers lodge claims for suffering from mental health issues has revealed they have increasied since 2015-16.
In its annual report Psychosocial health and safety and bullying in Australian workplaces, Safe Work Australia updates data from accepted workers’ compensation claims arising from mental stress, specifically those arising from workplace bullying and harassment.
The Agency said the annual Report was established in response to a recommendation from the 2012 House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Employment report Workplace Bullying: “We just want it to stop”.
“The frequency rate (claims per 100 million hours work) of mental stress claims declined from 2002-03 to 2015-16, before rising again in recent years,” Safe Work Australia said.
“The rate for harassment and/or bullying claims has increased over the same period reaching 17.5 claims per million hours worked in 2018–19,” it said.
“The 2018–19 rate is likely to be higher once claims numbers are finalised.”
Safe Work Australia said the trend data provided one indicator of the psychosocial health and safety status of Australian workplaces over time and should be interpreted with caution.
It said changes to jurisdictional legislation and an increased willingness to report and claim for work-related mental stress would have influenced the number of claims over the reporting period.
According to the Agency the data showed that while mental stress claims only made up a small proportion of overall claims, the associated time lost and costs were significantly higher compared to those observed for all workers’ compensation claims.
“The frequency rates of workers’ compensation claims for harassment and/or bullying and exposure to workplace or occupational violence made by female employees were more than twice the rates of these claims made by males over the three years 2016–17 to 2018–19 combined,” it said.
“Similarly, the rate for claims made by females relating to work pressure was almost twice that of similar claims made by males.”
Safe Work Australia said occupations with a higher risk of exposure to work-related harassment and/or workplace bullying included Miscellaneous Clerical and Administrative workers; Defence Force members, Firefighters and Police; and Miscellaneous Labourers.
It said industry groups with the highest rates of claims for work-related harassment and/or workplace bullying included Public Order and Safety services; Residential Care services; and civic, professional and other interest group services.
Safe Work Australia’s four-page Report can be accessed at this PS News link.
