YET another study has shed light on increasing levels of stress being experienced by workers across a range of jobs.
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Job-related stress is surging across Victorian workplaces with alarming numbers of compensation claims for psychological injuries being approved weekly.
In the past it used to be cuts, bruises and other physical injuries that made up the lion’s share of comp claims, but that has now been overtaken by mental-health disorders.
Fairfax Media yesterday obtained WorkCover data that showed the average individual compensation payout for psychological injuries had soared from $73,000 in the 2008/9 period to almost $90,000 in the past financial year.
The most high-profile mental-health based case in recent times was the $1.3 million awarded to teacher Peter Doulis who suffered severe mental stress because of his job teaching unruly students at a western suburbs school.
Mental health group beyondblue says the increase in claims is partly a result of heavier workloads and increasing job insecurity but also because the stigma around suffering stress or mental illness has been reduced in recent years.
Clearly, there is a message in this new data for employers who think they can run roughshod over their workforces and get away with it without paying a heavy price.
It is not the case and unscrupulous employers can expect the number of claims to steadily increase unless some significant work is done to create workplaces that are mentally healthy.
A workplace that is mindful of the issue and values its workers’ mental health will be more successful in the long run than one that is not.
It works both ways — if an employee is happy at work, productivity and engagement will surely increase.
The problem for many businesses since the GFC is that things aren’t what they used to be and employers are trying to do the same, or more, with fewer people.
It doesn’t work, it usually results in expensive catastrophe and can not only ruin businesses but people’s lives.
There has to be a better way.