Introduction
The topic selected for the research project is “the impact of stress-related injuries on employee-return to work outcomes.” Work-related stress has emerged to be among the most common occupational-related health problem and has been reported to affect the health and well-being of employees (Woods & Matthewson, 2021). Work-related stress comprises a pattern of emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and physical reactions to adverse and harmful aspects of work content, organization, and work setting. It is a health condition characterized by increased agitation and distress, and feelings of not coping.
The topic is relevant to the injury management process since injuries associated with work-related stress and other conditions have cost employees and businesses billions of dollars as a result of increased levels of absenteeism, loss of productivity, and poor quality of work alongside increased insurance premiums (Page & Tchernitskaia, 2014). Work-related stress and other conditions, such as depression acquired at work, can affect both workers and their employers since they are most unlikely to return to their previous places of employment after experiencing a traumatic incident due to the memories and symptoms of avoidance, which accompany the injury (Schwartz et al., 2020). Most employees are left in a vicious cycle when the anxiety and depressive symptoms keep them away from their places of work, and absenteeism from work can keep them from overcoming the problem.
Review of Related Literature
The definition of stress has contributed to much confusion in mainstream literature (Mahfouz, 2020). This literature review explored the experiences of workers affected by work-related stress and the effects of the psychological implications on their abilities to return to work (Prang et al., 2016). Four main themes were identified during the study: frustration, depression, discrimination, and challenges in comprehending how employees’ compensation system operates and in obtaining care. The literature review suggested that various interventions and rehabilitation programs coupled with psychological interventions can assist employees injured by work-related stress to return to work.
A systematic literature review used EBSCOhost and full text as the search criterion. The search terms applied comprised “injured-employee-experiences,” “injured employees and psychosocial factors,” and “stress-related injuries and return to work.” Based on the literature reviewed, it is evident that employees injured due to work-related stress and other conditions share the same experiences toward a return to work, which affects many aspects of their performance and the organization’s productivity (Cancelliere et al., 2016). Besides, frustration with several aspects of return to work was an overarching theme.
Qualitative researchers reported that frustration is a common experience among employees injured due to work-related stress. This could stem from retraining and unsatisfying tasks after returning to work, which usually contributes to feeling valued. Most injured employees reported being unwilling to be retrained if the new areas were unrelated to their previous duties (Cullen et al., 2018). Due to changes in the assigned tasks, frustrations may also arise within the family or community setting. Since the injured employees are no longer the sole breadwinners of their families because they are out of work, they may feel a burden to their families and communities.
The stress linked to the family and lifestyle changes and dealing with employers and the compensation systems has been described as “too much to bear” (Shaw et al., 2020). Some workers report that their health and well-being are affected due to the daunting claims process; hence, they feel stress. Besides, some injured employees experience depression, negatively affecting their ability to return to work following work-stress-related injuries (Joyce et al., 2016). Some factors significantly related to depression comprise time away from work due to work-stress-related injury.
The link between the Chosen Topic to the Course Content
There is a link between the selected topic, “the impact of stress-related injuries on employee employee-return to work outcomes,” and the key aspects of the injury and disability management course content. First, in the course content, it has been explained that different types of work-related injuries harm workers and employees. Thus, stress-related injury management and appropriate to return-to-work programs make sense from different perspectives, and such intervention strategies are ever-increasing in frequency as both workers and employers have understood and recognized their benefits (Cancelliere et al., 2014). The topic is also linked to the course content since there are several compelling reasons for employers to establish and implement effective workplace injury management and return-to-work programs. The availability of injury management and intervention programs can lead to a safer workplace setting, hence minimizing and alleviating the likelihood of other workplace-related injuries, which could contribute to employee absenteeism or time lost from the job.
A Potential Focus for Further Research
A potential focus for further research is to investigate workplace response to work-related injuries or disabilities. The significance of the proposed research on the injury management process is that despite several return-to-work programs available, very minimal evidence exists of what can be considered to constitute an optimal workplace response to occupational injury or disability (Durand et al., 2014). Nevertheless, from the review of relevant literature coupled with the ongoing qualitative studies, it is necessary to focus on supportive workplace policies that support workplace response to injuries or disability.
Conclusion
Workplace stress-related injuries place immense demands on employees’ physical and mental health and ultimately affect their behavior, performance, and relationships with other co-workers. Therefore, understanding how to manage and control the factors contributing to injuries related to stress at the workplace is important to managing employees effectively. Therefore, to effectively manage injuries related to stress at the workplace, employers should focus on deploying a systematic approach to identifying the risks associated with stress and other conditions at the workplace, such as carrying out a stress risk assessment. This will ensure that work-related stress is addressed and dealt with effectively by including an understanding of different types of stress common at the workplace, issues associated with the injuries, effective treatment modalities, and promotion of an early return to work where practical.
References
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Cancelliere, C., Kristman, V. L., Cassidy, J. D., Hincapié, C. A., Côté, P., Boyle, E., … & Borg, J. (2014). A systematic review of return to work after mild traumatic brain injury: results of the International Collaboration on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Prognosis. Archives of physical medicine and Rehabilitation, 95(3), S201-S209. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003999313010691
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Joyce, S., Modini, M., Christensen, H., Mykletun, A., Bryant, R., Mitchell, P. B., & Harvey, S. B. (2016). Workplace interventions for common mental disorders: a systematic meta-review. Psychological medicine, 46(4), 683-697. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/workplace-interventions-for-common-mental-disorders-a-systematic-metareview/2AD6672BE73FB23B329DC9EED4E11985
Mahfouz, J. (2020). Principals and stress: Few coping strategies for abundant stressors. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 48(3), 440-458. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1741143218817562
Page, K. M., & Tchernitskaia, I. (2014). Use of motivational interviewing to improve return-to-work and work-related outcomes: a review. The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling, 20(1), 38-49. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/australian-journal-of-rehabilitation-counselling/article/use-of-motivational-interviewing-to-improve-returntowork-and-workrelated-outcomes-a-review/80CD1A0B031336EE1CFBDB86231DD2D7
Prang, K. H., Bohensky, M., Smith, P., & Collie, A. (2016). Return to work outcomes for workers with mental health conditions: A retrospective cohort study. Injury, 47(1), 257-265. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020138315005495
Schwartz, A. M., Wilson, J. M., Boden, S. D., Moore Jr, T. J., Bradbury Jr, T. L., & Fletcher, N. D. (2020). Managing resident workforce and education during the COVID-19 pandemic: evolving strategies and lessons learned. JBJS Open Access, 5(2). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7408274/
Shaw, W. S., Main, C. J., Findley, P. A., Collie, A., Kristman, V. L., & Gross, D. P. (2020). Opening the workplace after COVID-19: what lessons can be learned from return-to-work research? Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 30, 299-302. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10926-020-09908-9
Woods, M, & Matthewson, M.L. (2021). Managing and mitigating suffering in the return-to-work process. Frontiers. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.805855
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