Work contributes to a significant component of an individual’s life; hence ongoing efforts are made to ensure safety protocols protect employees from physical and mental harm. Despite these strategies, more than a quarter of a million Australians lodged a workers compensation claim between 2022 and 2023.
Often overlooked in the management of these claims is the complex interplay between mental and physical health. During a patient’s rehabilitation, accredited exercise physiologists play a significant role in managing these factors to facilitate early work engagement, not only for the injured worker’s benefit, but also for employers and society as a whole.
Key Statistics in Australian Claims 2021/22 show that 127,756 serious claims were lodged with the median time lost being eight weeks. Some 9.2% of claims were directly due to mental health conditions
Work-related injuries can have an impact on employees’ mental health. Workplace injuries can lead to prolonged pain, which can disrupt neurochemical pathways, alter mood regulation, and increase vulnerability to psychiatric conditions such as depression, anxiety and other psychological disorders.
The relationship between pain and mental health is bidirectional, each influencing the other. For instance, mental health conditions can amplify the perception of pain and reduce pain tolerance, while chronic pain can contribute to psychological distress, creating a cycle of mutual reinforcement.
Mental health conditions have also been linked with lower self-efficacy and an external locus of control, which refers to an individual’s lack of confidence in their ability, alongside a belief that they are not in control of their own outcome. This can lead to feelings of helplessness, powerlessness, and inadequacy, which in turn can further exacerbate symptoms of mental health, which has been supported in occupational settings.
Work is often accompanied by a sense of self-worth and can form a substantial part of a person’s identity. Following a workplace injury, the impacts of work-absence may include depression, decreased income and social status, loss of support networks, decreased confidence and self-efficacy
Mental health can also impact return-to-work outcomes. The presence of biopsychosocial factors can prolong recovery times and impact positive return-to-work outcomes. Commonly reported problems such as stress, depression and anxiety lead to delays in an individual’s return-to-work, with a median of 34 weeks off for psychological claims. Research shows that 45 days off work (median time off in Australian models) can lead to a 50% return rate, alongside the worker being less likely to return to the same employer. This rate continues to decrease the longer a person is absent from work.
Exercise & mental health
Exercise is important to reverse the bidirectional relationship between mental health and physical health. Exercise stimulates the release of endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, and other neurotransmitters, which are known as ‘feel-good’ chemicals that help regulate mood, reduce stress and alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression. By improving mental health through exercise, return-to-work outcomes improve and help transition injured workers back to meaningful employment.
Accredited exercise physiologists can empower individuals to self-manage their rehabilitation, which can enhance independence and self-efficacy. This can promote participation in community-led exercise, with research showing that these individuals are less likely to experience psychological distress, which can lead to greater return-to-work outcomes.
Setting and achieving exercise-related goals promotes an internal locus of control while also increasing self-efficacy. When workers experience these improvements, it leads to increased engagement in return-to-work programs, which leads to efficient and effective outcomes.
Key messages
- Poor mental health negatively impacts return to work outcomes
- Exercise aids mental health and promotes positive return-to-work outcomes.
– References available on request
Author competing interests – nil