Over the past twenty years there has been a slow, but inexorable change in the nature of ‘work’. The transformation has been from a nation of employees doing things with their hands, to a nation of workers who spend most of their working life sitting behind a screen inside an office. This is a generalisation of course, but the change has been subtle and profound. Where once someone was on the factory floor welder in hand building refrigerators, today that person is behind a computer which controls robots on the production line.

This change is reflected in the nature of worker’s compensation claims. A psychological injury claim was non-existent twenty years ago. The vast bulk of injury claims were what we call ‘frank’ injuries – back, leg, finger, and so on. As we have become a nation of ‘office’ workers, we now have far more contact with other people. And with that contact comes many benefits – a sense of being part of a team – companionship – friendship. However, when problems develop in those inter-personal relationships things can unravel very quickly. I will return to this situation later.

As well as this change in the nature of work there has been a revolution in people’s understanding of the nature and importance of psychological injury / trauma. Gone are the days when soldiers fought in wars where they witnessed unspeakable horrors and were then sent home with little more than a slap on the back for a job well done. The penny has dropped with the general public that the impact of psychological trauma can be far more devastating that dealing with something like a rotor-cuff tear.

Some people can work in any environment and never have anything bother them. They do their job, they adapt and adjust to changes in personnel, management and work tasks, and never seem to have any problems. If they have a disagreement or dispute, they find a way to somehow sort it out and move on.

Then there are the employees who can become deeply disturbed by incidents /events in the workplace. These can be major issues or even seemingly little things which can escalate into a crisis or intractable conflict in the workplace. The problems experienced by this employee, whether real or imagined, justified or unjustified, can have a massive impact on productivity, morale and harmony in the workplace.

It’s always preferable to be proactive rather than reactive, and so I believe that one of the things that management can do is to be alert to potential personnel problems. Very often, it starts with something small, a seemingly petty dispute, a coarse comment, an ungracious remark, and from there it escalates into the most ferocious conflict imaginable. This employee may make a claim for psychological injury, or bullying, or harassment. The conflict can seem to drag on forever. So often when we investigate psychological injury claims we see situations which you feel would never have developed if only someone in the company had said a kind word, or tried to help by doing nothing more than listening to someone.

Contact the Brosnans Investigations team Australia-wide on 1300 55 44 78 or click here now to book an investigation online.

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