Recent research and data on mental health in the workplace suggests that one in five Australians over the age of 16 will experience a mental illness at least once in their lifetime.
Whilst this statistic may seem already alarming, we are only seeing an increase in the number of stress and anxiety workers compensation claims lodged over the past few months. This is due to the significantly challenging conditions to which workplaces have had to adapt as a result of the ongoing pandemic and the uncertainties it has brought in terms of employment stability.
Psychological injuries have become a major concern for employer across Australia due to the negative impact they can have businesses in terms of workplace culture, absenteeism and financial costs.
- 7,200 Australians are compensated for work-related mental health conditions, equating to around 6% of workers’ compensation claims, and approximately $543 million is paid in workers’ compensation for work-related mental health conditions.
In contrast to claims of a physical nature, mental health claims are quite hard to diagnose and manage and often result having a much greater financial impact on businesses in terms of Premiums as shown below on the most recent statistics release by icare.
- The average cost associated with a mental health claim is amount to approximately $104K whilst the average costs associated with a physical claim amount to $29K
- The average duration of mental health claims is 209 days in contrast to physical claims which typically resolve in 47 days
- Every year 7,200 Australians are compensated for work-related mental health conditions, equating to around 5% of workers’ compensation claims
- Approximately $543 million is paid in workers’ compensation for work-related mental health conditions (psychological injuries) every year
Source: ICare, Safe Work Australia
Title: Mental Health Claims Impact on Businesses
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