The document summarizes research conducted on a pilot evaluation of an integrated health and safety program called the Work Well Program implemented at a healthcare charity organization. The program aimed to address high workers' compensation claims and costs related to psychological distress among employees. The research found that the program was effective in reducing absenteeism, workers' compensation claims numbers and costs, and average time away from work. However, the impacts on health, safety and productivity were mixed based on survey responses and lack of detailed workplace data. Key strategies from the integrated program that can benefit other organizations include joining health, safety and HR functions to address worker issues, and providing early support to prevent claims and keep workers healthy.

1. A pilot evaluation of the Work Well Program: An integrated
approach aiming to bring the ‘health’ back into work, heath
& safety
Kristy Trudgett
Master of Ergonomics, Safety & Health
La Trobe University
kristyleetrudgett@gmail.com
Ph. 0425 405 690
1

2. 1. Summarise research I conducted regarding an integrated program in the
healthcare sector as part of my Research thesis
2. Provide a summary of an integrated approach to health and safety in
psychological injury prevention and management
3. Look at the relevance of my research findings, and of an integrated
approach to WHS to the Australian workplace context
4. Look at the key strategies and key tools arising from my study of this
approach that can be used in Australian businesses.
2Kristy Trudgett – ph: 0425 405 690
Outline

3. o The Organisation is a ‘Healthcare & Social Assistance’ sector charity based in
Victoria, with 1400 workers (combination of employees and contractors)
o 100% of its employees who reported psychological distress ended up
submitting a Workers’ Compensation claim
o The Organisation implemented an integrated health and safety intervention
with the assistance of an external party, in an attempt to address the high
claims numbers and poor return to work outcomes.
o The board considered the high claims costs and resulting insurance
premiums a problem as they were preventing The Organisation from merging
two separate charities operating under the same barrier.
3Kristy Trudgett – ph: 0425 405 690
Background to The Organisation
& the problem

4. o Pilot evaluation of the intervention to determine its value to The Organisation
and its workers.
Research questions:
1. What is the effectiveness of the program in reducing the impact of
psychological distress on workers (employees and contractors) at The
Organisation in its Gippsland region?
2. What is the effectiveness of the program on health, safety and productivity
at The Organisation?
3. What are the barriers and facilitators to the sustainability of the program at
The Organisation?
4Kristy Trudgett – ph: 0425 405 690
The Research Questions

5. o A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods were used:
Quantitative
o Online survey to workers in one region – NHEWSS
o Analysis of workplace data – incident reports, Workers’ Compensation Claims
cost data, absenteeism (both Workers’ Compensation-related and non
Workers’ Compensation related)
Qualitative:
o 8 semi-structured interviews to key internal managers (5), and external
facilitators (3).
5Kristy Trudgett – ph: 0425 405 690
Study design

6. 6Kristy Trudgett – ph: 0425 405 690
Study design
Literature review
Online survey to operational
workers in Gippsland
Semi-structured telephone
interviews
Compare, contrast &
interpret; and relate to the
existing literature.
Workplace data

7. o An externally-managed program to which workers were referred for support /
resolution of issues related to health; either work-related or non work-related.
o Group programs were recommended if health and safety trends were noticed,
however these had not been implemented at the time of the research.
o The external contractors have a blend of skills. They are all trained Health
Professionals with experience in occupational rehabilitation, and they have further
experience in human resources, industrial relations and dispute resolution.
o The aim of the program from the perspective of The Organisation was to support
workers to stay at work, and where feasible to reduce the number and duration of
Workers’ Compensation claims for financial reasons.
o Commenced in May 2013, firstly in The Organisation’s Gippsland region
7Kristy Trudgett – ph: 0425 405 690
The program

8. Integrated, and not traditional
8Kristy Trudgett – ph: 0425 405 690
Theoretical background
underpinning the design of the program
Integrated: Traditional:
Global paradigm shift especially since 2004.
A comprehensive approach to WHS with the
following features (Black, 2008):
• Integrate the previously separate siloes
• Balances health protection and promotion
• Redresses the disparity health / wellbeing
have suffered compared to safety
• Active involvement from leaders and
workers
• Foster communication at every stage
• Continuously improve
• Recognise the impact of non-work related
contextual factors on WHS
• Sustainable / embedded.
• Focus more on safety than
health (“Safe” Work Australia,
“Safety” Institute of Australia)
• Focus on health protection
rather than health promotion
• Siloed approach of safety, HR,
occupational health and health
promotion (Stuckey,
Macdonald & Kinahan, 2014)

9. 9Kristy Trudgett – ph: 0425 405 690
Three notable models reflecting the
integrated approach
1. WHO’s Healthy Workplace Model (2010)
2. NIOSH’s Total Worker Health™ (2011)
3. Harvard SafeWell (2012)

10. 10Kristy Trudgett – ph: 0425 405 690
Findings – workplace data
1.1 Absenteeism

11. 11Kristy Trudgett – ph: 0425 405 690
1.2 Average days to first RTW

12. 12Kristy Trudgett – ph: 0425 405 690
1.3 Total hours worked vs
Workers’ Compensation costs paid

13. 13Kristy Trudgett – ph: 0425 405 690
1.4 Average days paid 2011-15
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
July 2011 to
June 2012
July 2012 to
June 2013
July 2013 to
June 2014
July 2014 to
June 2015
Dayspaid
Financial year July 2011 to June 2015
Tipping Group, All Victoria: Average days paid (Days paid
divided by total claims)
Average days paid
(Days paid divided by
total claims)
Time period when
WWP was
operating in
Gippsland.
Sources: Tipping Group (2016a)
& Gallagher Bassett (2015a, b).

14. o The program was defined by all
interviewees as a proactive and fast-
responding intervention which aimed
to support a worker experiencing
challenges to his / her health or
wellbeing
o Comments were overall very positive
regarding the program’s impact on the
Organisation’s absenteeism and
claims costs. Some concerns
expressed were:
o Some saw the need for such a
program being as indicating
inadequate internal skillsets or
systems, eg within the HR team
14
Findings:
2. Interviews
o Some suggestions that the program was used by managers instead of
handling workers’ issues themselves

15. o 18 respondents (6.64%), therefore cannot draw conclusions.
o Findings indicated that the group perceived a number of psychosocial hazards
relating to their work:
o Half of all respondents indicated they were concerned about losing their jobs
o Respondents felt that their workmates were more willing to support them than
their supervisors
o Very few respondents believed they had the information or equipment required
to do their work
o 64.7% indicated that they had been bullied at work over the previous 6 months
o One respondent indicated that he/she had been sexually harassed by a service
user
o All respondents indicated that their work was stressful, with 47% indicating that
their work was either ‘very stressful’ or ‘extremely stressful’
o Difficult to draw conclusions from the small sample size, however these
findings suggest that not all psychosocial hazards are being addressed by The
Organisation.
15Kristy Trudgett – ph: 0425 405 690
Findings
3. Online survey

16. 16Kristy Trudgett – ph: 0425 405 690
“What is the effectiveness of the program on
health, and on reducing the impact of
psychosocial distress at The Organisation?”
o Supports, resources, demands, autonomy and control are often identified as
modifying factors that can influence whether an individual experiences
psychological ill health and wellbeing or psychological distress (Karasek, 1975,
p.285).
o Almost two thirds of the online survey participants indicated that they had a
bullying issue.
o Online survey data suggested that people perceive their supervisors are better
at encouraging them than supporting; which may indicate a lack of emotional
support and a reactive way of dealing with issues. They indicated that they
have some resources, more equipment than information. They reported some
autonomy, more over how they do their work than when.
o Interview participants indicated that assisting workers to deal with stress was
one of the purposes of the program, however 41.67% of online survey
participants indicated that their jobs were “very” or “extremely” stressful.
o Therefore there is mixed evidence about the impact of the program on health
and psychological distress at The Organisation.

17. 17Kristy Trudgett – ph: 0425 405 690
“What is the effectiveness of the WWP on
safety at The Organisation?”
o It was hoped that workplace incident data could be used to analyse any safety
trends prior to and since the program. However, the term ‘incident’ was defined
by The Organisation as anything from a ‘report-only’ to a ‘lost time injury’
o The average number of incidents reported for the 2013 and 2014 calendar
years was higher (34.42 incidents reported per month) than for 2015 (27.27
incidents reported per month)
o Information not useful without data broken into hazards; near misses; first aid
only; medical treatment injuries, and lost time injuries
o Interview participants mentioned that the WWP dealt with safety-related factors
such as manual handling. Based on this anecdotal information the WWP has
had some impact on safety at Tipping Group. However it is not possible to
triangulate this information with workplace data due to the poor quality of the
available workplace data.

18. 18Kristy Trudgett – ph: 0425 405 690
“What is the effectiveness of the program on
productivity at The Organisation?
o Staff turnover, absenteeism, and Workers’ Compensation data were the
measures of interest used as proxies to assess productivity in this study.
o ‘Turnover for all reasons’ suggested dropped across Victoria at the time of the
program’s introduction.
o Clear reductions in Workers Compensation claim numbers, their cost and
injured workers’ time away from work.
o Reduction sick leave taken compared to total hours worked in Gippsland
o The interview and workplace data findings suggest that productivity
improvements occurred at a similar time to the introduction of the program.
o However, findings which are contrary to this claim are that online survey
participants reported difficulties finding time to do their work, and high
workloads.

19. Research findings relevant to a
WHS systems approach

20. 20
So what?
How is this relevant to me & my workplace?
o Joining forces between WHS and HR to address the reasons for a worker’s
difficulties working can be useful.
o Focusing just on issues within the workplace that are affecting the worker has
limited utility and blindsides other issues. This approach was reported as be
more effective than traditional OR with reports that OR had been ineffective in
dealing with complex psychological injury claims.
o Providing support to workers at an early stage can pay back ten fold. In this
research a number of respondents said that they did not see there was any
way to get help with the difficulties they were having other than to submit a
Workers’ Compensation Claim. Providing support outside a claims process
may not only prevent claims but keep your workforce healthy and productive.
o Physical safety has traditionally been the key focus of harm reduction – rightly
so as we don’t want workers to come to harm. However threats to
psychosocial safety can have equal impact on a worker and need to be
addressed if we are to fulfil our legislative requirements to provide a healthy
and safe workplace.
o Should aim on addressing the psychosocial stressors in your workplace rather
than focusing on individual coping skills.

21. 21
How do I implement this type
of approach?

22. Thank you!
Questions?
22Kristy Trudgett – ph: 0425 405 690

23. o Aldana, S. G., Anderson, D. R., Adams, T. B., Whitmer, R. W., Merrill, R. M., George, V., & Noyce, J. (2012). A
review of the knowledge base on healthy worksite culture. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine,
54(4), 414-419.
o Benavides, F. G., Benach, J., Diez-Roux, A. V., & Roman, C. (2000). How do types of employment relate to health
indicators? Findings from the Second European Survey on Working Conditions. Journal of Epidemiology and
Community Health, 54(7), 494-501.
o Black, C. M. (2008). Working for a healthier tomorrow: Dame Carol Black's review of the health of Britain's working
age population: presented to the Secretary of state for health and the Secretary of state for work and Pensions.
London: The Stationery Office.
o Harvard School of Public Health. (2012). SafeWell Practice Guidelines: An Integrated Approach to Worker Health
Version 2.0. Retrieved from
http://centerforworkhealth.sph.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/safewell_guidelines/SafeWellPracticeGuidelines_Com
plete.pdf.
o Karasek, R. A. (1979). Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: Implications for job redesign.
Administrative science quarterly, 24, 285-308.
o Kinahan, J. & Casey, M. (2014, November). Redesigning a Workplace Injury Management Program. PowerPoint
presentation at the International Forum on Disability Management, Melbourne.
o NIOSH. (2012). Research Compendium: The NIOSH Total Worker Health™ Program: Seminal Research Papers
2012. (Publication No. 2012–146). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2012-146/.
o NIOSH. (2015). Total Worker Health™. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/programs/totalworkerhealth/.
o NIOSH. (2013). What is Total Worker Health™? Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/TWH/totalhealth.html.
o Riley, P. (2015). The Australian principal occupational health, safety and wellbeing survey. Retrieved from
http://www.principalhealth.org/au/2015_Final_Report.pdf.
23Kristy Trudgett – ph: 0425 405 690
References
Continued…

24. o Safe Work Australia. (2012). Work-related traumatic injury fatalities, Australia 2010-11. Retrieved from
http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/swa/about/publications/pages/traumatic-injury-fatalities-2010-11.
o Stuckey, R., Macdonald, W. & Kinahan, J. (2014, September). An OHS paradigm shift is needed to improve
workers' health as well as safety. PowerPoint presentation at the 5th ICOH-WOPS Congress, Adelaide.
o Verkuil, B., Atasayi, S. & Molendijk, M.L. (2015). Workplace bullying and mental health: A meta-analysis on cross-
sectional and longitudinal data. PloS one, 10(8), e0135225.
o Victorian Auditor-General’s Office. (2015). Victorian Auditor-General’s Report: Occupational violence against
healthcare workers. Retrieved from http://www.audit.vic.gov.au/publications/20150506-Occ-Violence/20150506-
Occ-Violence.pdf.
o Warr, P. (2007). Searching for happiness at work. Psychologist, 20(12), 726–729.
o Westgaard, R. H., & Winkel, J. (2011). Occupational musculoskeletal and mental health: significance of
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o World Health Organization. (2010). Healthy workplaces: A model for action. Retrieved from
http://www.who.int/occupational_health/publications/launch_hwp_22april.pdf?ua=1.
24Kristy Trudgett – ph: 0425 405 690
References