Are mental health problems a workplace injury? Yes, according to a recent study. In fact, they are the most common workplace injury.
The report by Atticus, a workers' compensation and disability benefits company headquartered in Los Angeles, revealed that mental health issues make up 52% of all workplace injury cases, more than any other kind.
"It makes people think about mental health differently, that you could consider a mental health issue, maybe an injury," said Dan Schawbel, a workplace expert who is not connected to the study. "And maybe we should consider or think about the importance of disability insurance and what that covers."
The study drew on non-fatal injury data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, fatal and catastrophic injury data from OSHA, and Google Trends data on workplace-related injuries. It ranked US states based on workplace safety and also drew on an Atticus survey of 1000 workers.
The study found that 1 in 10 workers experience mental health issues related to their jobs and those issues are more common than other kinds of workplace injuries. For example: mental health issues are 10 times more common than chemical exposure and almost nine times more common than head injuries.
Dr. Emily Anhalt, clinical psychologist and co-founder of Coa, which helps clients strengthen mental health programs, said this isn’t a surprise given that employees increasingly rely on cognitive, rather than physical, abilities to do their jobs. "Then add to that," she said, "we've just been through this insane pandemic where everyone's in survival mode, and we're sort of coming up for air and processing everything we've been through."
Anhalt added that it's in a company’s best interest to prioritize psychological well-being. She pointed out that insurance companies, which once placed little priority on preventative care, now appreciate that "it costs more money to fix a ... problem than to prevent one."
"I think what's happening is we're reaching this inflection point with mental health," she added, "Where companies, people, corporations, insurance companies, everyone is starting to understand that it costs more for our culture and society to fix mental health problems than it would to prevent them and to help people having better mental health in a proactive way."
Dan Schawbel, a workplace researcher, meanwhile, recommended that companies create a culture in which employees feel comfortable talking about their mental health issues.