Suchergebnisse

AbstractThe role of work environments in employability was examined at approximately 8 months postaccident in a sample of 69 trauma-exposed, injured adults with and without PTSD. Results showed that participants with PTSD reported significantly lower employability than those without PTSD and this translated into significantly poorer return-to-work rates. Two work environment dimensions, low work support and poor organisational structure, were significantly associated with low employability in the sample. Low levels of work support were significantly related to high PTSD symptom severity. A combination of 3 variables, PTSD symptom severity, physical functioning, and workplace organisational structure, accounted for 60% of variation in employability. Interventions in the workplace should aim to minimise and accommodate PTSD symptomatology and physical dysfunction. In addition, this study has also shown that workplace-based interventions should be aimed at clarifying expectations about job tasks, and promoting moderate managerial control in the workplace. These factors should be considered for inclusion as standard disability management practices for this population.

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to explore how employees perceive their organisation's efforts to address the management of stress in their workplaces and to examine differences based on demographic variables of organisational location and size. A convenience sample of 85 people at an international disability management conference completed a Management of Stress in the Workplace Questionnaire. Results of this survey indicated that employees were not positive about their organisations efforts to manage stress in either prevention or rehabilitation activities. Employees from smaller organisations rated their workplace environments more positively than larger organisations. A perceived high incidence of stress in an organisation was negatively related to perceptions about the work environment. Lower perceived levels of stress-related compensation claims were associated with higher ratings of prevention and higher workplace environment ratings. Effective disability management programs need to address a range of individual, organisational and system factors that cause and exacerbate stress injuries. In addition to the provision of a range of prevention and rehabilitation services, it is important that organisations look at ways to improve workplace culture and, by association, job satisfaction and workplace morale.

Abstract
Employability assessment was developed to help claims professionals decide total and permanent disability insurance claims, yet it has not been empirically evaluated. This descriptive study sought formative knowledge about employability assessment from claims professionals working in the multibillion-dollar Australian life insurance total and permanent disability market. Claims assessors (n = 53) and technical advisors (n = 51) responded to a nationwide online survey. Participants found employability assessment was cost effective and very useful in deciding claims. Having an objective, realistic, and clear picture of a claimant's employment prospects was important. Highly rated components of employability assessment included transferable skills analysis; summary of education, training and experience; job match rationale; and labour market analysis with employer contact. Face-to-face claimant interviews were favoured by 56% of participants, particularly when there was legal involvement. Standardised provider training and certification were recommended to improve report quality and withstand scrutiny of the courts. Billing time estimates are higher than extant costs for assessment tasks. More than half (56%) the participants considered rehabilitation counsellors were best qualified to conduct employability assessments. The study findings contribute new knowledge to this emergent field and point to further research into quality and cost of employability assessment, and provider accreditation.

AbstractThis article presents a summary of 10 priorities for the delivery of best practices in psychosocial rehabilitation relevant to the Australian veteran population. The first section interrogates the empirical principles characteristically identified with best practices before presenting an alternative, heuristic framework organised by three reference points and informed by principles of efficacy, external validity, and the meaning of efficacy in the context of parity. The article presents the strategy used in reviewing the literature, before presenting the findings according to 10 key priorities. The 10 priorities are described in the context of the literature informing them and are set out with regard to the centrality of the client-centred service model in the design and delivery of pertinent and effective services into the future.

Over 5 thousand family members and close friends of Australian workers become survivors of sudden workplace death each year. Formal responses following the death are central to surviving families' ability to adapt, yet families' experiences of these responses are unknown. This study used in-depth interviews to explore 7 surviving family members' experiences of formal workplace death mechanisms: postdeath protocols; interactions with employers, unions, media and statutory authorities; stages of legal process including coronial inquests, prosecutions by the occupational health and safety (OHS) regulator, and civil action; and outcomes of judicial proceedings. Participants identified difficulties arising from insensitive treatment by authorities, and significant bureaucratic problems, including a lack of information, communication and support. Systematic research that fully examines families' needs and identifies organisational postdeath protocols is required to advance the management of institutional responses following workplace death and thereby improve outcomes for families.