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Buddies in bad times? the role of co-workers after a work-related injury
Agnieszka Kosny1, Marni Lifshen, Diana Pugliese
1Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. agnieszka.kosny@monash.edu
Introduction:
Co-workers can play an important role after a work-related injury. They can provide details about the circumstances of an accident, offer emotional support to the injured worker and help with job tasks upon a co-worker's return to work (RTW). Working with an injured co-worker, however, can also strain work relationships and increase workload. The purpose of this study was to determine the role that co-workers play after a work-related injury and during the RTW process in the unionized, electrical construction sector.
Methods:
We conducted two focus groups with injured electricians and union representatives. We also interviewed co-workers who had worked with someone who had been injured in the course of employment. We examined the role that co-workers can play after a work-related injury and some of the factors facilitating and hindering co-worker support.
Results:
The structure of work in the electrical sector-a focus on cost-cutting and competition, job insecurity, perceptions of "different camps" among co-workers, little modified work and poor formal communication-can impede co-worker support and contribute to making injured workers' experiences difficult. Management can play an important role in setting an example for how injured workers are regarded and treated.
Conclusions:
Future research should explore how workers can better be supported after a work-related injury and during the RTW process.
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