Gallup Study: Informed and Involved Equals at Work, Out of Court

Call it the halo effect, when a single positive act permeates an entire experience and significantly alters its outcome. In the complex world of workers' compensation, the simple act of communication - before and after a workplace injury - can have just such an effect.

According to a national Gallup Organization study of injured workers commissioned by Intracorp, workers who said they received pre-injury communications from their employers about workers' comp policies and procedures were more satisfied with their treatment, recovery and return to work. They also returned to work sooner and were less likely to see a lawyer.

Conversely, workers who received no prior communication (nearly 4 in 10 respondents) were out of work longer, had significantly lower satisfaction levels and were more likely to seek out a lawyer. The study also showed that employers' communication efforts and demonstrations of concern after an injury positively impact injured worker satisfaction.

"This study further reinforces the need for all of us - employers, providers and managed care organizations - to begin thinking of injured workers as a primary customer in the workers' comp equation," says Maddy Bowling, Intracorp senior vice president of workers' compensation managed care. "The attitudes and experiences of injured workers significantly impact case outcomes and costs. Yet we rarely focus on the actual consumer of workers' comp services in our industry research, product development or communication efforts."

This is the second study of injured/ill workers underwritten by Intracorp, the national managed care services company. The firm conducted a similar survey of injured worker experiences in 1994. According to Bowling, Intracorp's objectives for the research were to better understand injured/ill workers' needs and experiences, as well as the factors that drive satisfaction, return to work and litigation.

For the most recent study, Gallup randomly contacted more than 8,500 workers in 10 states (California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas) by phone. Approximately 48 percent of the U.S. population between the ages of 18 and 65 resides in these states, which were selected for their diversity of workers' compensation environments. From this sample, Gallup interviewed 514 workers who had experienced job-related injuries or illnesses within the past three years.

Employers boost programs, reduce outreach
Among the key differences between the '94 and '97 study findings were a jump in the number of employers offering prevention and return-to-work programs, and a drop in the frequency of worker contact after an injury or illness. In the current study, 52 percent of respondents said their employers offer prevention programs (up from 43 percent in '94), and 41 percent said that return-to-work programs were available (compared to 33 percent in '94). Where no return-to-work programs existed, workers were twice as likely to be out of work one month or longer.

Meanwhile, only 32 percent of respondents said their employers had kept in touch with them during their recovery period, a significant drop from the 50 percent reported in '94. When employers do stay in contact, workers have shorter recovery periods and are less likely to speak with a lawyer.

"These findings suggest that employers are increasingly likely to understand the need for injury prevention and return-to-work programs in workers' comp," says Dr. Robert Schussel, vice president and managing research director, The Gallup Organization, Chicago. "However, in the process, employers are forgetting the 'human element' - letting injured workers know that they are concerned about their recovery and return to work."

Injured workers open to provider recommendations
The study points to a number of opportunities for employers, such as "channeling" injured workers to providers who are specialists in the area of occupational health.

Only 19 percent of respondents said their employers recommended doctors or hospitals to use when they became injured or ill, even though 76 percent viewed such recommendations as positive or neutral. When recommendations were provided, nine in 10 followed them. Provider recommendations were even more sought after by injured workers who had received no prior communication about the workers' compensation process (one in three vs. one in four who had received prior communication).

"This finding represents a huge opportunity, especially when you think about all of the energy our industry spends lobbying for the ability to channel injured workers," notes Bowling. "Very few employers are making provider recommendations, yet workers are open to it and research has proven that workers' comp outcomes are most positive when treatment is provided by occupational health specialists with track records of achieving positive, sustained return-to-work results."

According to Bowling, specialty providers use their occupational health knowledge and experience with disability management to set employees' return-to-work expectations up front, instead of letting the workers themselves determine when they're ready to return to the workplace. "Injured workers have a vested interest in receiving the best-possible care and returning to work quickly. We need to do a better job with them."

Additional study highlights
Among the other significant study findings:

Injured or ill workers were far less satisfied with their employers (58 percent) than with their physicians (77 percent) or their medical care (71 percent). Those who were less satisfied with their employers were more to become litigious.

Getting care quickly was a problem for more than half of the survey respondents, who said they had to wait longer than one day to be seen by a doctor. There is a direct correlation between how quickly injured workers are seen and how long they are likely to be out of work.

A surprisingly large number of respondents, 17 percent, said their workers' comp providers could not provide information about how their injury would affect their ability to perform their jobs. When providers could not provide this information, workers were more likely to be out of work a month or longer and were more likely to contact a lawyer.

Only 61 percent of respondents said they had enough information throughout their workers' comp experience. They want more information in areas such as their workers' comp program (57 percent), how to speed up recovery (50 percent) and their medical condition (49 percent).

When asked about their top concerns after being injured, respondents ranked medical concerns No. 1 (37 percent), followed by financial concerns (24 percent) and how long they would be out of work (21 percent).

Of all injuries, backs were the most common (25 percent), followed by broken bones (11 percent) and cuts (10 percent). The most commonly called illnesses were stress (45 percent) and allergies (17 percent).

The most common profile for injured workers were men in the labor sector who have not completed college. Newer workers were more likely to sustain work-related illness or injury, with workers employed less than four years representing 45 percent of all injured or ill workers.

For a free copy of the Injured Worker Study Report, contact Intracorp at 215-761-7144.