Spotlight on work-related chronic pain
On the occasion of Healthy Workplace Month, designed to prevent workplace accidents and work-related chronic pain, Hrjob.ca decided to look into the case of Nova Scotia. The province is experiencing difficulty managing occupational diseases. According to the current provincial law on compensation for workplace accidents, chronic pain is not eligible for compensation. This means that hundreds of incapacitated or suffering employees end up having to go back to work, with the inevitable result that productivity tumbles. The situation is complex and human resources managers are at a loss. Irene Campbell-Taylor, clinical neurologist and consultant for the Cape Breton Injured Workers’ Association*, explains.
How is work-related chronic pain handled in Nova Scotia?
Most files claimed for non-payment are refused in Nova Scotia. Why? An absurd law, the Nova Scotia Workers’ Compensation Act, which has a unique definition for chronic pain that is totally different than that of all the other provinces. It stipulates that all chronic pain with a medically proven cause is not eligible for compensation. And yet workers and employers are not aware of this particularity. Even if employees do file a compensation claim, if it is refused, they let it go and return to work, to the detriment of their health, even their lives!
What difficulties do employers in Nova Scotia face with respect to this situation?
In Canada, six billion dollars are attributed to the loss in productivity of people suffering from chronic pain and illness. And Nova Scotia is particularly hard hit, because it is home to some of the country’s most hazardous industries—mining and forestry in particular are very harmful to health.
This law forces employees to return to work without an improvement in their condition; they are therefore not at the top of their game and, in these situations, employers experience losses in productivity of 45%. The problem is hence much more related to presenteeism than absenteeism!
You say that presenteeism is a problem. Can you explain how?
In most cases, if employees could take one to four weeks of leave, they would come back in good shape. But the current situation is that their problems pile up and ultimately lead to chronic pain. People who are suffering and are forced to work are subject to repetitive absences in most cases. Accordingly, companies experience high turnover and not insignificant costs to hire temporary employees and pay for employees on sick leave.
It would be a lot cheaper for companies to grant leaves before the problem worsens rather than forcing employees to return to work at any price. Unfortunately, human resources managers do not have a choice in the matter—they must follow the guidelines of the Workers’ Compensation Board, otherwise pay penalties.
In this capacity, what is the role of the Workers’ Compensation Board?
In principle, the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia is a system of compensation for workers, to which companies pay premiums. In reality, however, companies still need to shell out 100% of the expenses required to treat a worker who is injured or gets sick on the job, in addition to the premiums paid to the Compensation Board. The Board recommends that employers transfer employees to other positions, so that they return to work quickly, but putting a miner with back pain in an office doesn’t make sense. The pain just gets worse, not to mention the growing frustration of not being able to work in one’s chosen occupation.
How would you improve this situation?
The most important thing today is to help employees go back to work healthy. They should not be excluded from the job market, nor forced to work in pain, but helped to treat themselves to then go back to their jobs. A nurse with back pain will often prefer treatment allowing her to take up her duties, instead of being transferred to an administrative position in an office.
The entire system must therefore be overhauled, and it is imperative to amend the provincial health protection and workplace accident legislation. To do this, all the key players in Nova Scotia need to agree on the problem, including CEOs, the Workers’ Compensation Board, human resources managers, health experts and workers’ associations, who need to sit down at a round table.
*Irene Campbell-Taylor gave a talk titled “Chronic Pain: Absenteeism vs Presenteeism” at the HRANS dinner meeting in Cape Breton on October 16, 2008
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A primer on chronic pain
Chronic pain is pain that persists, continuing for six months after an injury and not improving within the normal recovery time. Back pain and depression are some of the most frequent types of chronic pain. The issue with work-related chronic pain is proving that the pain is caused by on-the-job activity.