Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Foundation for Mental Health, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Work. 2023;75(4):1361-1377. doi: 10.3233/WOR-211315.
In Europe it is commonly accepted that psychosocial hazards may influence the mental health of employees. However, mental disorders such as depression are generally not acknowledged as an occupational disease covered by the workers compensation system. Studies indicate that workers compensation claim processes may affect employee's health negatively due to a demanding case process. If filing a workers' compensation claim can harm the employees' health, it is highly relevant to pay attention to employees with mental health claims, as they are most likely vulnerable and face a very low chance of compensation.
This study investigates how employees with work-related mental disorders experience the process of seeking workers compensation from the Danish Workers' Compensation System.
Interview (N = 13) and questionnaire (N = 436) data from claimants were analysed.
Analysis showed that even though many employees wished for the claim to influence the conditions at the workplace, there seemed to be a lack of preventive health and safety initiatives in the workplaces. Central stakeholders such as health and safety representatives were often not involved. Management involvement was often experienced negatively, and the Danish Working Environment Authority rarely conducted workplace inspections. Employees experienced inadequate information about the workers' compensation process and experienced a lack of coordination between stakeholders.
A more supportive and coordinated approach in the Workers' Compensation System is recommendable. The processes in the system could be evaluated using the Social Insurance Literacy concept, to ensure sufficient support of the claimants and reduce potential harmful aspects of the process.
在欧洲，人们普遍认为心理社会危害因素可能会影响员工的心理健康。然而，抑郁症等精神障碍通常不被认为是工人赔偿制度所涵盖的职业病。研究表明，由于繁琐的理赔程序，工人赔偿理赔程序可能会对员工的健康产生负面影响。如果提出工人赔偿申请会对员工的健康造成伤害，那么关注有心理健康索赔的员工就显得尤为重要，因为他们很可能很脆弱，获得赔偿的机会很低。
本研究调查了与工作相关的精神障碍员工如何从丹麦工人赔偿制度中寻求工人赔偿。
对索赔人进行了访谈（N=13）和问卷调查（N=436）。
分析表明，尽管许多员工希望索赔能影响工作场所的条件，但工作场所似乎缺乏预防性的健康和安全措施。健康和安全代表等核心利益相关者往往没有参与。管理层的参与往往被负面体验，丹麦工作环境管理局很少进行工作场所检查。员工对工人赔偿程序的信息了解不足，并且利益相关者之间缺乏协调。
建议在工人赔偿制度中采取更具支持性和协调性的方法。可以使用社会保险知识概念评估该系统中的流程，以确保对索赔人的充分支持，并减少该过程中潜在的有害方面。
