Insurers: Are You Ignoring The Risk Of Psychological Worker Injury At Your Own Peril?

The physical safety of employees is paramount to the operation of any workplace. Recently though, employers, claims handlers and employees themselves have increased their focus on psychological safety, what it means within the context of workplace wellbeing and managing risk.

Risk & Insurance​® spoke with industry experts across the spectrum to discuss the types of psychological hazards that most often affect employees and what employers can do to mitigate these risks.

Psychological hazards take many forms, including serious chronic illnesses like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). More commonly though, depression, burnout and anxiety due to workplace change and conflict are endemic.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly one in five Americans suffers from a mental illness, which was nearly 46.6 million people in 2017.

However, only about half of people with a mental illness of any kind receive treatment.