Putting a price on trust
Increasing the levels of trust in the system could save millions of dollars in compensation, rehabilitation costs and lost time.
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Lydia works for a furniture store, Couches R Us. The staff have a great relationship with their manager Carlos. He takes safety seriously; once a month, all staff attend a safety refresher session. One day, as Lydia lifts a futon, she feels pain shoot through her lower back. Lydia goes straight to Carlos, as he has urged her to do in the past. Carlos tells Lydia he is worried about her. He sends her home, advising her to go see a doctor. Medical costsLydia visits her regular GP, who she has known for several years. She makes it clear that getting back to work is her top priority. The GP points out the benefits of self-management, including light exercise and a healthy diet. He ultimately recommends that Lydia take two weeks off and prescribes pain tablets. Aware of the doctor’s positive reputation, the claims agent accepts the recommendation without question.
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Jenny works at a rival store, Furniture Inc. She was briefly trained on safe lifting when she first started. However, her manager Diana gets impatient when work is not done fast enough. Jenny is stacking boxes when she feels a pain in her lower back. Scared of being yelled at, she finishes her shift before telling Diana about the injury. Diana just rolls her eyes. She tells Jenny to get a doctor’s certificate to prove her story. Medical costs Jenny sees a new GP. Worried that the doctor will not think her symptoms are a big deal, she emphasises the intensity of her pain. The doctor recommends six weeks off work and opiates. Suspicious, the claims agent asks Jenny to see another doctor. At the second appointment, Jenny is so scared of being labelled a liar that she only talks about her limitations. The doctor sends her to a surgeon, who suggests a spinal injection. Jenny agrees, hoping to stop the now constant aching in her back.
Costs:
Compensation costs Jenny spends weeks recovering from the injection. As she recovers, she realises the pain has not gone away. She remains off work for months, becoming demoralised. The pain seems to be getting worse as she spends day after day sitting on the couch. The doctor suggests she see a psychologist but the claims agent loses this paperwork. When the counselling finally starts, it seems to help. However, Jenny no longer trusts the insurer. She is reluctant to report progress in case the insurer cuts her treatment short.
Costs:
Employer costs The claims agent insists Jenny return on restricted duties, even though Jenny panics at the thought. Her colleagues are bitter about their increased workload and call Jenny a slacker behind her back. Jenny takes up full-time hours in a bid to placate her co-workers. A few months later, Diana fires Jenny from the store. At the end of her tether, Jenny goes to see a lawyer. He recommends suing Furniture Inc. for unfair dismissal and negligence because of their inadequate training.
Costs:
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Total cost: $2,245 |
Total cost: $58,760 |
Lydia experienced a system with high levels of social capital. The doctors, insurers and return to work mangers co-operated to achieve the best results possible. Initial investments in Lydia’s wellbeing, like Pilates classes, lead to long-term savings. Crucially, Lydia felt trusted, meaning she was more trusting in turn.
Jenny, on the other hand, experienced a system with very little social capital. Everyone involved suspected every other party of being purely self-interested. Lack of co-operation lead to delays and disputes. Negative experiences amplified Jenny’s negative emotions, until she felt abandoned by the system and sought legal help.
These cases may be at the opposite end of the spectrum. Everything went right for Lydia and badly wrong for Jenny. Yet such scenarios play out every day in Australian compensation systems.
Significantly, these cases impact on future behaviour. Jenny’s doctor sees a bad outcome for his client and blames the system. Next time a compensation case comes across his desk, he’s less co-operative. Jenny’s manager sees the exorbitant cost of the claim. The next employee with a work injury faces an even less sympathetic manager.
In this way, single negative experiences can have far-reaching effects on social capital in the system.
Poor return to work rates suggest our current system produces too many Jennys. It costs little to build social capital: some additional training, fair practices and extra effort from everyone involved. Yet this small investment in building trust could save millions in costs throughout the system.