Analysis looks at uncertainty’s role in worker injuries and mental health

Montreal — A work-related injury followed by a mental health issue, or the other way around: Which is more likely? Two Canadian researchers wanted to find out.

Steve Granger, an assistant professor of management at Concordia University, and Nick Turner from the University of Calgary looked at a number of other studies and tested hypotheses that included:

• There will be a positive association between previous work injuries and subsequent mental health challenges.
• There will be a positive association between previous mental health challenges and subsequent work injuries.
• The positive association between previous work injuries and subsequent mental health challenges will be stronger than the positive association between previous mental health challenges and subsequent work injuries.

“The evidence suggests that the relationship between preceding work injuries and later mental health challenges is more robust than the evidence from mental health challenges to later work injuries,” a Concordia University press release states.

A possible explanation is the uncertainty in illness theory, which dates to the late 1980s. 

“When you experience an injury, you tend to ruminate on it and counterfactually think, ‘What if I hadn’t gone into work that day or not agreed to take on that extra shift?’” Granger said in the release. “These negative cognitions and maladaptive thoughts can exacerbate mental health problems following an injury. These are all fed by uncertainty.”

He and Turner encourage “a stronger focus on psychological rehabilitation alongside existing physical rehab return-to-work programs.”

The study was published online in the journal Personnel Psychology.