Workers’ Compensation Reports and New-Hire Injuries

More than half of all workplace injuries happen to employees with less than two years’ tenure, according to the Workers Compensation Research Institute, which also found that the proportion of new-hire workplace injuries increased between 2017 and 2022. And according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 10% of nonfatal workplace injuries occur during employees’ first three months of employment.

New employees are susceptible to injury, whether they are older or younger.

“At a new company, even if you’ve done the work before, there are new protocols, new equipment,” says Rhea O’Connor, a physical therapist and manager of Team Health at Hackensack Meridian Health. “With everything that’s new, there’s always a risk of injury.”

Younger employees are typically injured for different reasons.

“Especially for those with very physical jobs, the young ones who are strong might not think about the physical demands before doing a task or asking for assistance, increasing the risk of injuring themselves,” O’Connor says.

Other factors contribute to the high proportion of new-hire injuries: Poor-quality safety training during onboarding. Lack of awareness of certain workplace hazards. Taking shortcuts to appear more productive to managers.

Workers’ Compensation Reports Provide Important Information

Companies that analyze data from their workers’ compensation reports can identify trends to determine whether specific tasks or job descriptions are associated with more workplace injuries.

“If they’re proactive, they say, ‘What can we do to decrease the risk of these injuries and help the employees?’” O’Connor says. “Increasing safety and decreasing the rate of injury is so helpful. Everybody should be looking at their data.”

Employers may analyze workers’ compensation data from external sources, but several factors might influence the relevance, including:

• Reporting requirements. Requirements for reporting workplace injuries vary by state, making it tricky to compare data across jurisdictions.
• Underreported incidents. Workers don’t always report their injuries, which skews the data. Employees may not think the injury is serious enough, or they’re afraid of losing their jobs.
  
  “This can be true for new hires who get hurt within their 90-day probationary period,” O’Connor says.
  
  
• Industry differences. The rate of new-hire injuries varies significantly by industry. Construction, manufacturing, healthcare, and maintenance positions may have high rates of injury.
  
  “Emergency medical services who are out in the field have a lot of injuries,” O’Connor says. “Local county and township workers had a lot of injuries this winter, with slips and falls because of the ice.”

How Employers Can Reduce the Risk of New-Hire Injuries

Companies can reduce the risk of employee injury by implementing workplace procedures that prioritize safety and training. These strategies can be effective:

• Provide comprehensive safety training. Training should focus on job hazards, proper safety procedures, and the process for reporting workplace injuries. Employees should receive safety training during the onboarding process, then at regular intervals.
  
  “A refresher every six months or every year is good, especially if there’s new equipment, new protocols, new policies and procedures,” O’Connor says.
  
  
• Supervise new hires. New hires who work closely with established workers learn to perform tasks correctly, follow safety procedures and avoid unnecessary risks. Providing mentors to new hires can be less stressful than managerial supervision.
  
  “A mentor has experience in the same department,” O’Connor says. “They have a role model training them.”
  
  
• Promote a culture of safety. Demonstrate that everyone from the highest management levels to the newest hires prioritize safety. Encourage workers to report injuries; call them learning experiences.
  
  “It’s empowering for employees to report incidents and make safety suggestions,” O’Connor says. “They feel more protected, like their safety is of the utmost importance.”
  
  
• Require post-offer, pre-employment screenings. This is an objective way to determine if a prospective employee can meet all of the essential demands of the job, including heavy lifting.
  
  “In an interview, you can ask if someone can lift 100 pounds, and they might say yes when it isn’t true, which can lead to injuries,” O’Connor says. “Pre-employment screenings help our clients decrease injuries, because they get new hires that are a good fit for the job.”

To discuss post-offer, pre-employment screenings, contact us at hmworks@hmhn.org.

To learn more about our Occupational Health Services visit: 
https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/en/services/hackensack-meridian-works