Impact of Workplace Loss and Injury on Employee and Social Support

[Name of the Institute]Impact of Workplace Loss and Injury on Employee and Social Support

Introduction

The importance of psychological support in the health and wellbeing of patients and clients is well documented and acknowledged by healthcare professionals. A clear association between high job demand, lack of social support and injury/loss was observed for healthcare workers working under 'job strain' conditions. It is also necessary to acknowledge that different types of social support exist which will have a variable impact on strains and pressures. This paper presents an analysis for the impact of a loss, illness, or injury on an employee and his or her social supports.

Injury, Damage and Loss: Consequences for Employee Social Support

Social support is defined in functional terms as an interpersonal transaction. Therefore, a distinction is made between the existence of social relationships (social integration), the structure of social relationships (social networks) and the function of social interactions/relationships. Although some authors believe that the term 'social support' should be reserved for this latter interpretation, research evidence indicates the importance of social integration, i.e. the existence of social relationships (Hood, 2005). For example, Mogensen found that the actual number of contacts and acquaintances was one of the significant factors inversely related to elevated blood pressure among young, male hypertensives (Mogensen, 2006). However, a six-month, longitudinal study of 350 nurses in the northwest of England concluded that perceived organizational support was also related to nurses' health and job satisfaction (Barling & Frone, 2004).

Empirical evidence continues to highlight the negative impact and high costs associated with mismanaged stress in the workplace. It remains a significant problem associated with poor performance, high levels of sickness absence and increasing violence in the healthcare work environment (Stuhlmacher & Cellar, 2001). Jobs in human services share many of the sources of stress present in other occupations in addition to the potential strains associated with intense involvement in the lives of others. This requires a caring commitment and the ability to respond with empathy usually in high demand situations where staff shortages are a common feature of the healthcare environment (Walters, 2009). A negative spiral of stress can develop when staff shortages, caused by recruitment and retention problems, create high levels of job demand and work stress, leading to yet more strain, sickness absence, or withdrawal from the job because the employee cannot face further pressure (Stuhlmacher & Cellar, 2001).

It is also necessary to differentiate between the availability of social support and the activation of it. The interactive model of stress defines a state of stress as an imbalance between perceived demand and perceived ability to meet that demand (see 'Stress and health'). The processes that follow are the coping process and the consequences of the coping strategy applied. This means that stress is a subjective experience contingent upon the perception of a situation (Nelson, 2002). Likewise, it is the belief about social support available, if needed, rather than the actual support available, which influences ...