Workplace Injuries, have more impact than just losing work

On July 1, Delegate and HSR Marc McPhee sat down to speak about his journey with mental health. He spoke at length about the impacts of mental health on the average worker, he spoke about the ongoing effects Workcover injuries can have on a worker not just financially but the impacts socially, emotionally and the impact it has on your mental health.

Marc has always been a passionate unionist, his journey begun at the AWU when he joined his current workplace working on industrial lawn mowers. Marc noticed some issues at his workplace surrounding both health and safety. Marc then reached out to the AWU for some guidance and soon after became the first Health and Safety Rep (HSR) for his workforce. As the HSR Marc continued to push initiatives in his workplace to create a safer work environment. Unfortunately, in September 2020, at age 51, Marc fell victim to a workplace injury. Marc injured his right arm, making him unable to fulfill his current role and was provided clear instructions on what he could and could not do when it came time to return to work, infuriatedly this was not adhered to and Marc was pressured to undertake tasks that could aggravate his injury, the union stepped in and has been assisting Marc in getting the necessary supports to undertake some work for his company that would not aggravate his injury further.

From Marc we hear a story that is far too common, that while Workcover is a great asset and supports workers returning to work, the experience with Workcover varies far too often and can often lead to workers being effected mentally but pushed into returning to work at the earliest convenience to the employer. Marc returned to work and was provided a new role with new skillsets required, he was placed in a position to undertake data entry with no previous experience in this field or event relation to his former work. Marc exclaimed “When a worker returns to work, they want to return to the job they were doing or something similar” while Marc acknowledged the shift may have been necessary due to his injury, he noticed that the possibility of progression in his new field was blocked for him. There was no consideration to upskill or develop him in this field it was just playing the waiting game with the intent to move him back onto the mowers, though that had already been predetermined as not possible. Marc opened up about his pre-existing mental health prior to his work and explained how he was both medicated and how he created coping mechanisms that assisted him throughout his life. He spoke at length about how a workplace injury can trigger mental health issues and can take you down that long dark spiral once again.

“This is not my injury but my whole family’s injury”, Marc explained that the impacts of a workplace injury had gone beyond himself, he outlined, I cannot play basketball with my daughter, I can’t do the basic upkeep of my house and I couldn’t support my kids in the way every father wants and now I can’t even help my partner. Marc highlighted that while he hit rock bottom in his mental health journey, he would have days where he would sit half a day sometimes with the mission to stack a dishwasher, or to do the smallest tasks so he could feel he accomplished something for the day.

Marc meets with mental health professionals on a regular basis, he has begun to share his journey of living with mental health issues, he is passionate to change the conversation surrounding Men’s mental health and believes its time we spoke about it.

Marc wanted to share his story to normalise the conversation that mental health is important, “it’s important to check in, it’s important to talk about and sometimes it’s important to talk to someone who isn’t just a mate, colleague or family/friend but its worth sometimes speaking to a professional seek help and get the support you needed.”

Marc wanted to thank the AWU and in particular his AWU Construction Organiser for their continued support and efforts throughout the process. Marc also wants to acknowledge and thank Maurice Blackburn for their ongoing assistance throughout his experience.

Mental health challenges can happen to anyone and everyone, Marc’s story is not uncommon but is often unheard so please begin the conversations in your workplace and let’s remove the stigma of Men’s Mental Health.

“it’s okay not to feel great after a workplace injury and it’s important not to sit on it” -Marc McPhee