{"id":218,"date":"2021-10-14T14:56:16","date_gmt":"2021-10-14T20:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspeninsuranceagency.com\/blog\/?p=218"},"modified":"2021-10-14T14:56:17","modified_gmt":"2021-10-14T20:56:17","slug":"work-at-home-workers-compensation-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspeninsuranceagency.com\/blog\/work-at-home-workers-compensation-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"Work-At-Home Workers Compensation Claims"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Work-At-Home Workers Compensation Claims<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Working from home became mandatory for office workers during the Covid Pandemic. To prevent illness and the spread of disease, workers were sent home, with computers in hand, to maintain company and employee safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And for many workers, what a great thing it was! Commuting as far as the kitchen for a cup of coffee saved American workers hours in commute time and, for many, the cost of business clothes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, just because work was performed from the safety of the home did not eliminate worker on-the-job injuries. The fact is, from using ergonomically challenged workspaces to changing mind frames, working from home hosts a range of risks for soft-tissue injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Location, Location, Location<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The modern office work environment includes ergonomically friendly desks, keyboard trays, supportive chairs, and safe walking spaces, meant to reduce the potential for injuries. Sadly, working from home may mean, working at the kitchen counter from a stool. Or perhaps propping the laptop on a coffee table working from the couch. Whatever the setup was, and perhaps still is, those on-the-fly, makeshift work-from-home setups are leading to an increased risk of soft tissue injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the dining room table and chair set might be a great place to share a meal, it isn\u2019t designed to support someone throughout a workday, The same goes for those couch potatoes slouched over a laptop or hovering above a coffee table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is also a blurring of lines of when we work and don\u2019t work,\u201d explains ergonomic experts. \u201cThe computer is sending out messages to us, ‘a little more time, a little more time.\u2019 Even if you had a work setup at home, and not many did, they weren\u2019t set up to take the breaks you normally would during the day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This always-on mind frame can also lead to employee burnout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over time, typing away with inappropriate posture and ergonomically unfriendly spaces \u2014 combined with employees not taking breaks or doing exercises \u2014 increases strain on the back and that can lead to neck and back pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those employees experiencing back pain, getting an accurate diagnosis early is critical to achieving better outcomes. However, diagnosing and treating soft tissue injuries is difficult, as they are very subjective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRelying on someone self-reporting an injury, especially when not in the workplace, presents an extra challenge for employers,\u201d says Mary Reaston, founder and CEO of Emerge Diagnostics, a medical diagnostic technology company helping clients in multiple industries diagnose soft tissue injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the Clock? Or, Around the House?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This also presents a predicament for workers\u2019 comp: how do you determine if a self-reported remote work injury was an on-the-clock incident or an \u201caround the house\u201d injury?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is the billion-dollar question. There is no good way to tell,\u201d Reaston says. \u201cIf you reach behind you to grab a bag of Cheetos or a file and are injured, no one is going to be able to tell.\u201d She notes the key is to get early intervention and a detailed history of how the employee describes the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it is not possible to eliminate these risks, they can be reduced. For instance, if the workforce is small enough, an employer could supply more ergonomically friendly working surfaces and tools, such as home office setups including worktables and ergonomic chairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think employers have to be tuned into their remote workforce and realize the same set of risk factors they have in a controlled setting, like an office, still apply with remote workers,\u201d she says. \u201cThey need to talk to employees that are working from home and set some boundaries. Tell them not to let the lines blur (between work and home life). And tell them to report any injury early.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aspen Insurance Agency <\/a>is in Denver, CO, and services clients nationwide. We are a family-run business working with multiple insurance carriers to offer our customers the coverage they need at the lowest possible cost. We offer a wide range of personal, auto insurance, commercial and professional insurance to residential and commercial insurance customers enabling the cheapest rates available. Call <\/a>to speak to one of our insurance professionals and see how painless insurance shopping can be.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Working from home became mandatory for office workers during the Covid Pandemic. To prevent illness and the spread of disease, workers were sent home, with computers in hand, to maintain company and employee safety. And for many workers, what a great thing it was! Commuting as far as the kitchen for a cup of coffee […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insurance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspeninsuranceagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspeninsuranceagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspeninsuranceagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspeninsuranceagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspeninsuranceagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspeninsuranceagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":225,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspeninsuranceagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218\/revisions\/225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspeninsuranceagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspeninsuranceagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspeninsuranceagency.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}