My Social Support Network Podcast – A Podcast Where Injured Workers Have a Voice.

The human need to “belong” is more than a fanciful new vogue term being bandied about by clever marketing agencies jumping on the next wave of sales. Our research has shown us that over the past few years  feeling like you belong, feeling that someone cares about you, knowing that you have someone at work or someone at home that genuinely “has your back”, is one of the most important  factors  to manage poor health, risk of lost time injury and poor productivity at work. Humans are social creatures that have an innate desire to be part of the “pack”, even if you are an introvert.

We are surrounded by “packs”. If you think about it, you have your home “pack”, your “work” pack and your “community” pack. These are three critical “packs” that we need to feel like we belong to for us to feel cared for, loved, valued and safe. When we don’t feel like we belong to a “pack” or even a person we start to feel disconnected and lonely. We start to feel like we have no solid anchors around us.  Research is increasingly telling us that feeling like we belong creates social safety and we also know that social safety is still the least focused on area in workplaces and post injury.

When we have an injury, our sense of safety gets broken. Being with people used to feel safe and after an injury it starts to feel unsafe. Confidence begins to change, and you feel the loss of who you once were.

Getting to a point where you feel like you are in your own skin, feeling confident and getting over the grief of who you were can take years. The process of recovery can be isolating.

Helping people feel like they  are part of a community or part of a group where they  feel safe is critical to any healing process.

Social safety is the unsung hero of helping people recover. Your social life is critical to feeling well and feeling a part of your community. Western culture has defined an identity for us that links who we are with what we do. So, who are we when work suddenly ends either through injury, illness, or even retirement.

Your job is not your way of life. Work is a function to help you get the finances to be able to have a full and happy life.

We all want to be part of something. In fact, as humans we need to be part of something. What we found in our research was that people need to feel valued and part of a community that care.

My Social Support Network podcast was developed to guide injured workers, their families, health staff, workplaces, and insurers on how to support people along their path to recovery whilst on Worker’s Compensation. In this series we answer questions and provide information from experts and people with lived experience currently going through Workers Compensation. Most importantly, we are speaking to  those who are either making their way or have made their way to the other side.

Our goal through these interactions is to give people the tools, advice, but most importantly encouragement on what can be a stressful process  after an injury is sustained at work.

Have a listen now!
If you would like to be featured on one of our episodes then shoot us an email to info@mssn.com.au