Motivational Moments - October 2026

Worker Centricity - Why So Important? 

Within educate@iaiabc, you’ll find several helpful videos and documents are workers’ compensation topics, including one entitled “Worker Centricity”.  The worker-centric approach to engage and activate your worker customers is a foundational element of work disability prevention. But why is this so important? 

Worker centricity gives injured workers some locus of control in a system that historically takes it away. The worker’s locus of control shapes how they respond to challenges and interpret what’s happening to them. When someone has a more internal locus of control, they generally feel they can influence outcomes through their actions; those with a more external locus often feel less empowered, reducing their motivation. Worker centricity and goal setting and attainment help shift those with a strong external locus of control to having more of an internal locus. As a result, they are more likely to set goals and take positive steps toward their recovery and return to work. 

Research shows that those with an internal locus of control have more confidence, satisfaction, and greater well-being, while those with an external locus feel more helpless and pessimistic and deal with higher anxiety. A balanced locus is healthiest – recognizing both personal control and realistic external constraints exist. In workers’ compensation, this balance is important. A worker must abide by certain rules and responsibilities. There are consequences for non-cooperation, for example. But we can also give them back some internal locus of control with simple steps like involving them in return-to-work planning, to ensure return to work happens with them; not to them.