Work-related injury underreporting among young workers: Prevalence, gender differences, and explanations for underreporting

This paper discusses the issue of employees often not reporting lost-time work-related injuries, despite it being a legal requirement in many jurisdictions. Based on data from 21,345 young part-time Canadian workers (55% male), it was found that 21% of respondents had experienced at least one lost-time injury, with about half of them reporting the injury to an employer and a doctor. Respondents gave 10 reasons for not reporting lost-time injuries, with the perceived low severity of the injury, negative reactions from others, and uncertainty about whether the injury was caused by work being the most common reasons.