I Don't like Mondays: Explaining Monday Work Injury Claims

Abstract

More workers' compensation claims for soft-tissue injuries are filed on Monday than on any other day of the week. Explanations for the Monday claims include “warm-up” or ergonomic effects, false classification of off-the-job weekend due to economic incentives, or psychological responses to Monday work. To sort out these possibilities, the authors examine more than 200,000 employment day patterns for a single, large U.S. employer with uniform human resource policies. Although the authors find more soft-tissue injury claims (mostly sprains and strains) filed for younger workers, union members, and for workers with higher expected workers' compensation benefits, they do not find that these factors—nor the absence of health insurance—differentially increase soft-tissue injury filings on Monday. Moreover, comparing soft-tissue injuries with lacerations and broken-bone claims suggests soft tissues are not due to ergonomic factors either. Additional evidence suggests that workers simply do not like Monday work. Hence, it may be cost-effective for employers and employees to institute practices that make the Monday workplace more attractive.