The problem is - are they reporting because they are reminded of their discomfort, or because the intensity or frequency of symptoms has increased? 
 
 
 
If I am frequently asked about an issue it is more likly to be on the top of my consciousness and I am more likely to take action. 
 
 
 
Then, a second question arises. Is intervention indicated even if the problem is not high in my awareness?  
 
 
 
It seems your assumption is yes - and I agree speaking from an intuitive viewpoint. If we can prevent progression of the problem, all the better. But, would these sysmptoms necessarily progress? What proportion of the group who reported pain or discomfort once reported it repeatedly?

V Hixson raises an appropriate point. However, to focus overmuch on the Heisenbergian (not that Hixson does) is to miss the main point--that executives have an opportunity to decrease WC claims, and eventually costly premiums, through early intervention.

Interesting comments - thanks for jumping in. While I can't be sure that asking this question doesn't essentially cause the report of discomfort, this would be surprising in this particular population given the strong correlations we saw between the WC claims and the discomfort. Taken to the extreme you might suggest that by asking this we were actually encouraging the filing of workers compensation claims! But...in this population this wasn't the case - total comp claims, rates of claims and severity were all in decline. I'd speculate with a degree of confidence that this was due to the seeking out of employee discomfort and an excellent intervention program.  
 
As for the specific questions about the percentage of people who reported discomfort reported it again I'm afraid I don't have that information readily available (but I'm curious enough to go look...perhaps a later post). But...on that note, I can add to the conversation that about 25% of the claims in this population were from individuals who had at one point said that they were NOT experiencing significant discomfort, but then at a later time (but prior to the claim being filed) indicated that they were. I think that is pretty important to remember when we think about designing risk identification and injury prevention programs!

I agree that early reporting of symptoms, even if thru raised awareness is a good thing as it allows early intervention. The other opportuity this presents is worker education that there are interventions that reduce symptoms, many that can be self imposed at the earliest onset of symptoms.