Lead author and University of Otago injury prevention research unit senior lecturer Dr Rebbecca Lilley said their research found "substantially more" work-related deaths had occurred than what official records showed.
The research set out to determine the societal burden of work-related fatal incidents in New Zealand by including bystanders and commuters.
She said work posed increased risk of injury, not only for workers but also for the public.
Yet the broader impact of work-related fatal injuries had never been quantified.
"Every death produces a ripple of emotional and financial harm across whānau, communities and society.
"Loss of whānau in such preventable circumstances is hard to accept and many whānau hope that their loved one’s death results in learnings to prevent similar deaths from occurring.
"We have long known official work fatality data dramatically undercounts the true burden of work to fatal injury in New Zealand.
"This study conservatively estimates that we don’t even count half the fatal injuries that occur due to work.
"If we are to achieve a substantive reduction in work-related fatal injury, it is time to recognise and count the broader societal burden of work fatalities and respond to them adequately."
In total, 7707 coronial records from 2005 to 2014 were reviewed as part of the research.
Of those, 1884 (24%) were identified as work-related.
And of the 1884, almost half occurred among non-working bystanders and commuters.
Of all the total fatal injuries for that time, those due to machinery (97%) or being struck by another object (69%) were work-related.
"Our study finds that work conservatively contributes to a quarter of all fatal injuries in New Zealand and, of these, non-working bystanders contribute to over a third of these deaths," Dr Lilley said.
"This makes work-related risks and hazards, even amongst non-working bystanders, a substantial yet under-recognised cause of injury and a joint workplace and public health challenge."
She said non-working bystanders were mainly killed in work-related transport events (87%), such as a head-on traffic collision involving a work vehicle.
About one in three of all transport deaths were attributed to work.
The research team is calling for the adoption of more socially inclusive estimates of work-related fatal injuries, to inform evidence-based policies and actions.
"The traditional conceptualisation of work-relatedness misses important opportunities to monitor trends and inform actions and public policy from a broader societal perspective.
"It is also important for all stakeholders, including the public, to understand the true scale of work-related information and have this information to inform effective control of these risks."
She said calculating workplace injuries like this meant it gave an indication of the broader societal impact of work and economic activity on injury.
It meant estimates were not reliant on notifications to WorkSafe or on compensation claims made to the Accident Compensation Corporation — both of which were well recognised as being prone to under-reporting.
