Best practices in returning employees to work include utilizing an effective return-to-work strategy. This can have a win-win-win effect on all stakeholders as follows:
- Employee-prevents disruption of daily life, career, image
- Employer-prevents reduction in productivity and helps avoid unnecessary expense
- Economy-prevents waste, fraud and corruption
There are six basic steps to help an employee return to work after a work-related (or non-work related) injury or illness.
- Contact the employee and start the interactive process
- Define the "essential functions" and usual duties of the employee's job
- Obtain employee's current "functional capacity" and compare to their current restrictions
- Explore ways to accommodate the employee's injury or illness
- Decide on a reasonable accommodation and make an offer of work
- Once working, monitor and assess employee's progress and reduce or remove restrictions as condition improves
Research shows that the benefits to employers of providing accommodations for employees with disabilities far outweighs the costs.
Collaboration between employers, employees, health care workers, and case managers can facilitate effective ways to accommodate work or non-work related injuries and illnesses. It will also contribute to the health, well-being, and equal opportunity in employment for our workforce and society.
Sandy Goldstein & Associates are experts at providing transitional work therapy services. The services primarily focus on using the injured worker's functional work tasks to progress the worker to a target job. Progressive conditioning, therapeutic exercises, training in safe work practices such as proper body mechanics and other work-site services may also be used as part of the therapeutic program developed for that injured worker. For more information, contact Sandy Goldstein PT, CDMS @http://www.measurabilities.com/consulting/transitional-work-therapy-services/