What Support Should Your Workplace Offer You After An Accident?

An accident can have a drastic impact on both your personal and professional life. Musculoskeletal injuries and back pain are the most common injuries leading to long-term work absences. Your employer has a responsibility to help you make the transition back to work as smooth as possible.

It can be daunting to return to work after a sustained absence. Working is a great way to get back to normal and progress your recovery. If you have experienced an accident recently, consider looking into filing a personal injury claim.

A long-term injury and absence from work can impact your life in various ways. Physically, an accident can cause you pain and make simple tasks difficult. However, the mental impact of an injury is equally, if not more so, as damaging to an individual.

A whopping 72 percent of people, who suffered an accident, subsequently suffered from a mental health condition. Stress and anxiety were the most common symptoms of their injury. Furthermore, over half of those who have suffered an accident that wasn’t their fault were concerned they would lose their job.

If you are an employer with an injured employee, you can do a few things to support them back into the workplace.

Phased return to work

After an extended period of absence, your employee may feel stressed and worried about returning to work full-time. Full-time work is demanding and might result in their injury getting worse or not healing properly.

Offer your employee a phased return to work over six weeks, whereby they can start with manageable hours. They could work flexibly from home and then begin working a few days in the office time.

A staggered return to work can help them get used to working again without significant amounts of stress. Just remember to consult your business’ time frames as well. You may need to readjust your team roles to cover all of your workloads.

Induction programme

It’s essential to make sure your employee is adequately trained for their role. Hold a refresher course to ensure their skills are up to date and they are well enough for the job. For physically demanding jobs, it may be a case of altering their workload and work conditions. Communicate with your employee and work out the best situation for both of you.

Dialogue

Try to maintain a positive attitude and dialogue with your employee. If they have suffered physically and mentally over the past few months, they may benefit from a positive environment. Encourage them to take time off for ongoing medical appointments and check in on their condition. Be respectful, patient and ask how you can help to improve their mental and physical wellbeing.

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