How to Successfully Promote Return to Work programs

There is more to return to work transitions than just providing your injured employee with medical care and waiting for them to get well and return to work.  There are reasons why the "wait and see" approach is not at all advisable. Some employees who were ill or injured may hesitate to get back to work.  If they were injured in the workplace, they might fear getting back due to reinjury.  They might also fear the thought of being physically uncomfortable in the workplace.  Others may be hesitant because there is no contact from their employers.  This will give them the impression that everything is going well without them.  These make them think that there is no need to rush back to work since they are not checked on by their employers. It is up to the employer to make appropriate actions that would make their employee return to work quickly.  The actions of the employer would also greatly affect how much your employee compensation program would cost.  It is important that you help and encourage your employees in times of injury and illness to make earlier transitions from medical incapacity to productivity. Return to work programs is not that hard to manage.  In fact, it requires minimal time and effort than you may think.  Just make sure that it provides details about the early return process.  It should contain all the information the employee needs to know about these kinds of situations.  Discuss your return to work program to your employees.   Talk to them about possible injuries or illnesses they may get from work, and further discuss their abilities to return to work from certain injuries and illnesses. Include transitional jobs in your return to work program to encourage your employees to return to work as early as possible.  This will give them a sense of urgency, enough to make them want to go back to work when they are feeling much better. Follow their progress.  Monitor them closely to check if they are able to come back to work early or not.  If they are back to work, observe their performance making sure that they are really capable of being productive again.  Failing to do so might only aggravate any injury or illness that they might still have. Employers should practice commitment with regards to creating a successful program.  There should be consistency in applying this early return process.  Doing so will help you control the worker's compensation costs, increase the rate of productivity, and boost the morale of your employees.