Handbook on return to work

“The longer the duration of work disability, the less likely the injured worker will ever return to work”. Therefore, it is very important for oneself to prepare for returning to work and also resuming normal lifestyle.
The following contents are excerpted from the publication “Return to work handbook for worker with injury”. This handbook can help workers with injury understand how to facilitate their physical and psychological recovery and their ability to return to work.

Tips for Rehabilitation

 1. Always equip yourself and enjoy life
Concentrate on what you can do, not on what you cannot be done.

 2. Stay positive
Believe that you have positive improvement on your physical ability and be able to return to work.

 3. Remain a positive lifestyle
Plan your daily life in a positive way and have a regular lifestyle.

 4. Understand your abilities proactively
Ask about your physical condition and work ability from your rehabilitation professionals. Set a positive goal for yourself and try to keep up exercises as much as possible. Contribute to household tasks to increase and maintain your physical health.

 5. Communicate with family
Communicate more with your family members so to obtain their support and advice, and discuss with them about your rehabilitation arrangement.

 6. Stay in touch with your employer, supervisor and colleagues
Keep a positive relationship with your employer, supervisors and colleagues. Try to understand the current operation of your company in preparing yourself to return to work.

 

Benefit of setting a goal for return to work

Work injury can pose various degree of change in work or daily life of workers. Work injury not only affecting the workers but also making impact to their families, employers and colleagues. Many studies indicated that work is a very important element for good health and “workless” can influence our mental health. After work injury, workers may face the follow situations:

 Rest on the bed and stay at home until fully rehabilitated is the best treatment??

This traditional advice does not contribute to rehabilitation. It can even prolong the treatment period. Maintaining exercise habit and regular lifestyle is the key for recovering of physical ability.

Return-to-work is part of the rehabilitation process. Rehabilitation can be facilitated by working, no matter in the form of reduced work hours or transitional work.

 Do you feel you like doing nothing every day? Did you suspect losing the ability to work?

Work can increase self-esteem, morale and status. Being workless is bad for injured workers as they will suspect their ability to work again.

Work is a part of normal life. Work can help injured workers to maintain a positive lifestyle, reduce the risk of chronic pain and boost up the rehabilitation process.

Stay contact with employer proactively and prepare yourself for returning to work in future?

This is Correct!!
Employer plays a very important role in the process of return to work. We advise workers with injury to stay in touch with their employer and take the initiative to report the rehabilitation progress. Injured workers may still take an attempt to return to work even the physical ability is not fully recovered. Injured workers could also benefit from light duty arrangement so to help restore their work ability.