Outlining The Benefits Of Our “Return To Work Program”

Everyone enjoys getting a day off work now and again. A long weekend, a statutory holiday and whenever necessary taking a personal day are all occasions that most workers thoroughly enjoy. It never hurts to get an extra day in there to relax, recharge and rejuvenate yourself for work. But you never want to actually get hurt in order to be able to take those days off! It should go without saying that we all wish to avoid illness and injury at all costs.

Sadly, this isn’t something that we can guarantee ourselves. So when an incident occurs that forces people to miss lengthy periods of time from their jobs, it’s important for them to get the appropriate support they need in order to return to work. It’s not just about returning to work though. Of course, it’s important for employers to have their staff members healthy in order to advance their company’s productivity levels.

But optimizing a person’s health is necessary for the benefit of all those involved – the employer, his or her insurance company, and most importantly the employee. Rushing an employee back to the job before he or she is ready benefits no one. Consider the fact that even when a worker is ready to work again, it will take some time for that person to ease back into the regular flow of things on the job.

This is why Independence Incorporated has a very comprehensive “Return To Work Program”. This very important service ensures that all of the issues related to an employee’s return to work are managed so that the transition is both a comfortable and appropriate one. Again, it’s integral that, for everyone’s sake, a worker is fully capable of the tasks given to him or her when arriving back on the job. Our program, therefore, involves a number of steps.

Clarification of any work related restrictions and/or accommodation requirements. In some cases, employees are healthy enough to return back to work but may not be able to completely manage all of the assignments that they used to be capable of taking on. We ensure that both employee and employee are fully aware of the limitations that may exist and work to put in place the necessary means of assistance to help the worker complete his or her assigned tasks.

Identification of available return to work options (same, modified or alternate work). Keeping in mind that an employee may be able to return to work in a limited capacity, we make it our job to ensure that there is clarification about how much the employee is able to contribute. In some instances, employees able to perform the same functions previous to their illness or injury. And in others, they require modified assignments or different tasks altogether.

Development, implementation and monitoring of graduated return to work plan. It’s always important to measure one’s ability to be productive on the job when he or she returns to it. A lot goes into one’s rehabilitation before he or she returns to work, but we remain mindful that the rehabilitation process continues once a person is back on the job. Is he or she easing back into a routine easily? Or is additional assistance required to make for an easier transition?

At Independence Incorporated, we are committed to the process of ensuring that employees are ready to be back at work as fully capable, productive members of their staffs. One way that we accomplish this is by ensuring that there is open communication between family physicians, treatment providers, employees and their employers. For more information about our “Return To Work Program”, please feel free to call us at 204-478-6644.