Can Injured Employees Return to Work Sucessfully?

The Question should be – Why do we allow injured employees to stay at home? 

Employee retention, employee engagement and talent management are the buzz words in the Human Resources and Business Community. Every major publication predicts a dire staffing and talent shortage, yet every year employers allow trained talent to walk out their door after an occupational injury.

Historically, the workers’ compensation laws have not adequately supported the return to work process – it is much easier to offer injured employees a settlement than it is to provide them with the opportunity to return to gainful employment. The only problem with this scenario – the next employee you hire could be someone else’s settlement.

The Key Reason Why Employers Do Not Make a Valliant Effort to Retain Injured Employees.

Fear. Fear of re-injury, fear of litigation or just fear of workers’ compensation. All too often, an injured worker is not put back into the workforce for one of three reasons. First, employers do not feel that they can offer the employee a limited but meaningful job. Or second, they worry that the recovering employee, who is not up to “full speed”, many re-injure themselves and create additional injury claims. Third, the employer lacks the resources and knowledge to systematically manage injuries. And there is…

The Negative Side of Injury Management

I have heard countless stores from employers recanting the horrible experiences they have had as they attempted to bring injured employees back to work. As an adjuster, I witnessed the frustration and surrender that occurs when injured employees manipulate the workers’ comp system – I have vivid memories of employees driving me and their employers over the edge and to the settlement table.

Litigation and manipulation reinforce employers’ reluctance to bring injured employees back to work. Most employers do not want to deal with the attitude problems, productivity issues and the morale drain that can occur when injured employees do not want to be at work.

So, we don’t want to deal with them – but what do we do instead? We throw money at a bad problem – in vision your two year old toddler having a temper tantrum and you take him to Disney to shut him up. The next time he throws a tantrum you will be headed up the Turnpike to make his yelling go away – this is what we, (employers and adjusters) do to create professional workers’ comp claimants. We reward bad behavior with money.

Is There a Better Way?

The answer in a nutshell is yes. The primary reason why injured employees manipulate the workers’ compensation system – we allow them and then for bad behavior we reward them with settlement dollars. 

The answer to getting injured employees back to work starts before you hire them and definitely before they are injured.

1. If I walk into your company today to apply for a job – Is your return to work policy visible?
2. After I am hired, how did you relay your return to work expectations?
3. Is workers’ compensation an integral part of your Retention Policy or Strategy?

Your companies return to work program should not be a secret. Every employee who works for your company should understand the policies and procedures that must be followed if they are injured on the job.