Motivating an Injured Employee is the key to RTW
Everyone involved in the workers’ compensation ecosystem should know that return to work (RTW) is the ultimate desired outcome for a work injury. That is especially true to the employer who is less focused on the claims handling process and more on the productivity of the workforce.
When lost time is involved, having a valuable employee return to their job demonstrates success. The various stakeholders ensured the claims process worked as intended; the injured employee received timely and appropriate healthcare; and the employer accommodated their return. Claim closure means this episode in the life of the employee and employer is over and they can move on.
Unusual cases– catastrophic injury, fatality, complicated compensability, and coverage questions –do not fit the mold. At times a claim does not go according to plan – delayed or inappropriate medical care, poor claims handling practices, an unprepared employer, employee resistance, and legal battles. The possibilities are endless. However, the vast majority of work comp claims end as they should, with the employee back at work. The journey to that goal is both simple and complicated.
The simple part is that an employee has a specific job for which they have been trained and are best suited to continue performing. The employee knows exactly what the job requires and, with proper guidance, understands the path back to full function. They are motivated to get back to their routine, their full income, their opportunities for career advancement and their teammates. They not only want to return to work, they want to stay at work because they want to return to “normal.” There is a very clear path from injury to closure.
Returning to work is also complicated.
Returning to work is also complicated. Many potential pitfalls exist. The way back may be blocked by accumulated distrust, misaligned incentives, or lack of a well-documented and tested return to work process. Sometimes no clearcut return to full-duty or light-duty options are available. These complications could be due to overworked claims examiners, misinformed clinicians, unmotivated employees, inflexible employers, and other unrelated and unrecognized health and social issues.
Most injured employees welcome help from transparent, consistent, and empathetic communication. This style of communication relies on open-ended, judgment free questions. It includes continued engagement from the employer to let the employee know their return is of paramount interest. If an injured employee wants to be actively involved in their recovery but does not know how to engage, they may become dependent upon the system. We want to avoid this.
To best facilitate return to work, all work comp stakeholders should be focused on motivating and activating an injured employee to work toward that goal. A person-centric approach will seek to understand the obstacles and then deploy resources to overcome them. While many think of return to work as solely a benefit to the employer, it is important to the injured employee as well. Recognizing issues and engaging appropriate resources early will provide positive results. Encouraging the employee to play an active role in the recovery process will short circuit some of the complications.
As a consumer of REWARD, you are in a position to make this happen. Look at your data; look at your assets. Then create a plan to help simplify return to work for the injured employee. Motivation will lead the way back to work.
About Mark Pew
Mark Pew, WorkCompCollege.com founding partner, and Provost, is an award-winning international speaker, author, and jurisdictional advisor in Workers’ Compensation. The RxProfessor has focused on the intersection of chronic pain and appropriate treatment since 2003. Mark created “Qualified Medical Intervention” which won a 2012 Business Insurance Innovation Award. He received WorkCompCentral’s Magna Comp Laude award in 2016, IAIABC’s Samuel Gompers Award in 2017, “Top 100 Healthcare Leader” by IFAH in 2021, and the Health 2.0 Outstanding Leadership award in 2022. He is a co-founder of The Transitions and is on the Advisory Boards of Harvard MedTech, Simple Therapy, and Goldfinch Health.
DISCLAIMER
Views expressed in the REWARD Report are solely those of the authors and may not reflect the official policy or position of the Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, the Tennessee Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims, the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, or any other public, private, or nonprofit organization. Information contained in the REWARD Report is for educational purposes only.
R.E.W.A.R.D. PROGRAM: RETURN EMPLOYEES TO WORK AND REDUCE DISABILITIES
Understanding motivations and perceptions helps return-to-work coordinators identify recovery obstacles. This assists in understanding unstated interests and identifying appropriate and meaningful return-to-work options. To read more about return-to-work coordinators, download the REWARD Toolkit (tn.gov).
MEET WITH LIKE-MINDED EMPLOYERS
The REWARD Employer Support Network is an ever-growing group of Tennessee employers who are interested in (or are already) running great return-to-work programs. Join the mailing list and receive announcements for upcoming meetings.