5 techniques to help employees return after a medical accident

When a worker gets hurt or sick and misses a substantial amount of time, it can be hard for you as a business owner to know what to do. The situation can become even more challenging when it’s time for the employee to return to work after a medical absence.

If you don’t have a plan for dealing with people’s return as well as their absence, this could become a major distraction.
Balancing Responsibilities as a Business Owner
Any sort of employee sickness or injury — regardless of whether it was sustained on the job — is sensitive. Obviously, rules, laws and company-specific protocol have to be respected as well as the personal side of the matter.

On the one hand, you have a duty as a human being to be compassionate and caring for your employee in the person’s time of need. On the other, you have to keep the operation running efficiently and ensure people get back on the job as soon as possible.

It’s a fine line to walk, and you can appear insensitive or careless if you wander too far to either side. A correct answer or step-by-step process you could follow every time an employee went through a sickness or injury would be great, but every situation is wholly unique.

What works in one instance might be inappropriate or ineffective in another. The goal, however, should always be to encourage the employee to return to the job as swiftly as possible after recovery.

From there, the objective is to ensure the worker’s reunion with the company and his or her job is smooth and successful. (Read Article).

Larry Alton