Changing discourse by changing the injured worker's course

This week's post was inspired by another blog (Managed Care Matters) as two quotes in an April 10, 2013 post hit on two very important points when discussing RTW:

"... 'there’s no condition so disabling that there isn’t someone in the US with that condition working full time today.'”

and...

"You don’t get better and go back to work, going back to work is a part of getting better!”

Disability means different things to different audiences.  According to the U.S. Social Security Administration a person is "disabled" based upon their inability to work and if:

oYou cannot do work that you did before;

oWe decide that you cannot adjust to other work because of your medical condition(s); and

oYour disability has lasted or is expected to last for at least one year or to result in death.

Here's an experiment for you to try at home.  Ask someone what they think of when they first think of a disabled person.  I would be inclined to state that their initial response includes some description that focuses on the physical abilities or limitations of the person rather than the limitations placed on their ability to earn wages.  Now, ask someone what they think of when they think of someone out of work due to a work-related injury.  Was their response the same?  I'd be inclined to state that their response related to the monetary impact.

Why?

RTW at a Not-for-Profit: An Injured Worker's Experience

As you may have heard, Eastern now offers another innovative RTW solution -- transitional duty at local not-for-profit organizations (NFP).  Sure, we can say it's a great idea, that it helps injured workers recover and stay connected, but what does an injured worker have to say about working at a not-for-profit as part of their recovery from a work injury?

We are fortunate to have worked with an injured worker who was willing to give us his opinion and tell us about his transitional duty experience while working at an NFP.  Joe* sustained a shoulder injury, which required surgical intervention and left him with very challenging restrictions that his employer could not accommodate.  Joe's employer agreed to pay him to volunteer at a local Goodwill store while he recovered, and eventually transitioned him back to his pre-injury job.

Without further ado, we give you Joe's story, in his own words:

What type of work did you perform as transitional duty? 

“The type of work I did was a little bit of everything, what I did most of was what Goodwill calls purging. I just went through the clothes on display the racks and pulled out the old items and took them to the back to be sent to the main distribution center in Indy. I also sorted clothes and different items as they came in and put them out on the display shelves for sale.”

As an injured worker in this program, how did it benefit you?

“My biggest benefit was making new friends and having something to keep me busy during my recovery.  My overall impression is that this is a good program for someone that will be off work for more than a couple weeks. It got me out of the house and gave me something to do besides sitting around being bored. I met a lot of good people and had fun doing it.”

RTW and Seasonal Workers: Bring them back or risk paying them all year long

It's that time of the year again...your neighbor is fertilizing and seeding their lawn to ensure that their lawn invokes feelings of grass envy throughout your neighborhood, you're waking up to the sound of birds chirping in the trees as opposed to snow plows scraping the streets, isn't Spring a wonderful time of the year?

Soon we will start to see the landscaping trucks on the streets at the crack of dawn and workers spreading shovelfuls of recycled and dyed pieces of wooden pallets, known to the consumer as mulch.  What did you think I was going to say?  College students will be returning home to look for summertime employment, hoping to secure that sought-after summertime gig that pays more than minimum wage in an attempt to offset the rising prices of bee---I mean...books.  Everywhere you look, people are starting their spring projects, building patios, planting gardens and getting those home repairs they've put off until warmer weather.

But, if you're a seasonal employer you're probably not thinking of gladiolas and grilling, you're thinking about starting up business again and getting back to work! 

Why worry about WC at a time like this?  There are several reasons.