If illness or injury occurs to you and forces you to take time off work, it can have a significant impact on your life. Many people want to get back to work to find some sense of normalcy and get back to feeling more confident about themselves but might still struggle with the process. If you are suffering from a disability, here are some tips to help you work better.
Take Your Time
Coming back from a work-related injury and having to deal with any sort of impairment or disability is difficult. Even if the disability is a temporary one, the adjustment period when having to deal with it can be hard, both physically and mentally. You have to remember to take your time, as it won’t be like coming back into your old job, with your same role and responsibilities. Understand the process with tempered expectations, and this way, you won’t be beating yourself up for not being able to get the same work done that was expected of you prior to your injuries. The same applies to those that will suffer from more long term and even permanent injuries. The trauma that you have faced will make it difficult, and you have to take your time to adjust and accept your capabilities.
Communicate With Your Employer Regarding Your Difficulties
Going to work, whether you are returning to an old job or starting a new one, can be difficult for those with difficulties. Injury experts at BrooksLawGroup.com understand the importance of having a means of open communication. It is there to ensure that you are always able to discuss how the job is going, your abilities and limitations, and any struggles that you have as failure to do so can have legal implications. By being able to communicate, you also open the opportunity to create and make adjustments to your job and role. This ensures that you are still providing useful services even with limited capability. This prevents your employers from seeing you as inadequate, but more able to adjust what you can do in order to maximize your abilities.
Ramp Up Your Responsibilities
If you are returning to work after having sustained injuries that are temporary, it is a joint effort between yourself and your employers to slowly ramp up your responsibilities to standards that you are more used to. If the injuries are more permanent, you should also be communicating any desire for increased responsibilities with your employers if you feel confident in taking on a larger workload. Different jobs have different demands, and being labeled as someone who is disabled does not mean you are incapable.
Communicate With Your Team And Coworkers
Most jobs require you to work within a team. Being able to communicate with coworkers is beneficial for everyone, not just those with disabilities. However, if you do have limitations, whether physical or mental, having the options to ask for help and work together in a supportive environment has significant benefits. And asking for help or advice does not mean that you are not independent, as anyone can need help from time to time. People working together will make any job easier, regardless of what the work is or who is involved.
Take On Other Roles Or Jobs In The Meantime
If you are returning to work and have limitations that prevent you from doing the job that you had before, ask to take on other roles with just as much responsibility, but in a different way. This could transition away from more physical jobs to other jobs that are still crucial to your company but allow you to work at a computer or away from the physical strain. Seek out opportunities to contribute, and your employers will see your desire and perseverance to still work as a benefit.
Resume Your Role And Position When Ready
As you slowly heal and recover, you will be looking to increase your responsibilities and eventually return to your role. It may be enticing for people to take some time off to rest and heal, but if you know that you are fully ready to return, don’t hesitate to do so.
If you refuse to return to work under false claims of injury and disability, your company and coworkers will see this as disrespectful and you will lose any credibility to you being someone they can depend on. In addition to this, you will find yourself under legal trouble for claiming disability if you no longer do so.
The time it takes to recover and get back to full health can change how you view yourself, altering and reducing your confidence and how you feel towards your job. Getting back to work can help return your confidence and self-worth. However, it might not be easy for everyone, so make sure to take your time and do what you can. It will take time to heal both physically and mentally.