Far too many people return to work so casually after a traumatic accident without consulting with a therapist or a counselor. Traumatic events affect one’s ability to disassociate from the pain of what happened. This affects their productivity and the way they interact and socialize with other people. Depending on your injuries and treatment plans, you may have to take more time off from work. But it’s laudable that you want to get back up on your feet. You have to make sure you’re ready for the stress of everyday work. Otherwise, you could be shortchanging your company and coworkers.
Consultation and Therapy
Find a physiotherapy clinic near your workplace. With your therapist and counselor near you, it’ll be easier for you to transition to this new chapter in your life. You need to take care of your health physically and mentally after a traumatic event such as a car accident or injuries sustained from your work.
Just because you don’t have a neck brace anymore doesn’t mean you can go around the warehouse carrying and shifting heavy boxes or doing paperwork for eight hours a day. You have to follow your doctor’s instructions, and your boss has to allow you to adjust slowly back to work, too.
Symptoms
Take note of the symptoms you experience while working. Does your head hurt often? Do you experience muscle spasms? Record these and report the information to your doctor. This will help them craft a therapy treatment that will address these specific symptoms. Also, this will help your doctors decide if it’s okay for you to go back to work this fast.
Legal Case
Ask your boss for some time off when you have to take care of the legal implications of the accident. Was a case filed? Do you need to follow up on the police report? Do you need to take care of your insurance? There are so many legal implications when accidents—whether on the road or the workplace—happen. Make sure you have an agreement with your boss to allow you to continue taking care of these things even if you’re back to work.
Work Hours
For the first few weeks, you can restructure your work hours. You can take it slow. You don’t have to rush into things the first day back. Explain this set up with your boss and coworkers. Let them know that you’ll soon be back to take on all your tasks like before. But for now, you’ll have to adjust to going back to work slowly because of your injuries. This isn’t going to be an easy process because you might feel guilty since some of your coworkers are taking over your duties. However, you have to do this so that you won’t re-injure yourself.
Before going back to work after a traumatic accident, assess yourself. Make sure you can be even half-productive at work. Otherwise, you’re being selfish by trying to act like everything is normal while your coworkers bear the brunt of your nonproductiveness.