Consider incorporating off-site duty into return-to-work programs ...

When workplace incidents occur and employees need to take time to heal from an injury, return-to-work programs play a major role in helping them recover and stay involved with the business.

According to SCF Arizona?s booklet,?Return to Work: Putting Modified Duty To Work For You, return-to-work initiatives can reduce a business? workers? compensation claims by 35 percent, cut 17 percent of lost workdays and decrease workers? compensation coverage costs by 45 percent over the course of four years.

When injured employees are working, they?re less likely to access unnecessary medical care, which reduces healthcare expenses. In addition, keeping workers involved helps them retain engagement levels and understand that their employer cares about their health.

Return-to-work programs are designed to alter employees? tasks or give them new temporary duties that accommodate their injury. Progressively, workers can take on more or different responsibilities and eventually return to their original position.

Off-site transitional work
While return-to-work programs are extremely effective, they may be somewhat challenging to implement for businesses in manufacturing or construction, in which the majority of labor involves physical movements like lifting, a commonly restricted activity for injured workers.

To help workers in these sectors, employers should consider the benefits of off-site transitional duty. Businesses that revolve around manual labor can partner with nonprofit organizations to provide injured employees with temporary work.

Rebecca Shafer, the president of a risk management software company, explains that employers can work with employment agencies to place employees in a?charitable organization for a defined amount of time. Business owners can also work directly with the nonprofit. Entities like the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Goodwill, American Heart Association and Habitat for Humanity often accept volunteers who are paid by their employer.

While the employer may not have much work to give his or her injured worker, these organizations can accommodate employees? needs by assigning them tasks like data entry, taking inventory and administrative work that requires little physical exertion, Shafer explains.

Like all return-to-work programs, off-site work should have a defined schedule, including set start and expected end dates. In addition, employers should ensure employees? tasks are evolving as they recover.

Benefits for employers and employees
There are many benefits associated with incorporating a nonprofit partnership into a business? return-to-work program. First, employees who take on light work during their recovery tend to heal faster than those who do not work until they are fully recovered, according to Shafer.

During tax season, employers can deduct the worker?s salary as a charitable donation.?In addition, supporting a nonprofit organization is a great way to boost business reputation. as consumers admire companies that show their support for a good cause.

Meanwhile, employees can continue receiving their regular salary instead of a workers? compensation payment as they heal. They can also maintain positive levels of activity and self-esteem and benefit from a sense of accomplishment after performing goodwill tasks. In addition to avoiding deconditioning, employees can also gain new skills and further develop their professional talent.

Return to Work: Putting Modified Duty To Work For You, is available online at scfaz.com. Just click on ?Safety,? then ?Resources? and ?Helpful Resources.?

Source: http://www.safeatworkaz.com/?p=1276

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