During our working lives, a lot of our time and effort goes into our careers. We’ll spend years qualifying ourselves or training for the roles we want to pursue. We will generally spend eight hours a day, five days a week working. That’s not to mention the commute to work in the morning and back home in the evening. We want to progress.
We want to climb the career ladder. It’s a staple that our day to day lives revolve around, as well as our long term life plans. So, if you have an experience that leaves you unable to work for a set period of time, you can feel that your plans and routine have really been blown out of the water. Getting back to work can suddenly become a minefield of different considerations and careful steps. But, you will eventually get there. These steps should help you along the way!
Listen to Doctors’ Advice
First and foremost, it’s absolutely essential that you listen to your doctor’s advice following any accident. These are the professionals. They’ll know whether you’re able to work safely in your current condition and they’ll usually be able to give a rough estimate of when you’ll be able to go back to work as long as everything goes to plan and you listen to their orders.
Many of us will feel in a rush to get back into the workplace. Whether that’s for financial reasons, job security reasons or anything else. But you really can’t rush the healing process. If anything, trying to get back to day to day life as you know it too quickly can worsen your condition and see you out of action for longer. So, if your doctor says you’re not fit for work yet, you’re not fit for work yet.
Consider Your Mental Health
Too many people focus solely on the physical aspects of an accident. Of course, this is a major element that requires a lot of attention. But you do need to consider your mental health too. Often, accidents are paired with an unpleasant situation and unpleasant emotions that can cause trauma.
There are different stats about different issues. 39 percent of people, for example, will develop PTSD following a car accident. If you feel that you’re having any mental or emotional repercussions from your incident, you should seek professional help in this area too. Talk to your doctor who will be able to prescribe any necessary medication and can refer you on to a therapist who can help further.
Take Things Slowly
When you are deemed fit to return to work, take things slowly. You don’t have to dive straight back into the deep end. Negotiate with your workplace to make things easier. You could have a phased return until you feel comfortable getting back to business as usual.
Accidents are hard situations to deal with for many reasons. But the way they can impact your work can cause undue stress and difficulty. Follow the above advice to give yourself the best chances of a good recovery and a healthy return to the workplace!
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