To avoid employees becoming stuck in unreasonable adjustments, you must manage the return to work situation, the change of duties and employee expectations. Dr Bernard Yew writes.
Any occupational health professional knows that reasonable adjustments are essential to helping people with disabilities remain at work.
If the situation is not managed proactively, the adjustment can become permanent and be perceived as a permanent change.
Someone with back pain, for example, may have been temporarily removed from heavy duty duties. The person has recovered but they have been accustomed to the change for so long, that it no longer feels like a part of their job.
Maybe someone refuses to return to the office after the medical condition has passed.
Employers can find it difficult to accommodate home-working, due to the non-medical obstacles that can arise.
Individuals may feel tempted to rebuild their lives around their newly found flexibility. Some people may decide to change their childcare arrangements, sell their car or move further away from their workplace.
In this situation, it is important to communicate clearly why the adjustment will be made and why it will then be removed when no longer needed.
You can, for example, tell them very clearly that the adjustment will be made after their treatment is complete or when the medical necessity of the adjustment has ended.
This will reduce the likelihood that employees will create non-medical obstacles to removing the adjustment in the future.
Avoid adjustments from becoming a contract change
Managers should encourage employees to be checked in on every few weeks by their managers to see how they are coping. They can also discuss any changes in the situation such as a medical external review that could trigger a discussion about existing adjustments.”
Employment law is another reason why employees may be stuck with ‘temporary adjustments’. Employees can consider any temporary adjustment that has been in place for over a year as a contract change.
Employers who do not regularly review adjustments may find that departments with less difficult tasks are flooded with employees on adjustments. They may find themselves with too many employees unable to perform their core duties, and the adjustments will no longer be considered’reasonable.’
It is important to regularly review any adjustments made in order to ensure that they meet the needs of both individuals and businesses.
Managers are encouraged to check-in with their employees at least every two weeks to see how they’re doing and to discuss any changes in the situation. For example, an external medical assessment could trigger a discussion about existing adjustments.
If the condition of someone has deteriorated, then stronger adjustments may be needed. If the condition of the employee has improved, then the manager may want to reduce or remove adjustments.
Remove all obstacles to the removal of adjustments
There are many barriers that can be put in the way of someone removing their adjustment. Some people may feel that their commute is too long, or they might say that it would interfere with their caregiving duties, or be too expensive to get back on the train. If there’s no medical reason, the employee could be in breach of their contract.
If an employee appears to be recovering but still insists they are not medically fit for their adjustment to be removed, occupational health may need to investigate to determine if there are any medical issues underlying the situation.
The biopsychosocial model can be used not only to examine the physical barriers, but also those that are psychological and social.
You can help someone overcome their fears, for example, if they believe that their co-workers will not welcome them back, or if they are afraid that returning to the work that made them sick will cause them to get ill again.
The individual can be assisted to overcome any new obstacles to return, such as depression following cancer treatment or fear after an operation.
Employee should be eased off of reasonable adjustments
The employee may quit if you force the issue or remove the adjustments that the employee has made after he/she recovers.
The whole purpose of reasonable adjustments, however, is not to solve the problem. It’s to help people stay at work and retain valuable talent. You should talk to them about non-medical obstacles to returning to work.
You could find a compromise by allowing the employee to start an hour earlier each morning. This would more than half their commute time. They can schedule heavy duty for later in their day if they do not want to work in the morning because they are still on medication.
Before returning home, they can carry out a risk analysis to identify any possible problems.
The organisation may have to consider these barriers that are not medical. For example, if there are social barriers such as a refusal to give up homework because parents want to pick their children up from school. By giving employees more time or flexibility to set up new childcare arrangements.
Benefits of returning to full duty
The longer an employee works with restrictions, then the less likely it is that they will return to their normal way of working. We saw that people who were isolated from the outside world due to a health problem could develop secondary issues if they became more socially or physically isolated.
“It is important that employers and occupational health help employees understand the importance of returning to normalcy as soon as possible for their overall health.”
If someone is given lighter duty due to a temporary issue, but not returned to full duty once they have recovered, then they may become so deconditioned that they cannot return to full duty even if they want to.
They may lose confidence if they are not returned to client-facing tasks as soon as possible after they have recovered from their anxiety.
It is important that employers and occupational health help employees to understand the importance of returning to normalcy as soon as possible.
It can be helpful to explain the benefits of being more active and less isolated during the day, as well as the physical health benefits.
The experience of personal growth will be enhanced by bouncing off ideas and learning how others think and approach things.
The more you help your employees understand that removing restrictions no longer required by medical necessity is in their best interest, the more likely they are to support it.
