Getting Back to Work After an Accident

Accidents at work are more common than you might think. The most common workplace accidents include slips and trips, injuries while using machinery and falls. These happen every day all over the world. Some accidents are due to inadequate training, incorrectly maintained machinery, a lack of cleaning, failure to use the correct PPE, and a lack of care. Sometimes, it’s our own fault, other times, there’s not much that we could do about it. 

After an accident, we might seek medical care and the services of a tractor-trailers accident lawyer if we were driving a work vehicle at the time of our accident. But what about when the time comes to go back to work? If you’ve been injured in the workplace, however severe it might have been, you might feel anxious about returning to the scene of your accident. You might worry about going back to work, and you will undoubtedly want reassurance that the same thing won’t happen again. 

Take Care of Yourself

If you’ve only been out of the workplace for a little while, it might be a case of recovering physically from your accident and getting straight back to it. If it has taken you longer to recover, your return might need a little more preparation. You might need to start going to bed earlier, increase your exercise, drink more water, and make changes to your diet to boost your energy levels. Take care of yourself and try to find ways to prepare yourself for work, even if it’s just setting your alarm earlier. 

Don’t Rush 

You may feel under pressure to return to work quickly. You might worry about your finances, or how long your job will be kept open. But, rushing back could be a mistake. Go back to work before you are ready, and you risk doing yourself more harm. 

Speak to your doctor or physical therapist about a realistic timeframe for your return and talk to your manager or someone from your company’s HR department to keep them in the loop. 

Speak to Your Employer About Changes to Your Daily Role

Will you be able to return to the same job? If you’ve sustained a permanent injury, you may need to make changes to your role, or the tasks that you complete. Speak to your manager about anything like this, and try to make a plan together. 

Prepare Mentally, as Well as Psychically

Don’t think that going back to work will be all fun and games. Yes, it will be great to see everyone again, and you might be keen to get stuck into your job. But, if you’ve had an accident at work, the mental scars may still be fresh. It’s ok to be anxious or worried, and flashbacks are completely normal. Seek medical advice if anxiety is holding you back. 

Give Yourself Time to Adjust

Don’t expect everything to go back to normal straight away, and don’t be hard on yourself if it doesn’t. Give yourself time to adjust and adapt. 

With any accident, often, the most important thing is that lessons are learned. Could you learn anything from your accident? Will it change the way you work? Has your employer learned a lesson, and perhaps made changes to their business or its processes? Look for lessons, and let them comfort you in your return to your workplace.