Changing the Script for a Successful Return to Work Meeting

October is National Occupational Therapy Month, so throughout the month we are highlighting Occupational Therapists and the work they do. With this success story, we reflect on how OTs can help employees advocate for their health and prepare them for a successful return to work.

Occupational Therapists help employees transform their lives every day. Read our Success Stories to learn how we have enabled employees across thousands of organizations to achieve better health and productivity.

Employee Background

• Talia* worked at an insurance company but had been off work for quite some time.

Barriers to Work Performance

• The company set up a return to work meeting but the employee did not feel ready to return to work.

The Occupational Therapy Approach

• The Occupational Therapist advocated for the employee to have some extra time off to receive coaching for return to work.
• The OT and employee worked together to come up strategies to cope with stress when she did return to work, self-care strategies so that she could prepare herself to be as healthy as possible, and communication strategies so that when the time came, she actually felt ready.
• Another return to work meeting was planned and it was much more successful. The manager was impressed with the way the employee was engaging. The employee was very eloquent in her requests, and she was more confident going in that she had done the work to be successful.
• From there, the employee did her graduated return to work. There were never any concerns, and she is now back to work successfully.

*Note that all names and other personal identifiers have been changed to protect the identity of the employee.

If one of your employees is off work, learn more about our return to work services, book a consultation, or contact us to see how an Occupational Therapist can help.