“Why did you want to get back to work, for heaven’s sake?”

It’s a question people often ask Keith Schwarze, a butcher who left behind a Melbourne-based family business 32 years ago for a job in the meat section at a Coles supermarket in sunny Queensland.

“I’ve been cutting meat for 66 years now,” eighty year old Keith Schwarze told the Q-Comp RTW Conference and Expo in October 2010, “and I still like cutting up meat.”

Given the challenges Keith has faced after being injured at work, this hardly seems like reason enough—but Keith’s job satisfaction and good relationships in the workplace have been a powerful motivating force.

Keith is 80 years old, and in the last 18 months he’s had a rough trot. He’s had a torn rotator cuff, surgery, a nasty fall leading to re-injury and more surgery, and substantial periods of incapacity while he recovered from his two operations.

Keith spent three months in a sling after his first operation, during which time he struggled with his new-found helplessness.

“I got a little bit down in the dumps because I couldn’t do what I wanted to do, but I knew I had to put up with it because I didn’t want to push myself because if I did, I most probably wouldn’t have been back as quick as I was.”

During this period, Keith and his wife, Joyce, moved house, and things got a bit more difficult when Joyce fell over near the back door, hurt her ankle, and had to have her leg in plaster for five weeks.

Keith and Joyce were both struggling.

“Not long after that, Joyce had to have an operation on her wrist. She had her right arm in plaster for about three months, while I had my left arm in a sling, so we had a bit of a bad time,” Keith said.

Keith was focused on getting back to work, so he did nothing more or less than what his surgeon and physiotherapist told him would be appropriate for his recovery. Eventually, he was allowed back into the workplace—but not to his beloved meat cutting.

“My surgeon and my physiotherapist told me that I could go back to work and do light duties, as long as I didn’t lift anything with my left arm. The store manager suggested packing the shelves outside for the moment. I said, ‘Yes, I can use my right arm to do that.’ So I packed shelves.”

Work looked after Keith during this period by encouraging him to monitor his own progress, and take breaks at his own discretion.

“They told me not to overdo it, you know, to take my time and, when I feel like it, to just sit down and have a rest.”

After his second operation, Keith was out of action for another three to four months before returning on light duties and then, 12 months after his shoulder problem first flared up, back to regular duties four days a fortnight.

A few people told him that he should milk his injury claim for as much as it was worth, and stay off work for as long as possible, but Keith wasn’t interested in sitting around and doing nothing.  

“I work in a wonderful store,” Keith said. “I like going to work. I’ve got good workmates. We have a lot of fun. I enjoy the day. While I’m physically and mentally capable of earning a wage in the trade that I do, then I’ll be there. I like it.”

Keith’s beliefs and feelings about work have had a huge influence on his successful outcome.  A strong work ethic, job satisfaction and good working relationships made him determined to return to the job he loves. Now, if we could only get Coles to tap, bottle and stock that attitude!