This month we focus on employee/ claimant engagement.

An engaged employee is more likely to return to their job and their previous level of productivity. An engaged employee makes our job easier, allows us to feel we are helping, and is likely to have a better long-term outcome in terms of their health and wellbeing.

It is a theme we repeat over and over.

It is one that takes time to understand and is worth repeating. It's an issue you learn more about the longer you spend in the field. 

Why it is such an important issue?

An engaged employee wants to get back to work. It's important not to get in their way, not to hinder them. But most of the time they self rehabilitate.

On the other hand, a disengaged employee may be more comfortable at home. They may not like their job, there may be incivility at the workplace, they may perceive they have been treated negatively.

An already disgruntled employee - one who was not engaged - is more likely to find fault with the rehabilitation process, particularly if it’s trying to return them to work against their wishes. 

How do we engage an employee? 

Just as importantly, what happens to disengaged employees? Typically, problems develop over a period of time, with a number of small issues dealt with poorly. In the end this leads to a ‘toxic dose’ of problems. Once the individual has reached that toxic dose of problems, it is very difficult to turn the situation around and re-engage them.

To assist, we present a range of articles on employee engagement.

In week one, we start with two simple case studies: an employee who was clearly engaged and happy, and another where the employee felt they had been poorly managed and ended up leaving the workplace.

Gabrielle Lis looks at ‘process related’ injury - what happens to people who feel they are badly treated through their case management process.

In week two we explore the topic more broadly. A case study of a workplace that transformed their return to work approach to one based on a system of integrity and trust. As research tells us, that's the best way to engage employees. The rewards make this approach invaluable. 

Scott Sanderson expands on employee engagement at the workplace level.

We look at workplace attitudes that are more likely to disengage employees, and how to deal with the victim - a significantly disengaged individual.

In week three we explore the importance of self-management in medical conditions. If the employee feels engaged in managing their own health problem, they are more likely to be engaged in the rehabilitation process.

10 tips on dealing well with claimants, to keep them engaged, are covered in “To schmooze or not to schmooze.”

Louise Marshall, from a human resources background, lets you know how to deliver bad news but still keep on positive terms in “Who is going to tell them, you or me?”

We then look at how to engage the employee’s partner in a way that will help both of them and help you. Elizabeth Quinn writes about her own recovery, and what helped her to remain active and engaged in life through a lengthy period of recuperation from a neck fracture.

In the fourth and final week we look at engagement of the employees at the workplace. How to develop trust, how to develop a positive workplace environment, and Tom Barton interviews Peter Sullivan, a workplace psychologist, on how to support emotional resilience at the workplace.

Each week we also provide you with a “Tool”, designed to help make your job easier. These tools include a handout to help employees take control of their recovery, a handout for family members of those with a health problem, a survey of an employee's return to work experience, and handouts for supervisors to help keep the employee engaged.