Last week, we talked about one of the most crucial factors in the success of the return-to-work (RTW) process: the role of supervisors. Unfortunately, many supervisors fail to fulfill their RTW potential. In fact, they often do the exact opposite of what workers need and expect of them. Instead of actively engaging an injured worker, they try to pass him off to a nurse or other company employee.

It's incumbent upon the company to train supervisors to step up and play a leading role in the RTW process. Using the results of the worker expectation study that we discussed last week, researchers from The Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety developed supervisor training in RTW practices. They then conducted a study that looked at the results of supervisor participation in such training. Here's a look at what the study says and what its results mean for your RTW program.

Supervisors and RTW

Many companies don't realize that time missed by injured workers isn't just a function of the extent and nature of the worker's injury. Length of absence is also affected by how closely the worker and his doctors communicate with the company and how quickly and effectively the company can evaluate the worker's physical capacities and make the accommodations necessary to get him back to work.

There are three critical points in the RTW process, notes William Shaw, PhD, lead investigative researcher for the Liberty Mutual Research Institute study:

• When a worker first reports an injury or work-related health problem;
• When the worker is absent and/or undergoing treatment for the injury or health problem; and
• When the worker tries to return to work.

Supervisors are ideally situated to serve as the point person for the worker at each of these points. But supervisors often don't know what their role - if any - should be in the RTW process, says Shaw. Or the role they think they should play is at odds with the role workers want them to play - or that they should be playing, he explains. Companies' failure to train supervisors to recognize and carry out their role in the RTW process seriously undermines the effectiveness of their RTW programs and makes absences due to illnesses and injuries more costly than they need to be.

The Liberty Mutual Study

To improve the outcomes of your RTW program, you need to understand and impress upon senior management the importance of training supervisors to accept their role in the RTW process and of helping them develop the skills they need to perform this role effectively. The Liberty Mutual study is important because it documents the value of such training.

Seven employers from New Hampshire participated in the study on the effectiveness of training supervisors on their RTW role, representing industries ranging from manufacturing (engineered fabrics, automotive parts, lighting equipment) to human services (retirement and nursing home residential care).

To establish a baseline, the researchers had workers who had experienced a work-related injury in the previous 12 months complete a questionnaire about the types and onset of work-related injuries they suffered, their supervisor's response to these injuries and overall satisfaction with this response, explains Shaw. In addition, 108 supervisors completed a pre-training survey asking about their level of preparedness to address particular health and injury issues among workers, whether workers were likely to follow supervisor advice and whether they felt supported by senior management in addressing worker health concerns.

The supervisors then attended a 90-minute training session designed to promote a proactive, supportive and knowledgeable response to workplace injuries and symptoms among their workers, says Shaw. The training covered, among other things:

• The reasons supervisors should encourage their workers to report work-related health problems early, including how discouraging reporting prolongs disability and why early intervention is important for preventing (or at least minimizing the severity of) musculoskeletal injuries and work-related respiratory illnesses;
• Examples of typical situations in which a worker may come to his supervisor with an injury or health concern and recommendations and how supervisors should respond, including meeting privately with injured workers, validating workers' health concerns, using supportive language and active listening techniques and avoiding negative responses; and
• Accommodations, including the rationale and value of accommodations, the importance of the supervisor in evaluating whether accommodations are safe and effective after a worker returns to work, methods to facilitate accommodations and basic ergonomics principles relevant to accommodations and injury prevention.

One month and again one year after the training, the supervisors completed surveys that mirrored the pre-training surveys they'd completed and gave a confidential survey to every worker who came to them that year with a work-related injury. Surveys were also available in various locations in the workplace for workers to take and complete on their own.

The Study's Results

As a result of the supervisors' participation in the training, the researchers identified several positive outcomes among supervisors and workers:

Supervisors felt more confident in dealing with workers' injuries. The training led to small, but sustained, changes in supervisors' attitudes toward injured workers. Supervisors reported a greater awareness of their role in the RTW process. They also reported feeling more confident in their ability to handle work-related injury concerns, especially in seeking medical advice, investigating and modifying job factors that contributed to injuries or health problems, solving injury-related problems, dealing with HR issues and answering workers' questions. Most importantly, these improvements lasted a year after the training.

Lost work time was reduced. About one-third of the supervisors reported that since receiving the training, work hours lost due to workers' injuries were reduced.

Workers reported improved supervisor response to injuries. Workers who suffered work-related injuries after the supervisor training was held reported that supervisors were more likely to speak privately and confidentially with them and make medical referrals, and less likely to blame them for their injuries. And because workers started to see their supervisors as more approachable, they may have reported injuries sooner and when the injuries were more easily treated.

What it Means

Supervisor behavior may influence workers' absences after work-related injuries and their efforts to return to work, says Shaw. Positive, supportive responses to worker injuries can help workers return to work sooner and more comfortably. Conversely, negative responses may derail the RTW process, even if physical accommodations are made for injured workers. But the results of the Liberty Mutual study show that supervisor responses to worker injuries can be improved through a simple training program, he explains. And such training, the study suggests, ultimately improves RTW outcomes for injured workers.

Conclusion

Your company should already provide training for supervisors. But it's important that such training doesn't just address supervisors' general role in the workplace and in your health and safety program. It should also address supervisors' role in your RTW program. By ensuring that your supervisors are more involved with injured workers, both while they're out and when they return to work, you'll not only improve the effectiveness of your RTW program, but also reduce your workers' compensation costs, future disability costs and lost work time.

Editor's Note: Parts 1, 2 and 3 of this series are available from the SafetyXChange website, http://www.safetyxchange.org.

SPECIAL REPORT

Children's Eye Health & Safety Month

By Glenn Demby

Question: What do one in four school age children in the U.S. have in common?

Answer: They're suffering from some form of vision impairment. That's 12 million kids. Adding to the problem is the fact that millions of children suffer eye injuries each year.

Shouldn't there be some kind of public relations initiative to draw attention to the eye problems of kids? In fact, there is. The month of August is Children's Eye Health & Safety Month. To show its support for this important cause, SafetyXChange would like to present some information about children eye health and safety.

SIGNS THAT YOUR CHILD MAY BE HAVING EYE PROBLEMS

Visual Evidence

• Eyes don't line up, one eye appears crossed or looks out
• Eyelids are red-rimmed, crusted or swollen
• Eyes are watery or red (inflamed)

Behavioral Evidence

• Rubs eyes a lot
• Closes or covers one eye
• Tilts head or thrusts head forward
• Has trouble reading or doing other close-up work
• Holds objects close to eyes to see
• Blinks more than usual
• Seems cranky when doing close-up work
• Squints or frowns

Verbal Evidence

• "My eyes are itchy"
• "My eyes are burning"
• "My eyes feel scratchy"
• "I can't see that very well"
• "I feel dizzy," "I have a headache" or "I feel sick/nauseous" (especially after doing close-up work)
• "Everything looks blurry"
• "I see double"

SOURCE: United Way of Greater St. Louis

PREVENTING CHILDREN'S EYE INJURIES

Each year, thousands of children 5 and under have eye accidents at home, at play or in the car. These eye injuries can damage a child's sight and even cause blindness. Here's some information to help prevent eye injuries to your child:

MOST COMMON CAUSES OF CHILDREN'S EYE INJURIES

• Misuse of toys
• Falls from beds, against furniture, on stairs, and when playing with toys
• Misuse of everyday tools and objects (work and garden tools, knives and forks, pens and pencils)
• Contact with harmful household products (detergents, paints, glues, etc.)
• Automobile accidents

PROTECTING KIDS AT HOME

• Understand the dangers
• Find and remove hazards
• Use safety gates at top and bottom of stairs
• Pad or cushion sharp corners
• Lock cabinets and drawers your child can reach
• Keep sharp objects out of reach
• Watch your child closely

PROTECTING KIDS AT PLAY

• Don't buy toys that fly or shoot objects
• Avoid toys that have sharp edges or hard points, spikes and rods
• Read all warnings and instructions on toys
• Make sure your child wears proper eye protection when playing sports

PROTECTING KIDS IN VEHICLES

• Make sure children are properly secured in baby carriers and child safety seats and that the seat and shoulder belts fit well
• Keep children age 12 and younger out of the front seat
• Store loose items that can turn into projectiles in a crash in the trunk, or secure them on the floor

CHOOSING CHILDREN'S SUNGLASSES

• Make sure glasses fit well and aren't damaged
• Choose glasses that fit your child's lifestyle
• Make sure lenses are impact resistant and don't pop out of frames
• Choose lenses that are big enough to shield the eyes from all angles
• Give your child a wide brimmed hat to wear to shield the eyes and block the sun's UV rays

SOURCE: Prevent Blindness America

Story Tools:  Email This Post  Print This Post Top