All too often our biggest focus in disAbility management is how fast can we get someone back to work. Rather than making this your goal, cultivate a culture of genuine and universal concern for your injured and/or ill employees. Their chances of a speedy recovery is exponentially increased when the organization says 'I want you back yesterday' and we can help! Too many employees [...]
This issue seems to be arising much more frequently these days and unfortunately, employers are not handling it well whatsoever. If you take one or two notes and accommodate, I can guarantee you, there is a line of employees wanting to change their shift as well. How do run an organization, let's say a hospital, if a majority of your employees only want to [...]
It's very frustrating to me when I hear or read about how employers are accommodating their sick or injured employee. There's a right way to do this, and then there's the lazy way. Let's start with the lazy way - since it seems to happen all too often. When a worker provides restrictions or limitations, it's so easy to pull them out of their [...]
I've had the pleasure lately to talk to a few organizations about disability and wellness, and unfortunately, I seem to be the only one with a different mindset. For those of you that are inclined to read and listen, you may actually be the fortunate ones. Employers believe that weight loss and exercise is the way to wellness and reduced disability claims. I'm thinking [...]
Over the years we've become very good at establishing appropriate accommodations when someone has a physical injury such as a sore back, or repetitive strain injury (RSI) but we need to get great at accommodating those with mental health issues. This seems to be a relatively new concept, one that is still yet to be adopted by most employers but definitely crucial in our [...]
With over 30 years as an Occupational Health Nurse in Ontario and I thought that toxic environments were slowly fading but not so much. While we continue to struggle with increasing awareness about Mental Health issues in the workplace, reducing our workplace injuries and managing our absenteeism, a toxic workplace negatively feeds the souls of many employees and management team alike. It has the [...]
Staff members leave their positions for a variety of reasons, but the number one reason that they STAY and EXCEL is the corporate culture. They are looking for somewhere inclusive, where they feel valued and appreciated for their hard work. According to WhatIs.com, corporate culture is the pervasive values, beliefs and attitudes that characterize a company and guide its practices. You can almost think [...]
Skyrocketing CostsIncreasing AbsenteeismLack of Internal Expertise The decade or 2 of outsourcing disability management claims may be coming to an end. In the 1990’s, outsourcing was a trendy thing to do. However, today many organizations have decided that it is more economical to hire an internal disability manager. This may be true in the short term but unless you have sufficiently invested in the [...]
Have you ever heard of Manuka Honey? It is an incredibly powerful substance created by bees that pollinate the Manuka bush, found only in New Zealand and Australia. Australian researchers have found that this honey is better than all known antibiotics. Why? Because pharmaceutical antibiotics have a short shelf life, in addition to the fact that bacteria tend to become resistant in a short [...]
Have you ever heard of dry skin brushing? It is an excellent way to expel toxins from your body, through gentle lymphatic drainage. Your lymphatic system is a network of capillaries and vessels that carry lymph throughout your body, which acts as part of your immune system. The lymph does not have its own active movement system, so it is only through exercise and [...]
