Even if you’re just going about your daily business, there’s always a chance that you could somehow get injured in a way that derails your life for a bit. If you get this injury what you’re at work, there are certain legal steps that can be taken to ensure that you get proper compensation and accommodations. But if you manage to hurt yourself when you’re off the clock, say in a car accident or other physical mishap, you might be unsure how you’ll be able to keep working while recovering.
So to help you navigate these potentially uncertain waters, here are three tips for continuing to work when you have an injury.
Talk With Your Doctor First
One of the very first things you should do once you sustain some kind of personal injury is to visit a doctor. By doing this, you’ll be able to see to what extent you’ve been injured and learn the best ways for you to take care of yourself while you recover.
In addition to this, Camille Noe Pagan, a contributor to Arthritis.org, shares that seeing a doctor will also allow you to get any kind of medical note that you might need to take to work with you. In this note, your physician will be able to specify if there are any limitations that you and your employer should work within and how long your expected recovery should take. This can be very helpful to have if you’re needing to make some adjustments at work due to your injury.
Open A Dialogue With Your Employer
Once you get back to work after your injury, it’s time to speak with your employer about how your injury could affect your ability to get your work done like you could when you weren’t injured.
During this dialogue, Jennifer Jeff, a contributor to Health.com, shares that you should be prepared to engage in an interactive process about what accommodations can and should be made so that you can continue working. Everything that you want your employer to do to give you may not be possible. But ideally, some sort of compromise should be able to be met so you can keep working without further injuring yourself.
Ask If You Can Have Light Duty Accommodations
One option you might want to consider speaking with your employer about as you seek to find the right accommodations during this time is going on light duty.
According to Laura Handrick, a contributor to Fit Small Business, light duty accommodations often means allowing you to have certain exemptions to your work while you’re recovering from your injury. This could include things like not lifting heavy items, getting more or longer breaks, or not having to stand for so long during the day.
Ideally, your employer should have some kind of template or policy regarding light duty that you can refer to when seeking this accommodation.
If you’ve been injured and aren’t sure how you’ll be able to keep working while you recover, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you figure this out.
