What does a return-to-work program aim to achieve?

A return-to-work program is designed specifically to facilitate and support injured employees’ reintegration into the workplace after they have recovered from an injury or illness. The primary goal is to help these employees transition back to their jobs in a safe and supportive manner, minimizing the disruption to the organization while promoting the employee's recovery and well-being.

By focusing on this reintegration, the program often includes modified duties or a gradual increase in hours to accommodate the employee’s recovery process, which can help reduce the potential for further injury and improve the overall morale of employees. Such programs benefit not only the individual returning to work but also the employer by fostering a culture of support and maintaining productivity within the workforce.

In contrast, automatically granting a permanent disability does not align with the intention of return-to-work programs, which seek to enable employees to regain their jobs. Extending the time employees spend away from work conflicts with the core objective of these programs, as they aim to bring employees back sooner rather than prolonging their absence. Finally, evaluating future job performance is not the primary focus of return-to-work initiatives, which instead concentrate on easing the transition back into the workplace following an injury or illness.