The number 1 mistake
that injured workers make from the time of their injury to the time they return
to work is this:
INJURED WORKERS GIVE UP.
There are many things that injured workers give up for a myriad
of reasons, usually because it seems to be the only course of action at the
time. Just a few of important things injured workers give up include:
o Control
o Hope
o Focus
o Sense of Self
All of these are, of course interrelated – usually one leads to
the other. The order of the loss varies from person to person and
situation to situation, with Loss of Control leading to Loss of Hope which
leads to Loss of Focus and a Loss of Sense of Self.
The reason and/or intention of the giving up process is somewhat
immaterial. Often, the worker gets lost in the “system.” The
medical system, the workers compensation system, the unemployment system….
Quickly, the worker who has been injured may come to feel like a
statistic. Or, as one client recently described it, may come to feel
like a piece of paper. Can you imagine feeling like a
piece of paper?
Not long after my client shared this description with me I
got two calls for requests to work on the same case – one from the plaintiff
attorney and one call from the defense attorney. One attorney noted they
had a client in the such and such area that needed my help. The Opposing
attorney stated they had a claim they needed to take care of, could I handle
it. Wow. I couldn’t ask for a better illustration, if even by
chance.
Regardless of when, where, what, or why – if you have been
injured it is imperative that you understand that it is imperative that
you regain:
o Control
o Hope
o Focus
o Sense of Self
Regain can come in any order as well as loss. Personally, my view
is that it is easier to start back on the path to RETURN TO WORK by
first determining what you can CONTROL. Little, if
anything, can be gained by spending energy on something you cannot, yourself,
control. It is hard enough to handle the
things you CAN control, let the rest
go… Those of you who are religious may receive strength from The Serenity
Prayer, those opposed, from The Secular Serenity Prayer. You can find both versions here.
I met with another injured worker recently who wrote me two emails within 24
hours that both ended with, “So, I assume they don’t want to hire me.” Unwritten, but definitely there was: Because
of my injury…. He was so focused
on his injury and the resultant disability that he assumed that everyone else is too.
In both cases he was expecting action from the employer that may not
have been realistic.
What we choose to focus on correlates directly to what we see in
terms of options. The narrower our focus, the less there is to see. Cup your
hands around your eyes and describe what you see – the computer screen? A piece of paper? The floor?
Whatever your answer, it is a mere fraction of what there is to see. There are options and opportunities out there
that you will never know about because of your FOCUS.
As adults, we structure our days around our work schedules and
identify ourselves as what we do. Think
about it. When you meet someone new do
you say, “Hi, Joe Smith, I am trying to teach myself Spanish and am taking
piano lessons in my spare time.”
No. We typically will say
something like, “Hi, Joe Smith, I am a Plumber.
What do you do?”
When someone is injured, they often lose this sense of self,
which includes:
o
Esteem
o
Confidence
o
Identity
o
Reliance
o
Determination
This area
of loss includes so many aspects that it requires separate treatment. In short, if a worker has been injured he or
she may become almost paralyzed – not sure what to do or in which direction to
turn. I hear, “I can’t…” so many times a
day it makes me crazy (it may explain a lot, actually!). I hear myself say, as many times a day. “Focus on what you CAN DO and/or WANT TO DO.”
This leads
in nicely to another major area of loss:
HOPE. With all of the losses that an injured worker
experiences, it is no wonder that, for many, Hope is lost. It needn’t be so, but it is hard to see options
when you are demoralized and no immediate solution is in sight.
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
For many of
the people I work with, activity helps them to FOCUS and to feel hopeful. First consider, what is in your control
– your ACTIONS. If nothing
else, you have control of this. Next,
what do you want? If it is like most of
the clients I work with the answer is to RETURN TO WORK. The very next step
then is to figure out what YOU CAN DO (physically, mentally, in
terms of your skills, anything you can think of). Finally, JUST DO IT (thank you NIKE).
So what can
you do to regain these important parts of yourself if you have been injured at
work, have been disabled, or are looking to make a career change? It may not be easy, but it is possible:
·
Focus on what you CAN control
·
Think about what you WANT or CAN do
·
Set short and long term GOALS
·
Determine what you NEED to attain your
goals
·
Ask for HELP
It
may not be possible for you to get back
on your feet and back to work alone – you may need assistance, as we all do
from time to time. Talk to your family, friends, co-workers and seek out expert help. You can find
information and support at www.InjuredWorkerHelpDesk.com in the members section.
Mary is a Masters-prepared Career Counselor with over 18 years experience in resume writing, personal branding, career assessment and counseling. Specializing in non-traditional specialized careers and career-transitioning, she has the ability to synthesize and focus your unique skills and abilities to obtain interviews for the positions you want with the employers you want to notice you. Follow her on Twitter at @MarySevinsky.