Workers and employers benefit from safe and timely return to work. Early intervention and maintaining the worker-employer relationship help speed recovery, while helping employers retain trained and skilled staff. Work itself can be therapeutic – physically, psychologically and socially.
Some best practice workplaces in Nova Scotia have moved beyond the more traditional return-to-work model and now focus on "stay at work". Others are still growing in their understanding and adoption of return-to-work principles and practices. For some workers, the nature of their injury means returning to work may not be an option. For these longterm benefit recipients, the WCB provides compassionate, caring services to support injured workers in maintaining their quality of life and meeting their specialized needs.
Regardless of where a worker or employer falls on this return to work spectrum, the WCB is there to assist in achieving a successful and appropriate outcome following a workplace injury.
Over the next five years we will:
- Analyze our return-to-work program, and how it is implemented, to ensure our programs and services reflect best practices and appropriately address emerging issues such as mental health and an aging population.
- Work with workers and employers to continue to advance the focus on return to work in Nova Scotia.
- Continue to support our employees to enhance their skills and competencies.
- Ensure caseworkers deliver high quality and consistent decisions that are easy for workers and employers to understand.
- Advance collaborative approaches to resolving appeals more quickly.
- Explore how to leverage social marketing to inspire cultural change within workplaces with regard to return to work, as we have seen with injury prevention.