Transitional Work & Accommodations for Psychological Injury
Understand what returning to work can look like
Work is an important part of recovery after a psychological injury. Returning can feel stressful, especially while you’re still healing. Knowing what to expect—and seeing examples—can help reduce anxiety and make the process easier.
With your needs at the centre, your employer, health care provider, WCB case manager, client care navigator, and return-to-work specialist will work with you to plan a safe return. This often means a gradual return with transitional work and accommodations. These are temporary changes to your duties, schedule, or environment that adjust as your recovery progresses.
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Get information on transitional work and accommodations for physical injuries.
Transitional work examples
Here are some examples of what transitional work can look like in different jobs while you’re healing from a psychological injury.
Scenario 1: Reduced client interaction and phased return
Background:
Samantha is a retail sales associate. She developed a psychological injury after ongoing dealings with a harassing customer. The customer frequently screamed at her, made personal attacks, and repeatedly threatened her. The ongoing stress and fear of facing the customer led to severe anxiety.
Transitional work:
When Samantha returns to work, her employer limits client interactions at first. She focuses on product documentation, organizing inventory, and assisting with online orders. As her confidence and ability to manage stress improve, she gradually resumes client contact, starting with less challenging situations.
Scenario 2: Reduced hours and phased return
Background:
Tom is a construction worker. He developed a psychological injury due to ongoing bullying by a supervisor, who often criticized him personally in front of co-workers, assigning him only the most physically demanding tasks, and making physical threats. The chronic stress and anxiety led to depression.
Transitional work:
On return, Tom starts with reduced hours—four-hour shifts instead of eight. He is assigned to less physically demanding tasks. As his stamina and confidence improve, his hours and responsibilities increase.
Scenario 3: Remote work and alternate duties
Background:
Rachel is a customer service manager. She developed a psychological injury after ongoing harassment from a group of co-workers. They excluded her from team activities and spread cruel rumours about her—leading to anxiety and depression.
Transitional work:
Rachel begins by working remotely three days a week, handling email inquiries and administrative tasks from home. Over time, she reduces remote days and returns to more client-facing work.
Scenario 4: Back-office duties and quiet shifts
Background:
Ava is a bank teller. During a shift, an armed robber threatened staff and customers. No one was physically hurt. Ava developed a psychological injury with panic, nightmares, and fear of public areas.
Transitional work:
At first, Ava works in a back-of-office role. She reconciles daily deposits, prepares cash orders, and supports fraud checks. Her shifts are shorter and set for quieter times. As her symptoms ease, she does short, planned returns to the teller line during low-traffic periods. Over time, she adds simple transactions, then full teller duties, with the option to step away when needed.
Scenario 5: Training-course practice and short routes
Background:
Miguel is a city bus operator. He was driving when a car ran a red light and struck his bus. Several passengers were injured. Miguel was not physically hurt, but he developed a psychological injury with flashbacks and anxiety at busy intersections.
Transitional work:
Miguel starts on non-driving duties. He helps with scheduling, equipment checks, and training materials. When ready, he returns to driving on the training course, then on short, low-traffic routes. His schedule avoids the crash location at first. A return-to-work specialist builds in planned breaks and check-ins. As his confidence grows, he progresses to regular routes, then full shifts, with a plan for symptom spikes.
Scenario 6: Alternate work location and phased exposure
Background:
Mary is a continuing care assistant in a long-term care home. While providing care to a resident, the resident physically attacked her, uttered threats, and raised a cane. Mary got away and took shelter in a bathroom. Co-workers arrived, calmed the resident, and helped Mary leave safely. She had minor bruising to her arm. She also developed a psychological injury, with flashbacks and anxiety when startled—for example, when someone approached from behind or when she heard loud noises.
Transitional work:
Mary started back on a different unit with more low-risk patients with a gradual plan to increase to full time hours. Over time she began to increase hours on her regular unit, initially in the lunch room carrying in lunch trays. She then began assisting with patient care that required two CCAs per resident in the opposite wing. This was followed by care for all residents in the opposite wing, and gradually she worked towards the wing that the incident occurred. She was provided with ongoing access to counselling support and a job site visit with an occupational therapist.
Accommodation examples
These are examples of accommodations that may be included in your return-to-work plan.
- Flexible scheduling – Start later if mornings are hard and take short, regular breaks to manage fatigue and concentration
- Modified environment – Choose a quieter space, softer lighting, fewer scents, and consider working at times when the workplace is less busy
- Individualized training – Special training, step-by-step instructions, written checklists, and practice time to build confidence
- Stay connected – Have brief daily check-ins or online touchpoints so you don’t feel isolated
- Tailored supervision – Agree on how you like feedback (written, verbal, scheduled) and meet more often at first
- Stress support and skill building - Have a quick talk after stressful events and discuss ways to handle difficult situations
- Modified job role – Focus on tasks you can do now and shift away from duties that aren’t safe yet
- Fewer distractions – Reduce noise and interruptions, and suggest changes that make the workspace feel safe for you
- Remote work – Work from home when appropriate, with regular check-ins to stay connected
- Visual supports and memory aids: Use a calendar, sticky notes, to-do lists or checklists to stay organized and reduce mental strain
Sample return-to-work plans
This example shows how transitional work and accommodations might come together in a return-to-work plan.
Hans — Automotive mechanic
Hans works at an automotive repair shop as a mechanic. On top of repairing vehicles, he often has contact with customers and a traumatic interaction with a customer led to a psychological injury.
Hans' return-to-work plan includes:
- Flexible scheduling – Starting later in the day to manage low energy
- Modified role – Limiting direct customer contact
- Individualized training – Building strategies for handling upset customers
- Gradual return to hours – Increasing shifts over several weeks
Schedule
- Phase 1 (Weeks 1–2): 3 days/week, 12–4 p.m. Reorientation, light housekeeping, non-urgent repairs
- Phase 2 (Week 3): 3 days/week, 10–4 p.m. Same tasks plus training on customer relations
- Phase 3 (Week 4): 4 days/week, 10–4 p.m. Add more urgent repairs, continue training
- Phase 4 (Week 5): 5 days/week, 10–5:30 p.m. Return to regular duties with limited customer contact. Increase contact based on Hans’ feedback during weekly check-ins with his manager for 8 more weeks
Layla — Administrative assistant
Layla works in a busy office, supporting scheduling and communications. She is returning after a leave for adjustment disorder with anxiety following a traumatic event at work and needs a quieter, more structured environment to ease back into her role.
Layla’s return-to-work plan includes:
- Modified environment — Quieter workstation and noise-reducing tools
- Flexible scheduling — Start earlier when the office is quieter
- Visual supports — Written task checklists and a colour-coded calendar
- Tailored supervision — Weekly check-ins with her manager for feedback and planning
- Transitional duties — Filing, proofreading, organizing digital folders, and low-pressure scheduling tasks
Schedule
- Phase 1 (Weeks 1–2): 3 days/week, 8 a.m.–12 p.m. Reading and sorting emails, simple data entry, organizing shared drives
- Phase 2 (Weeks 3–4): 4 days/week, 8 a.m.–2 p.m. Begin calendar coordination, document proofreading, internal meeting support
- Phase 3 (Week 5): 5 days/week, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. First 2–4 hours scheduling by phone only, filing, proofreading
- Phase 4 (Weeks 6–8): 5 days/week, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Half shift on scheduling (alternate phone and in-person days), other half filing and updating documents; build to full shift of regular scheduling with a mix of phone and in-person