Realising the health benefits of work
WorkCover Queensland supports the Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (AFOEM) and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians' position statement, 'Realising the health benefits of work'.
The paper highlights that being off work for long periods of time can significantly reduce the likelihood of a worker ever returning to work and can have a negative effect on the worker and their family.
The paper indicates work plays an important role in any rehabilitation process because ‘doing’ promotes recovery. If a person is off work for:
- 20 days, the chance of ever getting back to work is 70 per cent
- 45 days, the chance of ever getting back to work is 50 per cent
- 70 days, the chance of ever getting back to work is 35 per cent.
We promote stay at work, or if you have to take a break from work, we encourage recovering at work. WorkCover Queensland is a signatory to the consensus statement on the health benefits of work. For more information on how we do this, and what can be achieved by keeping the worker at work or getting them back to work soon after an injury, visit the Working with us page.
An information sheet for employers, providers and workers on the benefits of returning to work can be downloaded here.
The role of GPs in realising the health benefits of work
The family doctor is best placed to advise and educate patients that, in most cases, a focus on return to work is in the best interest of the patient - for both their future and quality of life and that of their family.
Simple messages delivered in the clinical environment can encourage patients to develop evidence based views of the relationship between health and work.
Read more about the role of GPs in realising the health benefits of work.
