English version - Fit for Work Europe

MSDs and employers
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lower the morale and self-esteem of injured workers, leading to low engagement, social and
family problems and secondary psychological injuries.
To maximise employees’ capacity when supporting their return to work, we recommend that
employers:
• Intervene early. Employers should always take action sooner rather than later because
caution and delay can only make matters worse. As long as employers behave
compassionately and make decisions based on evidence and expert opinion, early
intervention cannot be construed as harassment and can often hasten recovery or
rehabilitation. Reporting of early signs of illness will help prevent long-term incapacity.
• Implement imaginative job design that will assist rehabilitation. Managers can change
the ways work is organised (including simple changes to working time arrangements)
to help prevent MSDs from getting worse and to help people with MSDs return to work.
Managers need to do this in a way which preserves job quality, avoids excessive job
demands and takes heed of ergonomic good practice. Occupational physicians should
carefully evaluate all aspects – physical and psychosocial – of employee working
environments, taking into consideration both occupational safety and occupational
health aspects.
• Communicate with clinicians. If medical statements are not providing a clear enough
indication of the nature of an employee’s health problem, or its impact on their
capacity to work, occupational physicians should challenge and clarify the clinician’s
assessment, if only to help understand which tasks the employee can still perform,
or what support they might require to return to work. Occupational physicians should
start co-operating with the treating physician immediately after the appearance of the
disability, and begin exchanging medical and occupational health information with each
other.
• Include a health and well-being component in managerial awareness-raising and
training. Vocational rehabilitation carefully organised and tailored to the individual
can make a real difference to return to work, productivity, morale and performance
sustainability. Involve occupational health professionals as early as possible.
• Go beyond legal compliance. A ‘risk management’ mentality when dealing with
an employee with an MSD can often lead to delay, ambiguity and negative health
outcomes. In almost all cases, the employee is better off at work.
Fit For Work? Musculoskeletal Disorders and the Japanese Labour Market