After an injury or surgery, most people don’t spend enough time healing before heading back to work. In American culture, there is an unspoken expectation that employees need to show up no matter what and the pressure to return to work too early is usually intense. Although many people cave to the pressure and forgo full healing before going back to work, there are many reasons you shouldn’t follow suit.
You might have the right to heal
The main reason people go back to work before they’re fully healed is because they fear getting fired for taking too long to return. In some cases, that’s a genuine possibility. With few exceptions, employers can terminate an at-will employee if their absence is disrupting the business.
If you’re pursuing a personal injury lawsuit, you can recover lost wages. That’s great news if you’re concerned about missing paychecks if you get fired. However, if you aren’t suing the responsible party, you won’t be compensated for missed work, but you still might have the legal right to fully heal without losing your job.
Depending on your state and specific circumstances, you might have a legal right to heal fully before heading back to work without the threat of being fired. It depends on factors like whether you’re contracted or at-will, and if you’re on medical leave through FMLA or similar legislation.
The only way to know your legal rights is to contact an attorney to discuss your case. If you were injured in a car crash in Nashville, for example, and are on medical leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), you can’t be fired or it would be considered wrongful termination.
If you don’t heal fully, you can prolong your injury
Injuries take time to heal and if you interrupt the process of healing it can set you back pretty far. Poor healing increases your risk of infection and complications and will make it harder for you to pick up where you left off before your injury.
For the best chance at healing, it’s important to listen to your doctor and follow all of their instructions. For instance, walking on a broken bone or fracture too soon can cause the bone to fuse incorrectly and that can create lifelong pain. The only way to fix that is to have your bone rebroken and set again, which is a painful experience.
Going back to work too soon can create the kind of psychological stress that has been proven to prolong injury. Stress inhibits healing, and if you’re feeling pressured to get back to work before you’re ready, you’re doing yourself (and your body) a great disservice.
Unhealed injuries can impact job performance
You might show up to work, but that doesn’t mean you’ll do your best. In fact, if you’re struggling and in pain, your quality of work will drop and that might result in consequences handed down by your employer. If you can’t perform your usual job duties, your fears of getting fired might come true.
If your boss is expecting you to be healed when you return to work so that you can do your job correctly, you are risking your employment by not healing all the way first.
Lingering pain can impact your emotional wellbeing
Prolonging healing can have a detrimental effect on your mental health as well as your ability to do your job. If you go back to work too soon and you’re still in pain, you’re not going to feel good. You might even get a little grumpy.
Pain has a way of making people feel bitter and a little bit on edge, and if you’re hurting day in and day out, it can negatively impact your relationship with your coworkers.
Your wellbeing is more important than a job
Jobs are a dime a dozen. There will always be someone out there hiring for whatever you do. Don’t put your health and wellbeing on the backburner. If your boss doesn’t care enough to allow you time to heal, you’ll probably be happier at a different job anyway.
Your wellbeing is more important than a replaceable job, so don’t let your boss bully you into showing up at work before you’re fully healed. Take the time to rest and ensure you’re truly okay before returning.
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