Could Layoffs and Remote Work Make You More Susceptible to Injury?

By Silverman, McDonald & Friedman | June 15, 2020

At Silverman, McDonald & Friedman, our Delaware workplace injury attorneys know that you are entitled to payment of your medical bills, lost wages and other damages when you get hurt at work. If you need help after being injured at work, reach out to a member of our legal team in one of our offices located in Wilmington, Newark, Seaford and Newark.

Like anything else, being out of commission for a period of time can cause you to become complacent and a little rusty with anything you’ve done as routine for a long time. There’s a reason athletes have training camps, and professionals have to take continuing education courses to maintain occupational licenses; some even including mental health credits. You don’t practice self-care and you forget the basics when you’re away from the everyday action, requiring the need for a refresher. For those who work in dangerous occupations, it’s all the more important to be at their best or they could face a serious workplace injury.

Reorienting when you return to work is important

With so many jobs requiring physical components, those who have been home for months or even just weeks will need to re-acclimate yourselves to your work routines to keep from getting hurt. Overexertion is a leading cause of workers’ compensation claims, and you could get injured if you try to move too fast.

If you work with heavy equipment that you haven’t been driving around for a while, you need to take it slow and rebuild your instinctive reflexes for maneuvering around moving people and objects.

With restaurants reopening, servers will need to be careful with heavy lifting and maintaining balance on slick kitchen floors until they become comfortable with it once again.

If you’ve been brought back to work in a different capacity than what you did before being laid off, you might find yourself learning a new skill or having different responsibilities than previously. Lifting heavy boxes or working with dangerous tools can easily cause you injury if you aren’t properly trained for it.

Some companies have found solutions to stave off problems

Most employees will tell you that one of the biggest perks to working for a company is feeling like your employer values them and cares about their wellbeing. Money is important too, but it matters much less if you’re miserable going to work every day.

Some companies have figured out how to curb the likelihood of their employees experiencing mental health issues and physical injuries, employing methods like:

  • Supplying ergonomic furniture, including chairs, mouse pads with wrist pads attached, and lifts for monitors
  • Upgrading sick-leave, PTO, and vacation policies
  • Creating/offering telehealth programs for employees
  • Offering counseling and other mental health services free of charge
  • Setting up funds for employees who may be struggling with caring for dependents, like children or elderly parents
  • Creating team-focused events and get-togethers to ensure that everyone can “see” one another, and to increase morale

Enabling workers to feel connected to the company and one another provides an alternative outlet that helps fill the social gap they’re used to having each day, which in turn, should help prevent the necessity of long-term mental health treatment. Ensuring that employees have the tools they need to get care of they are injured or ill is another way to protect them.

Should an employee sustain an injury is the course of his or her job duties, that employee can seek workers’ compensation benefits. The Delaware workplace injury attorneys at Silverman, McDonald & Friedman protect injured workers throughout the state. To schedule your free case evaluation in our Wilmington, Newark, Seaford or Newark office, call 302-888-2900, or reach out to us through our contact page.

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Posted in Workplace Injury