How Can Employers Help Workers Who Have Gone to Treatment Return to Work?

Employee Assistance Programs and health insurance companies do a wonderful job of providing treatment for employees who need help with substance issues. However, there is virtually no formal support offered after the employee completes (or leaves) treatment and returns to the workplace.

How can employers help their employees reacclimate to the workplace?

Guard the employee’s privacy

Depending on the organization, people may notice the employee’s absence, and there may even be some water cooler talk about their whereabouts. As an employer, be sure to keep quiet about where the employee is. It’s no one else’s business, and it’s certainly not the employer’s place to make the employee’s struggles public.

Remember that recovery is not always a straight line

Ideally, the employee will return to work and become a healthy, valued, performing team member. The reality is that relapse can sometimes happen. Do your best to be compassionate for the employee if they struggle, but be sure to have established boundaries around expectations.

Have a return to work agreement

The best thing you can do for the employee is to establish and communicate clear guidelines for their transition back into the workplace. A return to work agreement will allow you to put in writing the expectations for both employer and employee.

Make accommodations where possible and required

Does the employee need to go to recovery meetings during lunch? Do they need to leave early a couple of days a week to see their counselor? If these can be done without limiting the ability to do business, then be supportive and compassionate. It’s the right thing to do, and in many states, legally you have to make reasonable accommodation for employees who are actively treating their substance issues.