Most people think of primary prevention first, like safeguarding procedures or the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) to prevent workplace injuries from occurring.
Secondary prevention kicks in after something has already happened. In employment, it’s about early detection, reducing the impact of an injury or illness and preventing it from reoccurring or getting worse, by accommodating workers in the workplace, and getting them back to work when it is safe to do so.
The goal is to address existing issues, eliminate risk to other workers, reduce financial and human costs, and build workplace resilience by maximizing return to work (RTW) efforts, which shifts the focus from preventing incidents to effectively managing their aftermath for the long term.
Prevention Link assists Ontario workplaces in building effective Return to Work programs.
If you look at the bigger picture, RTW hinges on collaboration that rests on three sets of shoulders: the employer, the union, and the worker. The key is the legal duty to accommodate injured workers that is grounded in the interactions of laws, like Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA), Ontario Human Rights Code, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA), relevant labour legislation and operational RTW policies under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB).
A recent Institute for Work & Health study found that workers with a physical injury on the job may experience financial worries, difficulty performing their social roles, and social disconnection, while they are away from work, which may lead to poorer RTW outcomes—such as longer disability claim times and experiencing poor mental health.
Research supports that to ensure successful RTW outcomes, supervisors should express immediate support when a worker is injured or becomes ill and that they remain positive during the recovery period. The RTW process isn’t just ticking a box for compliance. It’s a real chance for everyone involved to spot bigger prevention issues, identify systemic problems and make changes that help everyone foster a genuinely proactive and supportive safety culture.
So, if it’s a shared responsibility, how do you get everyone pulling in the same direction? Prevention Link has a structured method—the Five Step Praxis. It’s strategic, evidence-based, and designed to build a collaborative RTW culture, so it’s effective and sustainable.
Five Step Praxis.
Step One: Situational Assessment. This isn’t just reviewing policies on paper. It’s a deep dive survey to identify the root causes. It is designed with seven principles for successful return to work in mind, to explore the workplace culture and identify any hidden fears or blockages among staff and leadership.
Step Two: Leadership Strategy Sessions. Prevention Link provides a custom approach when working with leaders to foster collaboration and create a framework for change—keeping disability prevention right at the center, getting the leadership support.
Step Three: Return to Work Culture Transition Program. This is where Prevention Link rolls up its sleeves and is available to assist in developing supportive tools like RTW policies, procedures, coordinated return to work plans, personalized accommodations, communication plans, and practical things like functional capacity evaluations, etc.
Step Four: Formal Stakeholder Training. With a network of more than 100 instructors located across Ontario, Prevention Link’s Occupational Disability Response Training (ODRT) branch provides comprehensive integrative training, equipping everyone—managers, union reps, workers—with problem solving skills to drive the change.
Step Five: Program Evaluation and Revamp. To ensure an effective “return” on the RTW program, it’s essential to compare the outcomes to the original goal. This ensures it’s effective and identifies areas for improvement. It’s about sustainability, not just a one-time fix.
The Five Step Praxis uses the latest research, change management theory and best practices, with the goal of getting injured workers back to their workplace safely as soon as it makes sense.
Healthy and safe workplaces are better for everyone.
Every workplace should have an effective and sustainable RTW program. Prevention Link’s Return to Work services offer the structured collaborative path, focused on the secondary prevention, addressing issues early after an injury, improving labour relations by restoring trust, and retaining talent, skills, and experience.
Adopting prevention strategies will not only ensure all the workplace parties meet their legal obligations; workplaces can achieve reductions in claim costs and thereby preserve the integrity of current benefits and services that impact the entire workforce.
Prevention Link can help Ontario workplaces of any size and in any sector to build a truly integrated culture of safety and accommodation, moving past just compliance to genuine care.
Start building the culture of effective, efficient, and sustainable RTW outcomes today: send us a Return to Work information request or email at info@preventionlink.ca.
