Responding to changes in work ability

Signs that employees need support for their work ability may include, for example, changes in the employee’s appearance or an inability to cope with tasks the same way as before. The employee may accumulate more sickness absences than before.

You can identify changes in employees’ well-being and work ability when you regularly discuss with them and pay attention to their behaviour. Colleagues, occupational health care or employees themselves may also notice these changes.

If you are concerned about how an employee is doing, you should respond to the situation with a low threshold and intervene immediately. So do not wait until for the situation to resolve by itself or for someone else to handle it. Supervisors are responsible for responding to the situation.

Discuss the situation with the employee. Explain your concern and let the employee tell you in their own words how they see the situation.

The employee’s situation may already be alleviated by offering an opportunity to discuss the matter and having knowledge that the workplace can be flexible if necessary and that the work community is supportive. The workplace has an occupational safety and health representative, you can also ask the representative to take part in the discussion.

Read more:

• How to bring up problems with work ability? - Finnish Institute of Occupational Health Opens in a new window.
• The sooner, the better (PDF) (in Finnish) - Centre for Occupational SafetyOpens in a new window.

Assess

• whether the employee’s situation involves the short-term or longer-term decline of work ability
• whether the employee’s situation transient and momentary, or has there been a possible long-term change in their life?

The supervisor does not need to be able to solve the employee’s problem alone. Ask for help from occupational health care if necessary. If there are other professionals in the management of work ability at your workplace, such as HR, you can also ask them for help.

As a supervisor, you can assess whether an occupational health discussion could benefit the situation. The purpose of the occupational health discussion is to consider how you could support the employee with continuing at work. Typically, the negotiations involve the employee, their immediate supervisor, an occupational health care representative and, if necessary, an HR representative. The employee can also request to be accompanied by a support person in the discussion, for example, an elected official.

The purpose of the discussion is to

• determine how the employee’s work ability can be supported
• decide on measures to support work ability
• agree on how the measures will be implemented.

More information on other websites:

• Occupational Health Discussion – Solutions for Work (in Finnish) - Finnish Institute of Occupational HealthOpens in a new window.
• Guide on the occupational health discussion as a part of the support for work ability (in Finnish) - The Centre for Occupational SafetyOpens in a new window.

Think about potential solutions to the situation. For example, could the employee’s working hours be cut shorter or could you rethink the employee’s tasks? Which measures can you take immediately and which measures require more time? Discuss the different alternatives together with the employee and occupational health care. This page presents different measures.

If an employee is absent from work, keep in contact with them also during the absence. Make sure that the support is successful and consider any further measures when the employee returns to work.

During the absence:

• Agree with the employee about what you can disclose about their situation to other employees. Remember that you must not inform anyone of the reason for the employee’s absence without the employee’s permission.
• Agree on how to contact the employee (e.g. phone call or text message).
• Also keep discussing with the employee during the absence. Sometimes it is enough to just ask them how they are doing.

On return to work:

• Contact the employee immediately before their return to work.
• Keep track of how the employee is doing after the return.
• Reserve time for a joint discussion.
• Ensure that the employee has the opportunity to ask questions and be heard.
• Make sure that the employee is informed of what has changed at the workplace during the absence. For example, have you introduced new tools, rules or procedures?

After a little time has passed since the employee’s return to work, assess the employee’s condition together with the employee. Find out whether the absence helped the employee and what kind of support they would need in the future. Also agree on how their situation will be monitored in the future.

Familiarise yourself with various measures that may be helpful in the employee’s situation.