Reintegrating with Long COVID

Fortunately, most people who receive Covid-19 recover well. However, there is also a group who still experience symptoms after three months; this is called Long COVID or Post-COVID (syndrome). New insights about treatment, recovery and reintegration with advice for employers and occupational health and safety professionals are added daily. In any case, the Occupational Assessor pays attention to the following:

(H)acknowledgment

Many employees did modified work during the pandemic. As a result, the workload was different, sometimes even lower, than normal. As a result, complaints that were present may not have led to absenteeism and the employee did not call in sick until the work normalized and the imbalance between what the employee can handle and what the work demands became apparent. If necessary, the Occupational Assessor will ask about work during the pandemic.

Alignment

The advice and guidelines for both occupational physicians and occupational therapists indicate that more regular contact with the occupational physician may be advisable, and the occupational physician may also come into the picture earlier. Input from practitioners such as rehabilitation physicians or occupational therapists can be important to properly assess the workload capacity and to align reintegration with the recovery goals of the practitioner. The Occupational Assessor incorporates all this information into an appropriate reintegration advice.

Building

The Occupational Assessor advises on the structure of hours and tasks. For example, it may be necessary to take small steps. Too high a load can reduce the load capacity, so that large steps in the build-up can take one further away from the goal. Also, the schedule is sometimes based on complaints and not "time-contingent". In this case, the build-up is only continued when there is a balance for several weeks instead of a fixed number of hours per period.

Reintegrate at 2nd track with Long COVID

The use of a 2nd track trajectory may be necessary for job retention, but it can also cause overwork and thus hinder rather than advance recovery and reintegration. Whether your employee is taxable with a 2nd track trajectory is something the company doctor can assess. If this is an option, the Occupational Assessor can advise what the trajectory looks like, taking into account your employee's workload capacity.

The above are general advice and not just applicable at Long COVID or appropriate in every situation. For tailored advice for your employee, please feel free to contact us at AD@pulsinzetbaarheid.nl or via our website.