Engaging the disengaged: strategies in dealing with the return to work grump!

Disengagement can be observed, measured, and,most of all, understood. A bad attitude does not have to be permanent or terminal. While the individual who is an RTW Grump may never become“Mr. Sunshine,” he can be realigned toward a more healthy skepticism to incremental or selective change. The RTW Grump can be approached in a manner that invites incremental engagement at strategic points. Disengagement represents an unnecessary disconnect from previously valued relationships. Making the leading contributors to disengagement (i.e., morale, changing value of work,patience, self-esteem) the foundation for the RTW plan increases the likelihood that a person, who for no apparent good reason should be able to return to work, actually becomes reengaged.