While many employees may feeluncomfortable looking to their direct supervisor for help with ahealth condition, proper training can help provide a betteremployee experience. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Nearly 56 million people, or 1in 5 Americans, live with a disability. When addressingdisability in the workplace, nearly 54 percent of employees feeluncomfortable mentioning a health condition or accident to theirsuperiors, leading to a decrease in productivity and higherlikelihood of a disability leave. This disconnect leavesemployers and employees with a missing piece that couldexpose them to a gap in their disabilitymanagement strategy.

So, how can employers identify and mend the missing link tosupport employees with health conditions? It starts withtraining.

Related: 3 disability insurance items benefits advisors andemployers should discuss

While many employees may feel uncomfortable looking to theirdirect supervisor for help with a health condition, proper trainingcan help provide a better employee experience. By training managersto identify employees who may benefit from assistance,employers can help provide employees with stay-at-worksupport, resources and, if applicable, a smoother transition backto work after a disability leave.

Let's take a closer look at why manager training is soimportant.

The importance of manager training

Your managers probably have a lot on their plate already. Buttheir relationship with employees and unique perspective put themin the best position to identify an employee in need of assistance.Since managers have regular face time with each employee, they aremore likely to notice if an employee is struggling at work. Thefeeling that an employee is "off," or not acting like themselves,can be a key sign that an employee needs help.

When an employee is suffering from a health condition, they maynot only seem off, but also struggle to perform everyday tasks.When a health condition becomes too much to handle, an employee mayhesitate to tell their manager about what's going on. However, if amanager is trained to notice shifts in behavior pointing toward ahealth condition, they may be able to be proactive and initiate aconversation to point the employee toward workplace resources thatcan provide support. In addition to being trained to notice theseshifts in behaviors, managers should also be trained on how tocarefully handle the delicate nature of the conversation with theemployee and avoid saying or asking something that isn'tappropriate.

Getting the ball rolling

Once the initial conversation about a potential health conditionhappens in a safe environment, a manager can then direct anemployee to helpful resources. Identifying an employee who needseither stay-at-work or return-to-work assistance is crucial. Theearlier the employee is identified and referred to a disabilitycarrier, the earlier he or she can be connected with resourcesprovided by your employee benefits programs or even provided withaccommodations.

The most beneficial part of this approach is that identifying anemployee in need of assistance early on can help them receive helpbefore even needing to take a disability leave. This approach alsocan help with overall department morale, since managers are takinga direct and caring interest in their employees. Employees whosemanagers are invested in them can make them feel valued andconnected in the workplace.

Connecting the dots

While identifying an employee who may benefit from stay-at-workservices doesn't always prevent a disability leave, communicatingwith employees while they are on leave can provide them withadditional support and ensure that they can hit the ground runningwhen they return to work.

By learning about any job restrictions or limitations anemployee might face upon returning, managers can help provideaccommodations to avoid a lack of productivity or additional timeon leave. It also helps employees feel comfortable talking to theirmanagers about any issues they might have.

To create a better and more productive workforce,employers first must take care of their employees. Bytraining managers, they can notice warning signs and better equiptheir employees to know the steps to connect with stay-at-work orreturn-to-work resources.

Jeffery D. Smith is the WorkplacePossibilities℠ program practice consultant for The Standard, andhas worked in the vocational rehabilitation field for more than 30years. In his role, Jeff is continually looking at ways to improvethe Workplace Possibilities program to provide new and betterstay-at-work and return-to-work services for both employers andemployees. He shares the benefits of the program with new andexisting clients, creates white papers and writes case studies tohelp make a difference for employers who are looking to be moresuccessful in managing employee absence and disability.

Read more: 

• Employers need to step it up on absence, disabilitymanagement
• During a disability crisis, employers can lend ahelping hand
• 4 important aspects of a proactive disabilityinsurance program