Articles

This page lists all practical and feature articles available on RTWMatters. From top ten tips, how to guides and case studies, through to webinar recordings and video interviews with industry experts.

Click the ‘Topics’ button below to drill down into all articles and research updates on your topic of interest.

Click the ‘Quick Guides’ button for practical bit sized guides that give you a sound basic knowledge base.

Don't keep doctors dancing in the dark

contributorSuperDoc

Assisting difficult RTW is even harder when the treating practitioner doesn't have all the...

Compensation or Rehabilitation? What impact does a word have?

contributorRobert Hughes

There was a Door to which I found no Key: There was a Veil through which I could not see: Some...

The Principles Underlying RTW - Draft 2

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

Is it 'compensation' or 'rehabilitation'?

Why prevention is better than a cure.

contributorRobert Hughes

Wellness programs are being considered as a central strategy in US healthcare policy.

The Principles underlying RTW

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

The principles underlying successful RTW are universal, but we think their application differs...

What's work got to do...got to do with it?

contributorGabrielle Lis

Returning to work is even harder if the work itself feels meaningless. What makes a job meaningful?

Motivation - the juice, just gimme the juice.

contributorAnna Kelsey-Sugg

The what, where and why of motivation, distilled to dot points.

How is exposure to trauma affecting you and your employees?

contributorAnna Kelsey-Sugg

There is a way of minimising the adverse effects trauma workers are exposed to - start by...

Things have gotta change: back pain and why our thinking is all wrong

contributorAnna Kelsey-Sugg

When it comes to back pain, we don't have the right vocabulary - and we need it. The right words...

Case Study: Mild traumatic brain injury

contributorBronnie Thompson

Just over two years ago I was in a hurry. I'd been to a store and was returning home to...

Not working is bad for the heart and the head. There's proof.

contributorRobert Hughes

UK research evidence shows that risk of death for workless people is 20% higher.

All bad news or incentive to improve?

contributorGabrielle Lis

The financial crisis provides employers opportunity to support employees to better health - but...

Grrrrrrrr

contributorRobert Hughes

Who suffers when people dud the system?

Are you happy with your working relationships?

contributorRobert Hughes

Workers' Comp has a high staff turnaround, so a working relationship still great after 11 years...

Tired of workplace health wannabes?

contributorGabrielle Lis

Every workplace has health champions and health underdogs. Motivating the latter can be a real...

Fatigue is the biggest threat to a person's safety

contributorKevin Jones

A new perspective on an established hazard

An open letter to the Heads of Australian Workers' Compensation Authorities.

contributorRobert Hughes

How one woman changed Australian culture and why RTW can profit from her example.

The power of storytelling

contributorAnna Kelsey-Sugg

The impact of 'patient narrative' - first-hand stories of illness and injury - shouldn't be...

Musculoskeletal hazards: Why ticking the box gets a red cross

contributorGabrielle Lis

Assessing risk isn't about ticks and crosses in a box. So why do Australian workplaces tend to...

Riding the see-saw of workers' comp costs

contributorGabrielle Lis

During recession, claim numbers go down but claim duration goes up. What happens to costs?

Workers' comp and recession: Expect a decline in rate of claims

contributorRTWMatters team

Unless plant closures and mass lay-offs are planned, workers' comp claim rates tend to decline...

Can Australia afford to lose $57.5 billion a year through work-related illness and injury?

contributorRobert Hughes

What role do compensation authorities play in helping people back to work?

How do doctors assess a person's ability to work?

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

Medical assessments of work capacity are not always defined by what a worker is capable of....

Patient styles, distress, and what they get

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

How patients communicate has an important influence on the treatment they receive.

Tests vs. Symptoms - which wins?

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

Is it useful to know the pathology of a wrinkle?

Superdoc (11) - Claims staff turnover? No surprises when you think about it

contributorSuperDoc

Job turnover in claims staff is high; if staff felt they could make a positive difference,...

New Zealand's Bronnie Thompson looks at the next steps back to work - looking broadly at the path forward.

contributorBronnie Thompson

Two cases demonstrate the importance of thinking about the big picture in return to work

Superdoc (10) - Rehabilitate or terminate - who cares?

contributorSuperDoc

Financial rewards and KPIs as perverse incentives.

Superdoc (9) - Back pain and investigations

contributorSuperDoc

An investigation won't tell us what we usually need to know about back pain - so why do we often...

Participative Planning

contributorRobert Hughes

Workplace culture glue and review

Superdoc (8) - Back pain and the 'fear avoidance model'

contributorSuperDoc

Our Superhero Superdoc is back on back pain and the importance of not being afraid of it.

OHS and Return-To-Work

contributorKevin Jones

On developing a good relationship with OHS Managers.

RTW success sounds like this

contributorAnna Kelsey-Sugg

Have a look at this letter from an employee of one workplace doing fantastic things for injured...

Superdoc - Fighting fear and back pain

contributorSuperDoc

Fear and back pain make a destructive combination - our local superhero talks about why.

What creates positive workplace culture?

contributorRobert Hughes

When we look at the reader statistics for Return To Work Matters it is obvious that Workplace...