Imagine two workers with nearly identical back injuries, then six weeks later, one has gradually returned to their normal duties while the other remains off work and struggling. You might find yourself questioning why there’s such a dramatic difference.
The answer isn't just about the physical injury itself, as research shows there may be more to it than just the recovery.
The Sherbrooke Model: A New Lens on Work Disability
The Sherbrooke Model has revolutionised how people think about recovery after workplace injury by identifying four interconnected domains that influence return to work:
- Personal factors: Your beliefs, expectations, psychological response to injury, and overall health
- Workplace factors: Employer support, job modifications, and workplace culture
- Healthcare approach: The type, timing, and coordination of medical care
- Insurance/compensation factors: How the claims process, benefits, and regulatory system function
Developed in Canada and tested through randomised clinical trials, this model has since been adapted for Australian workers' compensation systems, including Queensland's.
The model works well because it understands that these areas are all connected. For example, you can work in a supportive workplace, but if you believe you can’t get better, then that can still hold you back.
In the same way, great healthcare might not help much if the claims process is stressful and hard to understand.
What Really Drives Return to Work?
Personal Domain
Your own beliefs and expectations play a big role in your recovery. Research from NSW shows that workers who expect to recover quickly and return to work often do exactly that, regardless of injury severity. Key factors include:
- Self-efficacy: Your confidence in managing your recovery
- Recovery expectations: Whether you believe you'll get better
- Pain beliefs: How you interpret and respond to pain
- Perceived work ability: Your belief in your capacity to perform your job
Workplace Domain
Having a supportive workplace can dramatically accelerate your recovery time. If you have a supervisor who reaches out early and offers genuine support, your return-to-work rates improve significantly. Important workplace factors include:
- Supervisor support: Is your manager checking in and offering help?
- Modified duties: Are temporary adjustments available while you recover?
- Co-worker attitudes: Do colleagues welcome you back or stigmatise your injury?
- Communication quality: Is there clear and consistent contact during your absence?
Healthcare Domain
You should be considering both the physical aspects of an injury and the mental impact it can have. Research published in PLOS ONE confirms that a biopsychosocial approach, treating the whole person, not just the injury, improves return-to-work rates. Key healthcare factors include:
- Evidence-based treatment: Are you receiving care backed by research?
- Biopsychosocial approach: Does care address physical, psychological, and social factors?
- Coordination with the workplace: Are your healthcare providers communicating with your employer?
- Return-to-work focus: Is resuming work activities considered part of your treatment?
Insurance/Compensation Domain
The complexity and perceived fairness of the claims process significantly impact recovery. Stressful claims experiences can often result in delays in returning to work. Important compensation factors include:
- Process complexity: Is the claims system easy to navigate?
- Payment timeliness: Are benefits provided promptly and reliably?
- Communication clarity: Is information about your claim clear and consistent?
- Perceived fairness: Do you feel the system is treating you equitably?
Interventions That Work: Combining Forces for Better Outcomes
The most effective return-to-work programmes address different areas together. When employers and healthcare providers work together, workers recover faster.
Integrated Healthcare and Workplace Interventions
The original Sherbrooke Model demonstrated powerful results by combining clinical care with workplace modifications:
- Early, coordinated rehabilitation involving both treating professionals and the employer
- Workplace visits by healthcare providers to understand job demands
- Gradual return-to-work plans with regular adjustments
- Ongoing communication between all parties
Personal and Workplace Focus
Another effective combination addresses personal beliefs alongside workplace support:
- Building worker self-efficacy through education and coaching
- Setting positive, realistic recovery expectations
- Training supervisors in supportive communication
- Implementing proactive, early contact after injury
- Developing modified duties tailored to the worker's capabilities
This approach helps workers feel more in control of their recovery, which helps speed the return to work.
What Can Be Changed? Modifiable Factors in Recovery
While some aspects of injury recovery cannot be changed, such as pre-existing health conditions or the nature of your injury, many key factors can be modified to help you recover better.
Personal Domain: Building Psychological Strength
Even after injury, these personal factors can be strengthened:
- Self-efficacy: Confidence in managing recovery can be built through coaching, small successes, and positive reinforcement
- Recovery expectations: Setting realistic, positive expectations early helps create a self-fulfilling journey to recovery
- Pain catastrophising: Focusing on and exaggerating pain can be addressed through cognitive behavioural strategies
- Perceived work ability: Belief in your capacity to perform your job improves with graduated work trials and supported successes
Workplace Domain: Creating Supportive Environments
Employers can significantly influence recovery through:
- Supervisor response: Training leaders to respond with empathy and practical support makes a measurable difference
- Modified duties: Temporary adjustments to hours, tasks, or equipment can enable an earlier return
- Early contact: Reaching out within the first week shows care and keeps communication channels open
- Return-to-work planning: Collaborative planning with clear milestones helps everyone understand the path forward
Healthcare Domain: Coordinated, Holistic Care
Healthcare providers can optimise recovery by:
- Adopting biopsychosocial approaches: Addressing physical, psychological, and social aspects of injury
- Coordinating with the workplace: Understanding job demands and communicating with employers about capabilities
- Setting work-focused goals: Making a return to work an explicit treatment outcome
- Providing education: Helping workers understand pain, recovery, and the benefits of staying active
Insurance/Compensation Domain: Streamlining Support
Even complex compensation systems can be improved through:
- Clear communication: Providing simple explanations of processes and regular updates
- Prompt decision-making: Reducing delays in claim approvals and benefit payments
- Return-to-work focus: Emphasising recovery and return to work as primary goals
- Claims support: Offering assistance to navigate the system
Expert Perspectives on What Makes Returning to Work Easier
Rehabilitation professionals and return-to-work coordinators see firsthand what helps injured workers recover faster.
The Rehabilitation Perspective
‘We see the best results when treatment plans are built around the worker's own goals, and when employers are brought into the conversation early,’ notes a rehabilitation provider who works with the Therapeutic Return to Work program.
This approach uses tools like the Work Disability Diagnosis Interview (WoDDI) to find out what’s getting in the way of returning to work. It then creates targeted support to deal with those real problems.
The Workplace Health & Safety View
A supportive supervisor can often be the difference between a quick return to work and a drawn-out absence. When you train leaders to respond with empathy and care, employees can get back to work quicker.
The Return-to-Work Coordinator's Experience
The most successful return-to-work journey will involve regular communication between all parties: the worker, the employer, the healthcare team, and the insurer.
Also read: Safe work is everyone's responsibility
How to Stack the Odds for a Faster, Healthier Recovery
Recovery from a workplace injury is all about personal mindset, workplace support, coordinated healthcare, and a clear, fair compensation system.
If you have suffered from a work injury, then it’s important that you focus on what you can control:
- Build your confidence in recovery through small, gradual achievements
- Maintain open communication with your employer about what you can do
- Ask your healthcare providers about how your treatment connects to your return to work
- Seek clarity about your compensation claim and what to expect
For employers, you need to prioritise early contact and supportive communication, as these simple steps can dramatically improve outcomes.
The recovery equation can be viewed as complex, but when all four forces pull together, the path back to work becomes much smoother and faster for everyone involved.
