Cardiac Rehab and your Job

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Working with Your Boss

Terri Trepp, director of employee health services at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa, advises you to talk with your manager as soon as you can. If you know beforehand that you’re having surgery, let your manager know how much time off you think you’ll need. She may request you get certification from a doctor, stating your requirements. While you’re gone, keep in touch with work by telephone or e-mail. This shows your employer that you’re interested in returning to work, and may even help your return by keeping you up-to-date.
           
If your absence was unforeseen, speak to your employer as early in your recovery as possible. If your doctor says you can go back to work part-time and slowly ease into full-time, let your employer know and ask how that would work for her. Keep in mind that she has a business to run, so you may need to give a little here and there to make things work. Perhaps you can turn over some responsibilities to a co-worker until you’re back full-swing. Always keep an open mind and a team attitude, and see what you can work out together. Maybe you’ll need to come in late a few days a week to get to rehab in the morning, but let your employer know that you’re still carrying the same workload you had before.
           
You’ll have to discuss what, if any, changes must be made to your current job. Does your job involve heavy lifting? Digging or operating heavy equipment? What kind of conditions do you work under? Extreme temperatures? What’s the stress level?    

You’ll also have to decide for yourself what kind of new work habits you’d like to implement once you’re back on the job. Maybe you need to stop taking work home, stop eating lunch at your desk, and start delegating certain responsibilities to others on your team.