Let’s say you injure yourself at work. Maybe it’s a more serious injury, and you have to take some time off.
If that happens, you might decide it’s time to reevaluate your life in some ways.
It’s difficult not to take your life’s stock when you hurt yourself. You might think about what you could have done that might have prevented what took place.
You may be angry at yourself for what happened, or perhaps you feel mad at someone else if you hold them responsible.
Let’s look at some ways a work-related injury can impact your professional life:
1. You Might Face Depression as You’re Trying to Come Back
Most people understand that work-related injuries can have emotional effects. That’s because:
- You might never return to your full capabilities again
- It’s hard seeing others in your life going about their business while you must wait and heal
When you hurt yourself at work, and you have to sit by while your body heals, it might feel like the world is going on without you.
You might not see your work friends. You might feel like your family doesn’t understand or sympathize with what you’re experiencing.
If this happens, you may need to seek therapy. If you talk to someone, it can help with what you’re feeling.
You don’t want to sit at home and sulk without having an outlet. A therapist is an impartial observer who you can talk to about anything since what happens in your sessions is confidential.
2. You May Decide You Don’t Want to Go Back to Your Company
Maybe, while you’re at home recuperating, you decide you don’t want to go back to your company. That could be because:
- You don’t want to revisit the accident scene
- You have PTSD
If you have PTSD from a traumatic event, going back to where it happened can trigger an episode. It can paralyze you.
Maybe you hurt yourself on a factory floor. You may not want to go back there, even when you’re one hundred percent again.
You might decide to resign from your position and seek employment at another company. You’ll stay in your field and get a similar job, but you can go to a different job site where you won’t have constant reminders of what happened.
3. You May Feel Coworker Resentment
You might also resent some particular coworkers. Maybe you hurt yourself because one of them failed to secure some equipment. Perhaps they left something sitting out, and you tripped over it.
Perhaps your boss reprimanded or even suspended that other coworker, but they did not fire them for negligence. Maybe you can’t even prove that someone else caused what happened to you, in which case, they face no consequences.
In either scenario, when you come back to work, you’ll have to see them. Maybe you can’t stomach doing that.
If so, you might have to resign and look for another job for that reason. You can’t work with a coworker you can’t stand. If you feel enraged every time you have to see them, you can no longer work with them.
4. You May Decide to Change Careers Entirely
You might decide that because of what happened, your job no longer appeals to you. Rather than going to a different company, you might feel like you have to do something else entirely.
If that happens, you may decide to go to school and take some classes to launch you down a different career path. Maybe you feel like you already have the skills you need, and you don’t need any more courses or another degree. If that’s true, you can simply jump back into the job market once you finish healing.
You can go on Indeed or Monster and look for jobs that appeal to you.
However, if you do this, you have to realize that others will probably have an advantage over you. Presumably, you won’t have many credentials that can help you as you try to get into this new field.
It’s not impossible to change careers, though, regardless of where you are in your life.
It will take time and effort on your part, but if an injury is what it takes to make you want a change, there’s no reason you can’t turn this negative event into a positive one.
One thing is certain: a work-related injury can change your life in many ways, so if it happens, you should be ready for that.
