General Policy for Returning to Work | Returning to Work After Mental Health Issues

Hello!

For those on leave due to mental health issues, returning to work is a major goal. However, if it is your first time taking leave or returning to work, many people likely feel they do not know what to do or how to proceed toward returning.

According to one study, there is data suggesting that about half of those who return to work after mental health issues end up taking leave again.

There are many cases of people taking leave again after returning to work, and it can be inferred that many people return without knowing what they should do to prepare.

From these figures, it is clear that cases of taking leave again after returning are by no means rare, and it is thought that many people return without sufficient preparation or a clear policy.

Therefore, in this article, I will explain the "general policy for returning to work" for those aiming to return, and provide tips on how to proceed with your preparations.

Goal of returning to work: Not the return itself, but working continuously

Before explaining the general policy for returning to work, I would like to talk about the goal of returning. There is a common mistake many people make while aiming to return to work. That is "making the act of returning to work the goal itself."

In reality, many people end up taking leave again after returning. As I mentioned earlier, there is data showing that nearly half of people take leave again five years after returning. This data teaches us that returning to work is not the goal itself, but that what follows—"working continuously without relapse"—is what is important.

Therefore, it is important to aim to "work continuously without relapsing into illness after returning to work." Let us keep in mind that returning to work is by no means the goal, but rather the start. Just by being conscious of this, the probability of a successful return to work increases significantly.

General policy for returning to work

Now, I will explain the general policy for returning to work. There are two main policies.

1. Return to your pre-illness state (return to a state where you can work)

The first thing to aim for is "returning to your pre-illness state (returning to a state where you can work)." We developed depression, became unable to work, and took leave. You cannot continue to work if you return while still in poor health. You need to recover your mind and body and return to your pre-illness state.

There are two steps to returning to your pre-illness state, progressing from "start of leave" to "being able to lead a daily life" to "being able to work." A common misunderstanding is that "you can return to work because you are able to lead a daily life." However, this is incorrect, and "being able to lead a daily life" and "being able to work" are completely different things. "Being able to lead a daily life" and "being able to work" are completely different things.

For example, suppose you become able to lead a daily life while on leave. Your daily rhythm has stabilized, you are managing to handle housework or childcare, and you are active during the day. However, there is a high possibility of failure if you return to work in this state. The reason is that if you return to work full-time, you will be tied up by work for about 10 hours, including commuting time.

What do you think? If you consider that about 10 hours of work time is added to a state where you are just barely managing housework or childcare, doesn't it suddenly feel difficult? A state where you can work is a state where you can handle both daily life (housework, childcare, etc.) and work at the same time.

Furthermore, simply returning to the state before your illness (returning to a state where you can work) is not enough as the first general policy.

(2) Evolving from your pre-illness self

Once you are able to return to your pre-illness state (a state where you can work), the next goal should be to "evolve from your pre-illness self." Even if you recover to your healthy pre-illness state, if you have not evolved from your pre-illness self, there is a high possibility that you will need to take leave again.

To explain the reason for this, we will break down the causes of your illness into internal and external factors. Internal factors are yourself, and external factors are the environment surrounding you. Excessive workload, high-stress tasks, interpersonal relationships, and power harassment all fall under the environment.

As shown in the illustration below, there is the "self who became ill" and the "environment you were in when you were ill." You became ill, were unable to work, and took leave. Then, you stepped out of the environment you were in when you were ill and took a long rest.

Now, you return to the "environment you were in when you were ill" from a healthy state. What will happen? This is obvious if you look at the illustration; it is the exact same situation as when you became ill and took leave again. It is easy to imagine that if you return to the environment you were in when you were ill while remaining the same person you were before, the same thing will happen again.

In other words, even if your mind and body recover, if you yourself—your way of living, thinking, and working—do not change, there is a high possibility that the illness will recur and you will need to take leave again.

Therefore, what is necessary is to evolve from your pre-illness self.

There is a school of thought that says, "If you change the environment, you don't need to change yourself," but returning to your original workplace is recommended for returning to work, and the reality is that it is difficult to significantly change the environment you were in when you were ill. Even if you could change the environment, there is no guarantee that you won't fall into the same situation.

Of course, there may be cases where environmental factors are significant. However, even then, if you had the ability to cope with stress and recognize your own limits, you might have been able to prevent the illness.

Ultimately, it can be considered that there were factors within yourself that contributed to the cause of your illness. It is important to consider that part of the cause of your illness lies within yourself, and to evolve from your pre-illness self.

For those who are wondering what evolving from your pre-illness self means, here are a few examples.

• Improvement of self-care

• Evolution of self-understanding

• Reviewing stress coping mechanisms

• Reviewing your way of working

• Reviewing how you approach tasks

• Improvement of communication skills

This kind of evolution leads to "continuing to work after returning without relapse." I will explain specific methods in future articles!

Summary

In this article, I explained the general policy for returning to work. Here is a summary of the key points.

Although I have separated these into General Policies 1 and 2, in reality, you will work on them simultaneously. In the next article, I will explain a "Return-to-Work Preparation Checklist," which breaks down the "General Policy for Returning to Work" in more detail. If you prepare so that you can check off everything on this list before returning, it will significantly increase your chances of a successful return. Please come back and check it out if you'd like.

That is all for this time! Thank you very much!

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