Starting on the right foot – helping managers navigate the moments that matter

Can a single workplace conversation change the course of a worker's recovery?

After more than 30 years working in return to work, Dr Mary Wyatt has no doubt it can.

One story, in particular, has stayed with her.

A 50-year-old worker at a manufacturing plant in Melbourne had been with the company for years. When his recurring back pain flared up, the routine was familiar. He would visit the workplace nurse, move onto lighter duties for a short period, and gradually return to normal work.

Then one day, the nurse was away and a replacement took her place. Instead of support, he was told: "You don't have a claim. Go to a doctor and get a certificate."

The worker was devastated.

"Why don't you believe me? I've worked here all these years?"

He went off work and never returned – to any work, ever.  

Years later, the claim had cost the employer around $280,000, but the financial impact was only part of the story.

For Dr Wyatt, it remains one of the clearest examples of how a single interaction can alter the course of a person's life. Dr Wyatt is Policy and Advocacy Lead at It Pays to Care and founder of RTW Matters. RTW Matters is an independent not-for-profit organisation that helps employers, practitioners and return to work professionals apply evidence-based approaches to supporting injured workers and improving return to work outcomes.

For over three decades, Dr Wyatt has worked to improve return to work outcomes for workers, employers and clinicians.

"It wasn't just about the injury," she says. "It was about what that interaction meant to him."

The worker became depressed. His family was affected. His daughter often stayed home to support him. What began as an ordinary workplace interaction became a long-term human, social and financial cost.

"That's how something small and ordinary can turn into an expensive mess," Dr Wyatt says. "It's a lose-lose outcome for everyone."

People want to matter

Stories like this inspired RTWNav, a new pilot funded through WorkSafe Victoria's Return to Work Innovations division and delivered by RTW Matters. Over decades of listening to workers describe their return to work journeys, Dr Wyatt has heard a familiar theme emerge.

"There are so many times where you hear the trajectory start the same way: 'My supervisor didn't believe me.' Then people react negatively, and it escalates from there."

The problem, she says, is often that managers and employers aren't equipped to respond well in the moment.

"The early response can be poor, not because of bad intentions, but because of a lack of understanding, preparation or support."

But intent and impact are often very different things.

"I've seen it repeatedly. That poor early response from the employer is often interpreted as: You don't matter."

It is a simple idea, but one Dr Wyatt believes sits at the heart of successful return to work.

"When there's no contact, enough people will fill that silence with beliefs and fears, and then it becomes harder and harder to get back to work."

Supporting the people having the conversation

Many managers and Return to Work Coordinators report needing more support with communication, difficult conversations and complex return to work situations, particularly when psychological injuries are involved.

"There's a lot of fear about making contact with people, and a lot of misunderstanding about how to respond," Dr Wyatt says.

For her, effective support doesn't need to be complicated.

"My advice to line managers is simple: be yourself. Be authentic. Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be."

Turning evidence into action

That's the challenge RTWNav is designed to address. The AI-enabled tool will be piloted to test whether on-demand guidance can help improve employer confidence, capability and consistency in return to work practice. Users can describe a workplace situation and receive practical guidance, conversation prompts and suggestions based on evidence and existing WorkSafe guidance. Importantly, it is not designed to replace training or human judgement.

"We already know what works in return to work. We have plenty of evidence," Dr Wyatt says. "The challenge isn't knowledge anymore. The challenge is implementation. How do you get the right information to the right person when they need it?"

Not replacing people, helping them

For Dr Wyatt, the promise of AI isn't automation. It's communication.

"The skills of humanity in difficult situations don't come naturally to many of us," she says.

That's where she sees the opportunity.

"One of AI's superpowers is language. We can design it to support the kinds of interactions that lead to better outcomes."

After her extensive experience in the field, Dr Wyatt believes the goal is simple: help people apply what we already know works. Because when workers feel supported, understood and connected to their workplace, recovery outcomes improve.

As she puts it: "People want to matter."

And often, the most important question is also the simplest:

"What can we do to help?"