Although there are many stakeholders in the RTW process, and employees supervisor has a pivotal role. A review of workers’ compensation systems in Australia revealed that injured workers nominated someone from the workplace as providing the most help with their RTW (16 %), third after their general practitioner (20 %) and their physiotherapist (19 %). Of that 16 %, nearly one-third (30 %) of injured workers nominated their immediate supervisor as the most helpful person at the workplace compared with occupational health and safety (OHS) officers (8 %), human resource (HR) staff (3 %) or RTW coordinators (3 %). However, 16 % of injured workers said their supervisor made RTW harder and these workers were less likely to sustain RTW. 

Employee supervisors provide:

• modified work,


• interpret policies,


• assist with access to resources,


• monitor workers’ health and functioning,


• facilitate communication among stakeholders, and


• communicate positive messages of concern and support, while having intimate knowledge of the jobs available.


• The interface among upper management, rehabilitation and health care providers, coworkers, and the injured worker. 

However supervisors frequently experience role conflict between their production responsibilities and the demands of the modified work program. Some do not have a good understanding of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) or the ergonomic principles underlying the selection of appropriate duties or how to modify duties to meet the medical restrictions. These problems may result in the supervisor either not adhering to restrictions set by the medical certificate or preferring the worker to be fully recovered before RTW, neither of which is desirable.