I hurt my back over a year ago and my doctor said I’d be fit to go back to work in a month or two if my boss changed my job for a while. I don’t want to ask that because he might just fire me. Is changing jobs really going to make a difference in the long run?

For many years, doctors have been trying to find ways to tell who will recover better and faster from back injuries than others. One of the indicators that they found was how fast people are able to return to work, even if it with “light duty” or a different job. Researchers found that the people who went back to work the fastest had a higher rate of fully recovering from their back injuries and losing less time from work overall.

Ask your doctor for proof that you require a change in duties while your back heals so your boss knows what the problem is.