How do very early conversations about work soon after a spinal cord injury work?
What is it about?
It appears that early conversations about work help people with new spinal cord injuries (SCIs) to feel hopeful about their future work options. However, we need to understand more about how these early conversations work, for whom they work, and under what circumstances. In this research, we interviewed 30 people who had sustained an SCI in the last 2 years. We found that people need different types and degrees of wayfinding support to think about, plan and action their vocational goals. Developing, maintaining and enacting hope, supporting self-identity and vocational identity, and focusing on adapting a range of environments required to enact vocational aspirations, appear to be key ways that these conversations help people to think positively about work.
Why is it important?
This paper helps to develop a theoretical understanding of how early conversations about work help people to think about their possible working futures. We know that different people require different types of support to 'navigate' their way back to work - and this paper helps to explore some of these different situations. If we can understand what works best for who, then we can ensure that we offer people the type of support that best works for them. We can also then think about what needs to be provided to improve return to work outcomes for people with other health conditions.