Returning to or starting work after your brain injury is a big achievement. You may feel overwhelmed as you adjust to your work role. Your vocational provider and rehab team will continue to support you after you start working.
This page describes common challenges people experienced after their brain injury and strategies they found helpful.
Your rehab team or vocational provider may also have advice that is specific to you. Speak with them about your experience and what you might be able to do to manage in a different way.
Fatigue and cognitive changes
What you may be experiencing
- Getting tired more quickly
- Working at a slower pace
- Forgetting things
- Confusing sentences and not finding the right word to say
- Feeling irritable and stressed
- Making more errors at the end of the workday
- Becoming easily distracted
Coping strategies and tips
- Gradually increase your hours and workdays
- Introduce and increase work tasks gradually. Start with familiar tasks that you can do with less fatigue
- Set up a plan with your employer that includes regular rest breaks
- Take short breaks when you notice you are getting tired
- Use a calendar or planner to help reduce mental effort
- Plan to do the tasks that require more mental effort at the beginning of your workday
What you may be experiencing
- Difficulty remembering routine work tasks
- Difficulty learning new work tasks or information
- Forgetting what you are doing from one work task to the next
- Forgetting co-workers’ names
- Forgetting work appointments
- Forgetting what you are doing from one task to the next
- Forgetting some jobs that you have been asked to do
Coping strategies and tips
- Set up a regular routine of daily work tasks
- Use memory aids and organisers, such as calendars, checklists and a diary (paper or electronic)
- Refer to the memory aids and check off work tasks once completed
- Break work tasks down into smaller chunks
- Ask for written and verbal instructions for routine work tasks until they become familiar again
- Ask for written and verbal instructions for new information or work tasks
- Keep a notepad close to you to write things down
What you may be experiencing
- Being unable to decide on a course of action
- Being unaware that a problem exists
- Being unable to decide the best solution to a problem
- Not considering a more suitable option for a problem
Coping strategies and tips
- Stop and ask yourself “What is the problem?”
- Work through the problem with your manager by exploring all options with them
- List the pros and cons of each solution before choosing a solution
- Ask for advice before you become frustrated
What you may be experiencing
- Being unable to focus on a work task
- Finding it hard doing more than one task at a time
- Being easily distracted
- Not remembering what other people in the workplace have said
Coping strategies and tips
- Ask to work in another area if there are distractions. Noise and clutter can be distractions
- Ask your co-workers not to distract you while you are working
- Focus on one task at a time, and complete one task before moving to the next. This is good for work or projects with lots of steps or stages
- Write lists to remind yourself of the steps in a work task
- Keep a list of the things you need to do and check them off as you do them
- Ask your employer to give you step-by-step instructions for tasks
- Work with your employer to find a way to help you concentrate at work
- Take regular, short breaks so you start each new task refreshed
What you may be experiencing
- Trouble starting a work task
- Not following tasks through to the end
- Difficulty planning the order of work tasks
- Feeling disorganised at work and that you are not achieving anything
Coping strategies and tips
- Follow a structured work routine or a to-do list for the day or week
- Set a time frame for finishing tasks
- Use a calendar or diary (paper or electronic) to set deadlines for tasks to be started and finished
- Divide large projects into smaller work tasks. Check off each task as it is completed
- Write a step-by-step list as a plan. Check off each task that is finished
Communication changes
What you may be experiencing
- Trouble thinking of the right word
- Trouble following conversations or understanding what others say
- Trouble communicating your thoughts
- Trouble expressing your feelings
- Trouble taking turns in conversations and perhaps talking too much
Coping strategies and tips
- Try not to speak too fast or to say too much at once
- Ask your employer or co-workers to let you know when you should stop talking
- Think about what you want to say before responding to a question
- Ask for more information if you don’t understand what is being asked or said
- Ask to work in an area with less distractions
Personality and behavioural changes
What you may be experiencing
- Mood swings
- Losing your temper and getting angry
- Becoming frustrated easily
- Becoming aggressive toward other people
- Less control over expressing your emotions
- Impulsiveness and not thinking about the effects of your behaviour
Coping strategies and tips
- Go to a quiet area where you can calm yourself and refocus
- Avoid situations that make you feel frustrated, angry or sad
- Consider relaxation techniques to help you stay calm and focused
What you may be experiencing
- Acting on impulse without thinking about the consequences
- Getting stuck on one task instead of moving to the next task
- Acting inappropriately at work
- Saying or doing things that hurt other people
Coping strategies and tips
- Problems with self-control and behaviour can be very different for different people. Learn what triggers your poor behaviour and work out how to avoid these triggers at work
- Talk to your rehab team and seek their assistance in finding strategies that work for you
- Slow down and think before you speak or act
- Always ask for help if you are not sure what to do
- Speak with your employer about any support you may need
What you may be experiencing
- Uncontrolled sadness that stops you from working effectively
- Less motivation at work
- Changes to your eating habits and sleeping pattern
- Losing interest in completing work tasks
Coping strategies and tips
- Talk with your doctor about mood changes and physical symptoms
- Talk with your rehab team or vocational provider so they can help you manage your mental wellness and avoid things getting worse
- Talk with your employer about work-related issues that may be causing your low mood
- Maintain a regular work routine and stick to your agreed work hours. Don’t be tempted to do more before you’re ready
- Make sure you lead a balanced lifestyle. Away from work, have plenty of fun time with family and friends, and spend time doing activities you enjoy
- Keep physically active
Physical limitations
What you may be experiencing
You may have physical limitations caused by your brain injury. They may impact on your ability to work.
- Changes to your walking and balance
- Reduced strength
- Use of only one side of your body
- Inability to see as well
- Difficulty speaking
- Pain which affects how long you can stand, sit or walk around
Coping strategies and tips
- Use walking aids or a wheelchair
- Wear special glasses
- Wear an arm sling or splint
- Do things one-handed
- Use pacing and posture changes to manage pain.
None of these strategies should prevent you from working. Instead, some adjustments to your work or to your work environment might need to be made.
Workplace adjustments
There are many work adjustments to help people at work. Your rehab team will help to identify what might work for you.
Examples of workplace adjustments
- Using equipment to help with manual lifting
- Adjusting your work desk or table to the right height, the right keyboard and the right tools
- Being located close to toilets and kitchens to reduce walking distances
- Using adjustable height worktables so you can switch between sitting and standing to manage pain
- Installing ramps or lifts
- Ensuring lighting is good in your workspace
- Using a diary, checklists, and written notes to help your memory
- Working in a quiet area to avoid distractions from noise
- Taking regular rest breaks to reduce fatigue
- Working at reduced hours and reduced days
Your rehab team and vocational provider can help your employer make changes to the workplace so you can get around and perform your work tasks.
Advice from people with a brain injury
- If you are struggling or having problems, ask for help as soon as the problems arise.
- It is okay to feel frustrated if you have difficulties doing work tasks that had previously been easy to do.
- You may find being back at work difficult to adjust to, especially in the early weeks and months.
- Problems can occur at work that are part of normal working life and not because of your brain injury. Everyone has good days and bad days at work.
- Celebrate small achievements. This may be that you have increased your work hours or work responsibilities.
- Try to avoid working overtime until you feel you are ready.
- Exercise outside work can help you to cope at work.