Quickly and Easily Evaluate Someone’s Work Ability

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Work ability is a measure of how people feel they are coping with work and health. The simplest way to evaluate it is to focus on how they feel they are coping with their work and health. Yes, there is a difference between what someone 'can do' and what they 'will do'. But, what we want to do here is get an overall idea of whether the person believes they are able to do their work. Remember, if you believe you can't do something you probably won't do it.

 

TIP: You can help to prioritise your colleagues who are likely to be most in need of help, by asking a simple question about how they rate their work ability. Work ability is a measure of how people feel they are coping with work and health.

 

“Assume that your work ability at its best has a value of 10 points. How many points would you give your current work ability?”

completely unable to work - 0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - work ability at its best

 

If your colleague scores 8 to 10, they will probably be able to stay at work (or return to work) with little help. If they score 3 to 7, you need to look for obstacles, devise a plan and start acting – without delay. If they score 0 to 3, they may need quite a lot of help, and you may need to consider getting professional advice. Repeat the question every week or so: your colleague’s score should be improving – if it’s not you need to re-evaluate the obstacles.

 

CHECK: Do line managers know how and when to use the work ability question?