By: Ansha Nega Ahmed, Postdoctoral Fellow, under Dr. Dan Samosh's supervision, ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Employment Relations Studies
Co-authors: Rosemary Lysaght, Adamu Addissie, Sintayehu Daba Wami & Marcia Finlayson
This publication presents Synergistic Connectedness as a context-specific theoretical foundation for resilience in returning to work (RTW) after traumatic injury, based on survivors lived experiences in low-income settings, specifically Ethiopia. Resilience is understood as arising from the dynamic interaction of spiritual, social, and self-connectedness. Spiritual connectedness supports meaning-making, acceptance, and hope; social connectedness provides emotional, relational, and practical support through family, workplace community, and local society; and self-connectedness reflects self-awareness, self-acceptance, and belief in one’s evolving capabilities (before and after injury). The RTW journey unfolds through three iterative, progressive and non-linear phases: initial response, disruptive recovery, and RTW pathways. Early coping relies heavily on social and spiritual support, while disruptive recovery involves navigating uncertainty, stigma, fear of reinjury, and weak formal guidance through deep meaning-making and identity redefinition. RTW pathways reflect adaptive outcomes, including modified return to work, job change, self-employment, or alternative social engagements.
From an employment relations perspective, RTW is a negotiated process balancing worker welfare, contractual rights, workplace safety, workers wellness and human resource management. This foundational understanding calls for critical examination on how employment relationships are managed across working life courses of employees. The findings of this research may be used to inform future studies – about RTW policies and support programs, trainings for managers, unions, workers and rehabilitation providers, and approaches of service providers. It urges the need to move beyond physical recovery and adopt strength-based, culturally responsive, and holistic approaches that integrate psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions of the person, and actively engage informal/natural social support systems, which may be very important insight for a typical multicultural workforce, such as in Canada.
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