Jody Riley was working in her company’s hot press department, when she began to feel sick. Diagnosed with heat stress, plant management immediately transported her to the hospital.

"Most people don't think of heat stress as a condition that could keep you away from work for a prolonged period of time," said Stephanie Meyenberg, human resources manager at Flex-N-Gate, which uses plastic injection molding to produce automotive bumpers at its plant in Ada, Oklahoma. "In fact, without an effective return-to-work program, Jody could have been out of work for up to four months."

Fortunately for Riley, Flex-N-Gate is a participant in Wausau People@WorkSM, a proven vehicle to reduce time lost and work absences. "With a return-to-work program, the temptation is to get the employee back to any job as quickly as possible. That's not compassionate to the employee nor is it productive to the employer," said Technical Claims Specialist Laura Standifer, at left in photo with Riley.

"Following People@WorkSM protocols," added Meyenberg, "we got Jody back to work in productive – not to mention cooler – employment within days."