It is almost inevitable that at some point you will need to restructure your organisation. Any change in management or team structure will be an uncertain and disruptive time for your staff. If an employee has a brain injury, they may find this situation harder to handle.
Following a brain injury, it is common to experience anxiety at times of change. The injured person may be worried about a new member of staff joining their team, or someone who they are close to leaving. Whatever the situation, it will need to be carefully managed.
If your brain injured employee’s line manager is changing, then a period of transition involving both supervisors should help ease any concerns and make the change easier.
If a new member of staff is joining the team, you may need to provide additional training about brain injuries as part of their induction. Of course, it is the employee’s decision about what to share about their own injury. You can, however, encourage them to be open so that others can appreciate their particular needs and so that they can be supported in the best way.
If a close colleague of your brain injured employee is leaving, you should reassure them that there are other people in your organisation who are there to support them. You may want to ensure they have plenty of support available at the time of the change, until they develop new connections with others.
After the changes have been implemented, you should have regular meetings with your employee to ensure the new team structure is working and that the employee doesn’t have any concerns.