Characterizing common workplace communication skills for disorders associated with traumatic brain injury: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Interpersonal skill deficits are the primary reason for workplace separation after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Communication is integral to interpersonal skills, but workplace communication demands are inadequately described in the rehabilitation literature. OBJECTIVE: This study describes inter-stakeholder examples of workplace communication behaviors for a level of employment to which people with TBI commonly attempt to return. METHODS: : Taxonomy of communication skill deficits common in persons with TBI and associated with mid-level workplaces. RESULTS: Interviews revealed seven communication-related skills associated with mid-level employment: 1) spoken language processing; 2) verbal memory; 3) reading and writing; 4) verbal reasoning; 5) expressive pragmatics; 6) multi-tasking; and 7) social cognition. CONCLUSION: Workers and supervisors from an assortment of mid-level jobs with differing job contents all identified similarly common and important cross-occupational communication-related skills. Findings provide a preliminary guide to assess and treat communication skills for patients who have work re-entry as a goal.