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Dear J.T. & DALE: I injured myself while mountain-biking. My job is in a warehouse, lifting things. I got a note from my doctor and was put on short-term disability. My employer came back to me and said they have an office job filing papers that I have to do till I’m better. Do I really have to do this? I don’t want to sit at a desk all day.– Kenny

J.T.: Yes, Kenny, you have to. If it’s work that your doctor agrees you can perform, then the company can insist that you do it. In fact, in workman’s compensation situations, HR is encouraged to do this. Why? Because studies show that the longer you sit out on disability, the harder it will be for you to come back.

DALE: Your situation reminds me of an interview with a football coach who required his injured players, in addition to regular physical therapy, to do additional training workouts, with the goal of them realizing that being healthy is easier than being injured. It was his way of encouraging quicker “healing.”

J.T.: The only out for you, Kenny, is if your doctor says you cannot do the work, but my guess is that your company already confirmed it as part of the process. So, do like those football players and work on your physical therapy, and get back as quickly as you can.

DALE: On the other hand, you could be grateful for this huge opportunity. Yes, grateful. You’ll get to know the people in the office and see what jobs you might aspire to. I know, you love the warehouse. And who could blame you? There’s a liveliness and camaraderie to physical work that can be invigorating. But think of your time in the office as a spy mission. Physical work has its limitations, and your injury is a reminder that hidden somewhere in your body is a Best Used By date. Here’s your chance to plan your future, and it might even be now. Remember Ogden Nash’s words: “People who work sitting down get paid more than people who work standing up.”

Dear J.T. & Dale: I’m a passionate gardener. I hate my office job and dream all day of gardening full time. But none of the gardening careers I’ve researched would pay me what I’m making now, or they would require going back to school. Any suggestions? – Nic

DALE: You are a lucky man: You know what you want to do, and that puts you ahead of the majority of employees. Most people “fall into” or “stumble into” a career, taking whatever pays the most, and never leave. They can’t leave, because they soon have experience in the career they didn’t really want, and that makes them more valuable in that career than in any other: Leaving would mean starting over. Such a quandary is the less-glamorous cousin of “golden handcuffs” – let’s call it the “silver leash.”

J.T.: But you can break that leash. Here’s what you need to do. First, see if you can do what you do now for a large gardening-supply organization or other company in a business related to gardening. Even though you’d be doing the same work you’re doing now, it would put you in an environment that is focused on your passion.

DALE: Plus, you’d be learning the business side of a gardening career. Perhaps you could evolve into a position working directly with gardeners, and that would really accelerate your learning better than going back to school.

J.T.: Next, consider starting a hobby/side business in gardening. Your goal would be to build the business over time till it could replace your full-time job.

DALE: Again, you’d be evolving into a new career, rather than starting over.

J.T.: Yes, most people get thwarted in a career transition because they want to do it all at once. However, most successful transitions are a series of maneuvers. In career coaching, we refer to it as “lilypadding,” hopping from one
experience to the next, getting closer to your ideal job with each jump. If you plan it that way, you can hop all the way to your dream job.

– Workplace consultant and career coach J.T. O’Donnell has coached, trained and mentored employees and managers on a wide variety of career-related subjects since 1994. Her book, “CAREEREALISM: The Smart Approach to A Satisfying Career” is available at JTODonnell.com. Management guru Dale Dauten has written six books and is an authority on innovation in the workplace. His latest book, “Great Employees Only: How Gifted Bossess Hire & Dehire Their Way to Success” is available at Dauten.com. copyright 2013 King Features.