Return-to-work and disability management programs designed for civilian workers also can help those who have served active military duty when they re-enter the workforce, experts say.

Communicating with affected workers, supporting supervisors who are managing returning veterans and making employee assistance programs available are traditional approaches that can help service members return to their jobs, they say.

Disability issues facing military reservists and National Guard members returning from deployments, as well as full-time soldiers leaving the military, can include post-traumatic stress disorder, amputations, traumatic brain injuries, or other physical or psychological problems, they say.

Traumatic brain injury and PTSD are "signature injuries" of returning National Guard members and reservists, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, which launched a Web site in August called America's Heroes At Work to help employers assist veterans.

The site includes resources and advice for employers who have military veterans returning to their civilian jobs.

Behavioral health issues related to PTSD, depression and anxiety may be present as they return to civilian roles. Workers who are not diagnosed with a disorder may still need someone to talk with about the experience of transitioning from the military world to civilian life, observers say.

How to help veterans readjust to the workplace after experiencing combat has become a question more employers are grappling with, said Fonda Phillips, director of the guidance resources unit for ComPsych Corp., a Chicago-based EAP provider.

"It's a challenging issue in many different ways for employers," Ms. Phillips said.

The challenges employers face include meeting legal compliance issues in successfully returning military vets to the workforce and how to help supervisors and co-workers understand that their returning colleagues may behave differently than before they were deployed, she said.

"They may have been very outgoing before and now the employer is struggling with the fact that this person doesn't seem to want to talk about anything, but they are doing their job and doing a fine job," Ms. Phillips said in citing an example. "But they (may be) less engaging."

Most employers will have very few employees who have served in combat, said Daniel M. Arkins Jr., regional director of disability for MetLife Inc. and a lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard who served a tour in Iraq.

In addition, most soldiers return to their civilian roles without physical injuries and the degree to which individuals suffer from PTSD depends on their personal resiliency, others added.

But injured employees returning from wartime duty may present challenges that can be long-lasting, according to a white paper published in February by the San Diego-based Disability Management Employer Coalition.

"For years to come, there will be those who need additional support, whether they are returning from military service with significant physical or mental health issues or they need extensive therapy or retraining due to a disability acquired outside of military conflict," according to the white paper titled Workplace Warriors: The Corporate Response to Deployment and Reintegration.

The DMEC white paper cited a 2007 article in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. in which Defense Department clinicians conducted two surveys—one immediately after serving in Iraq and the other three to six months later—and found that 20.3% of active soldiers and 42.4% of reserves needed mental health treatment. Researchers said military members' mental health needs rose several months after returning from war.

The military works to help returning reservists to civilian life as soon as possible by providing necessary services, Mr. Arkins said. But those with disabilities may present issues for employers, he added.

The white paper—stemming from a think tank of employers and disability management vendors assembled by DMEC—states that good corporate disability management, absence management and return-to-work practices can also help military veterans.

Those practices include, maintaining communications with employees during absences, such as e-mail, adequately providing benefits information, and training supervisors so they are sensitive to and can spot red flags that indicate potential difficulties.

"All the things we consider about worksite accommodation, sensitivity training with co-workers and managers, all of those things that we do in the disability management arena would be perfectly applicable," Mr. Arkins said.

Applying such programs to assist returning soldiers entering the civilian workforce can reduce potential disability-related absences or presenteeism losses among veterans, said Cheryl M. Pasa, executive director for integrated disability management at the United Services Automobile Assn. in San Antonio.

A member of Ms. Pasa's team meets individually with each employee returning from military service, she said. The practice is part of USAA's long-established policy of supporting veterans.

The insurer assures the workers that they will receive all benefits to which they are entitled and compensation that became effective while they were away, such as incremental pay raises. Such assurances can help reduce absences or presenteeism as workers will be less likely to worry about such matters, Ms. Pasa said.

Few employers have established specific policies or programs addressing how to help returning veterans or applying existing disability services, observers say.

Behavioral health risks

Employers may be hesitant about returning veterans to the workforce because of beliefs that they may have major behavioral health risks, said Carol A. Harnett, vp and national practice leader for group disability and life practices at Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. in Simsbury, Conn.

But veterans have skills that corporations value, such as team leadership and technology expertise, Ms. Harnett said.

And behavioral health issues are not foreign to employers. "One in two of us will experience a bout of clinical depression in our lifetime," said Ms. Harnett, who wrote the white paper. "So mental health challenges and behavioral health challenges are not unknown to the American workforce."

PTSD is a common issue that EAP programs help workers address and is not limited to combat veterans, said Ms. Phillips. While employers may not be establishing specific programs aimed just at returning veterans, both veterans and employers are calling on EAP services for advice on helping veterans and their co-workers adjust, she says.

EAP programs are a critical resource for returning veterans and their dependents, DMEC's white paper says. But EAP services can vary, so employers should evaluate their ability to assist soldiers and civilians who have served overseas, the white paper also says.

Establishing a mentor program linking returning soldiers with veterans in the workplace who can discuss their experiences is another white paper suggestion already implemented by some employers such as Hartford, Ms. Harnett said.

Employers also can help through informal low-cost measures, Ms. Pasa said, such as inviting the families of colleagues that have been deployed to attend holiday parties and other company functions and encourage letter-writing programs to colleagues who have been called to active military duty.

Just as good disability management requires staying in touch with employees that are out with illness or an injury, keeping contact with deployed colleagues can help them stay connected to their jobs during their deployments and help with their reintegration, Ms. Pasa says.

The contact helps maintain their workplace social contacts and keeps them up on changes in business practices at work, she said.