Work is just so unbearable at the moment

rach83

Hello
I dont normally post on this board so I hope you dont mind me intruding.

Basically I found out I was pregnant 2 weeks ago. Really pleased it was planned etc so all is good.

My gripe is with work. I have a pretty stressful office job with a large workload and quite a bit of responsibility. This has been made more stressful in the past 6 months due to huge cut backs which has resulted in serious understaffing.

I have felt really poorly over the past few days and yesterday part way through the day I approached my boss and told him I felt unwell (they dont know I am pregnant) and that I wanted to go home. He agreed and said that I did look ill and to take care etc.

I phoned into work this morning and said that I was still unwell and that I would not be in today but it now appears that the person I reported to failed to pass on my message. I have just had work ring me 10 minutes before the end of the day wondering where I have been today.

In all honesty the reason I have taken today off, aside from feeling unwell is that I cant cope with the stress and pressure that I am under at the moment and as I am only just over 7 weeks pregnant it dont really want to announce the reason why. I just feel I need to look after myself and not worry about work pressures which in the grand scheme of things are not really that important.

Any help would be most appreciated.

Thanks xx

Floss

Perhaps a trip to your Dr's would be useful - at least if you are signed off then you can rest & relax, without actually telling them you are expecting just yet?

Did you point out that you had phoned in this morning, & spoken to suchabody at suchatime?

got-it-spend-it

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

Is there one person (a manager or someone in HR) that you could confide in, without it becoming common knowledge that you are pregnant? That way you have someone to 'back you up' as it were when you're feeling rubbish.

Other than that, maybe take the rest of the week off and see how you feel on Monday. The problem is that early pregnancy can make you feel rubbish and tired and makes all your work stresses seem much worse so you might have a bit longer of feeling like this (although it does get better once you get to the second trimester).

Is there anyway you could work from home? That might be a bit less stressful than being in the office full time, but you wouldn't be stuck at home stressing about what isn't getting done (which is what I do when I'm off sick).

amilotte

Congratulations!!!

I agree, you could appraoch your GP.

I would also consider telling just your boss you are pregnant (I know you are not obliged to), I told mine at 7 weeks pregnant as I was having many off days and I felt it was best that they knew so they could be aware of why I was struggling. By telling them it also means that they will have to risk assess you in terms of the job you are doing and you can work with them to find a way of managing your workload better. I understand some are superstitious re telling anyone before 12 weeks but I never felt pressured by this - also I now know that my colleagues 'knew' I was pregnant from quite an early stage even though I felt I was hiding it well :rotfl:.

The first few weeks of pregnancy are tough and hopefully you will start to feel a bit better in a few weeks but I think if you are stressed now you need to perhaps face the difficulties head on now. In my opinion you are better to sort these issues head on with your boss now (perhaps still take time off if required) but at least then you will not have in the back of your mind that you will be returning to the same old issues.

Generally, in the mean time, make sure you take time out to relax and look after yourself!

rach83

Thanks guys for the advice.

I think I am going to take the rest of the week off and readdress the situation on Monday. I have my first midwife appointment on Tuesday morning so I am going to be late in that day. I really wanted to get to 12 weeks before saying anything. My boss has been off sick this week himself and I dont find him particularly approachable. Think non people person!! I could consult HR but again our HR manager is useless and soooooooo unapproachable!!

Luckily a friend of mine at work is also pregnant shes about 13 weeks and I have told her. She is in the same position whereby she feels like she is under pressure etc and they now know about her situation. They have done little to ease her stress so I dont hold out much hope.

xx

Quote

They rang you ten minutes before the end of the day? Didn't anyone think to ask where you were before then?

custardy

rach83 wrote: »

Hello
I dont normally post on this board so I hope you dont mind me intruding.

Basically I found out I was pregnant 2 weeks ago. Really pleased it was planned etc so all is good.

My gripe is with work. I have a pretty stressful office job with a large workload and quite a bit of responsibility. This has been made more stressful in the past 6 months due to huge cut backs which has resulted in serious understaffing.

I have felt really poorly over the past few days and yesterday part way through the day I approached my boss and told him I felt unwell (they dont know I am pregnant) and that I wanted to go home. He agreed and said that I did look ill and to take care etc.

I phoned into work this morning and said that I was still unwell and that I would not be in today but it now appears that the person I reported to failed to pass on my message. I have just had work ring me 10 minutes before the end of the day wondering where I have been today.

In all honesty the reason I have taken today off, aside from feeling unwell is that I cant cope with the stress and pressure that I am under at the moment and as I am only just over 7 weeks pregnant it dont really want to announce the reason why. I just feel I need to look after myself and not worry about work pressures which in the grand scheme of things are not really that important.

Any help would be most appreciated.

Thanks xx

all i can say is do the best for you and your baby
my OH worked too long and too hard in her pregnancy,i told her not to but she didnt listen
not so long after returnning from maternity they started giving her grief about the hours she could work etc
ended up getting made redundant so its just wasnt worth it.

rach83

custardy wrote: »

all i can say is do the best for you and your baby
my OH worked too long and too hard in her pregnancy,i told her not to but she didnt listen
not so long after returnning from maternity they started giving her grief about the hours she could work etc
ended up getting made redundant so its just wasnt worth it.

I am sorry to hear about your OH. That is exactly what my company are capable of doing. Historically people in my company have been made redundant whilst on maternity leave and this was back in 2005/6 which were considered to be the "good times". Thanks for all your support guys