Anxiety and Stress at work

Marmaris08

Hi all, looking for a little bit of advice and help.

Going back to late November last year and continuing up until the present day, my wife has encountered a few problems at work relating to her job and certain changes that have taken place pertaining to her actual job. This has been a very difficult time for her and I have slowly seen her change into a totally different person. I also have to add that she has approached her manager with concerns over things that have gone on at work and previously told her that she was hating her job and was feeling stressed. Her manager did nothing about this at all, and not once did she recommend that my wife go and see the company occupation health officer over her fears and concerns.

Prior to all her troubles at work beginning in November she has also been receiving treatment from her Doctor for hormone trouble, this is currently ongoing.

My wife was signed off her work on Monday 15th Feb for two weeks with anxiety and stress related problems. Since she has been off she has appeared calm and relaxed, slowly returning to the normal happy person that she is.......Until today.

Her HR dept called asking how she was feeling, and after some discussion the HR lady commented that it sounds like she will be signed off again when she goes back to her doctor on Monday. So after she meets with her doctor they then want to invite her in for a meeting with the company occupation health officer and then a meeting with HR. She has just phoned me in floods of tears recinding back to what she was like recently during all her troubles.

Basically my question is, when you are off work ill with stress/anxiety can your work phone you for a blether to see how you are? I know that they can quite rightly ask you to go and see their own Doctor. But as far as I was aware your place of work cannot contact you willy nilly and thought they had to do it by letter?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

jdturk

Marmaris08 wrote: »

Basically my question is, when you are off work ill with stress/anxiety can your work phone you for a blether to see how you are? I know that they can quite rightly ask you to go and see their own Doctor. But as far as I was aware your place of work cannot contact you willy nilly and thought they had to do it by letter?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

A company has a duty of care to the employee, I would expect that without an end date in due that it is a) fair and b) reasonable to expect the company to phone the employee once to see how they are going and whether there is a likelyhood of a return to work or whether the company need to make adjustments to cover the employees absence

So IMO they were in the right to phone to see how the employee was and to see whether they needed to get cover for work. However this is fine as long as its not repetitive (ie daily) and b) not pressurising.

If she is off for a further 2 weeks I would expect another phonecall towards the end of those two weeks

bettybelle

I think it's fair for the company to contact the employee as obviously they need to be kept in the loop about what's happening. A company I worked for had a policy that if you weren't happy with phonecalls they would either visit you, email you or write to you instead which I thought was very reasonable.

treepotato1

I'm really sorry to hear your wife is suffering from work-related stress.

Marmaris08 wrote: »

Her HR dept called asking how she was feeling, and after some discussion the HR lady commented that it sounds like she will be signed off again when she goes back to her doctor on Monday. So after she meets with her doctor they then want to invite her in for a meeting with the company occupation health officer and then a meeting with HR.

They want her to come in while she's still signed off? If so, that's wrong and unacceptable, IMO.

Marmaris08 wrote: »

Basically my question is, when you are off work ill with stress/anxiety can your work phone you for a blether to see how you are?

I'm afraid they can indeed call, although I can understand why it has set your wiofe back for work to intrude into her sickness time, especially when it's work that's making her ill!

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

sorry to hear about you wife's stress, there is some advice on the acas website which may help http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1993 good luck

teabelly

Your wife should write them a polite email asking them not to phone her at home while she is off sick as it is making the stress and anxiety worse. She should then ask them to write or email instead.

If you have a BT phone line then get BT privacy is free and gives you caller display so if it is work calling then she can let it go to answer phone if they ignore her polite request.

If you are off sick with stress and anxiety that is work related then the last thing you want is work ringing you up as it feels like a big intrusion into your personal space. They might feel they are being well intentioned but it doesn't always feel good to the person that's off.

A meeting with HR and Occy Health while signed off is not unusual. They are going after her quite soon. Occy Health generally are sympathetic but there are a few that just have a bad attitude and just tell you 'work is crap suck it up' which frankly isn't going to create a constructive and pleasant work environment.

She also needs to think about what her workplace can do to sort out the problems she has been having.

A great book I found is called 'Who Moved my Cheese'. It seems like a silly story on the surface but does help you consider how you deal with change and whether there are better ways.

An escape plan is also an essential. An alternative job or a lifestyle change helps relieve the stress of feeling you have to be at work and there is no way out.

bendix

I should stop reading this part of the forum. It's not good for my own stress levels.

WeakHeart

It's a shame that the contact upset her as they sound like they are being supportive and I think that they should make contact.

If they did not contact it would seem like they didn't care at all and it can even make it harder and more worrying for people to return when contact has been minimal so you could say that they are in a difficult position too. Of course they have a business to run and need to be kept informed and be able to plan for absence. They will be concerned that your wide is off with stress from her point of view and also for the business.

The anticipation of meeting with them is more likely to be far worse than the actual event and if they are a good business then the meeting will reassure her that they care, will be supportive and informative and, of course, keen to see her return to work fit and well asap.

viktory

Your wife's employer are perfectly within their rights to check on the health and well-being of their employee - as well as getting an idea as to when the employee might be returning to work. Remember they are paying your wife to be at home while someone has to cover her job. Anxiety and stress are generally notorious for keeping employee's off for a long period of time, so perhaps her employers are looking at the long term.

It sounds like they are being sympathetic and therefore your wife would do well to meet with them - if she is genuinely unwell I am sure they will understand.

Do bear in mind, however, people can and are sacked when off sick so your wife really needs to ensure she is taking the necessary steps to deal with her stress and anxiety.

dickydonkin

Many people and indeed employers underestimate the effects and are unaware of the causes of stress in the workplace.

Many larger companies ensure that potential stressors in the workplace are reduced by assessing workplaces and monitoring trends, sadly, many companies don't. Where there are regular occurrences of stress within a workplace, there is obviously a problem.

You may have had some good advice and information, however, the following website will offer some guidance for employers and employees which may also benefit you.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/

Whatever you do though, don't rush back to work - go back when you feel it is right to do so and I agree with teabelly by suggesting to your employer that you would prefer not to be contacted, however, it would be wise for you to keep in touch with them on your terms to keep them up to date on your progress.

I hope things turn out OK for you - good luck!

Marmaris08

Thanks to all who replied with sympathy and very helpfull advice, it's much appreciated. I will keep the topic updated after she returns to the Doctors on Monday.