Out of work, psych appointment prevents proper full time work. Thoughts appreciated.

jessicamb

Call centres have shift work and can often do hours to suit. Does it need to be a temp job though? If you are CIPD qualified I expect you could get another HR position which, if they are a good employer, would be able to take into account your medical appointments and let you structure your hours accordingly. Generally with a receptionist you physically need a body there between certain hours and there is only a small pool of personnel to draw on - which seems to be where the problem is. Corporate services such as HR can afford to be more flexible as long as the work gets done within a reasonable time period.

I appreciate you want a job quickly to get back in employment but do you have a clear idea about what you want to do and your career ambitions? I only mention it as an unfulfilling job that bores you and has no satisfaction may be stressful.

bristol_pilot

It may be that having a worthwhile job that you enjoy and excel at will benefit your mental health far more than continuing therapy would. It's been going for 3+ years, so it isn't really working is it? Up to you to decide, of course.

If you are determined to continue therapy, YOU are the client and she who pays the piper calls the tune. YOU tell the therapist when your apppointments are, not the other way around. Since we live in a country with more therapists than doctors and nurses put together I'm sure you could find one that will see you out of office hours.

purplefiona

LondonDiva wrote: »

The supermarkets and MacDonald's type places are good for varied shift work

Supermarket, good call. Can't do McDonalds, allergies- shame really, they have great HR.

purplefiona

bristol_pilot wrote: »

It may be that having a worthwhile job that you enjoy and excel at will benefit your mental health far more than continuing therapy would. It's been going for 3+ years, so it isn't really working is it? Up to you to decide, of course.

If you are determined to continue therapy, YOU are the client and she who pays the piper calls the tune. YOU tell the therapist when your apppointments are, not the other way around. Since we live in a country with more therapists than doctors and nurses put together I'm sure you could find one that will see you out of office hours.

I don't pay for my therapy, I waited 5 years for nhs therapy. But thanks for thinking I can afford it.

purplefiona

jessicamb wrote: »

Call centres have shift work and can often do hours to suit. Does it need to be a temp job though? If you are CIPD qualified I expect you could get another HR position which, if they are a good employer, would be able to take into account your medical appointments and let you structure your hours accordingly. Generally with a receptionist you physically need a body there between certain hours and there is only a small pool of personnel to draw on - which seems to be where the problem is. Corporate services such as HR can afford to be more flexible as long as the work gets done within a reasonable time period.

I appreciate you want a job quickly to get back in employment but do you have a clear idea about what you want to do and your career ambitions? I only mention it as an unfulfilling job that bores you and has no satisfaction may be stressful.

I know- I was insane to think about receptionist I suppose. Fulfilling? with a psych appointment on my cv? unlikely. But thanks.
HR, yeah I guess. Best get on with my essays eh.

Margaret_Skinner

I can't believe some of the comments on this thread! It's none of our business what Fiona is in therapy for - the main thing is she has stated it's working for her and helping her to move on and if she's been able to hold down a job for the length of time she has previously and be self-employed then I would say it's working pretty well.

Surely we should be encouraging people trying to get their lives together to do so and work at the same time to enhance the process - not have to CHOOSE between the 2 for Pete's sake!

Fiona another option might be 2 part-time jobs if you need the full-time money coming in?

I was in a position last year where I worked 20 hours with a company and was self-employed tutoring as well - there wasn't enough money coming in so I dropped some of the tutoring and took another part-time job of 17.5 hours to give me full-time money BUT I didn't want to give up the tutoring altogether so kept Friday mornings free for it. The crucial thing is I worked round this with the 2 employers I have so definitely being up front with your employer is the way to go in future interviews and maybe not a receptionist job because they tend to need someone there all the time.

I work as an Administrator in both jobs and I had to end up working 5 hours each weekend to make it fit but I was willing to do that to suit the situation.

There are also part-time jobs for 30/32/35 hours going around so it might be possible to still get a Receptionist job with enough money and which can fit round the appointments.

Don't take a dead-end job though with your qualifications and experience if you can help it - that's just a waste.

Let us know how you get on!

purplefiona

Thank you, Margaret. Before I had my full time job I had lots of double part time jobs etc, can do it again. I have seen a few job-shares and perhaps i ought to pursue that.

As for the rest of the replies- food for thought, but hear this- I just thought, naively, that having had a full time job for so long it wouldn't be too much of a problem to have one again. Clearly everything I learnt on my HR course about employment law isn't applied in actual life, in any job, even those that don't require 9-5 presence. Well, after the attitudes I've come across in the last few weeks alone, I am not in the slightest bit surprised.

All I would say to anyone is this: how would it be if "mental health appointment" was replaced with "back pain appointment"- would you be insinuating that I can just finish, and encouraging me to cancel it then?

Just because you can't see mental health problems and because treatment can be prolonged doesn't mean they don't exist, and just because I have a regular appointment shouldn't preclude me getting a job. The only question is- what job?

Thanks for the ideas

x

bestpud

I wonder if a job share may be the way to go? I know they don't come up all the time but worth looking out for maybe?

Do you know anyone who wants part time work of the same kind as you could try asking potential employers if they'd consider a job share?

As for reasonable allowances being made for you - that depends how you make them aware of the problem!

If you describe it simply as a therapy appointment, it could be anything!

Buy if you have a 'disability', the DDA comes into play, as already said.

Zazen999

Margaret_Clark wrote: »

I can't believe some of the comments on this thread!

Can't you? From Fiona's second post it would seem that sarcasm is the best way to respond to any 'thoughts' that were asked for in the title of the thread.

Anyhow - the main mistake in the plan is to apply for receptionist jobs in the first place. Reception is usually covered from opening time to closing and is a right royal PITA when people are off as it takes people off their own desks and onto another in order to cover that person's job.

There are employers that will be more than flexible about working times around regular appointments as long as the working hours are agreed upfront. I would recommend getting the appointment changed now to 9am and thus losing less of the time on the morning; so that Fiona gets into a routine of the 9am appt; and trying for non-reception type jobs. Possibly senior admin or HR roles.

ETA: I don't know why Fiona is having a go at anyone who is giving her constructive advice when she asked for thoughts. If she just wants nice thoughts, don't ask for thoughts ask for hugs and support. People see things from different viewpoints and each post on here has been from different viewpoints that will be encountered in the workplace...no good ranting back at people when they are trying to make different points about a situation.

donquine

OP, you can't apply for a 9 to 5 reception job, because companies generally require someone to cover their phones for that set period - you might be able to make up the time from 6pm to 8pm, but if no clients are calling, it's a waste of time having you there. Plus, as a new employee, it might not be appropriate to leave you with the alarm codes etc that would enable you to work late.

Office work is fine - but you want to look at roles that are more admin based than telephone based.

From personal experience, accountancy firms and local government are good for offering things like glide time, flexi time, part time working, etc. Provided you go for an admin role and the only thing holding back your application is this appointment every week, I'm fairly sure your local council would interview you.

You say your therapy is on the NHS, so I do wonder if it is for a condition that can be classed as a disability? It would give you considerably more protection. If you're not sure, ask your therapist. The DDA broadly states (and I paraphase quite a lot) that reasonable adjustments must be made for people with ongoing, permanent medical conditions that adversely impact on their quality of life.

However, reasonable adjustments are just that. It's not reasonable expecting a company to employ you as a receptionist for 33 hours a week and someone else for 2! It would be too hard to find someone prepared to job share with those hours.

Btw, have your told your therapist exactly how difficult your appointment is making your job search and that you are considering stopping therapy so you can find a job? If your therapist (and not just their receptionist) understands the position you're in, they may be able to find you a more suitable appointment.