Colleague off sick due to 'stress' when she is partying

societys_child

humm . . . the op has been off work since sunday:(

they must be getting really short staffed at fionajbanana s' workplace . . :rotfl:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4722535

paulineb_2

FBaby wrote: »

I totally disagree with saying that it is ok to have fun outside of home when signed off for work related stress. It is not because of the stress itself that you get signed off, it is because of the effect that stress has on your life, as in it makes you feel so ill that you can't continue with your work. If you are getting that ill, then going out having fun shouldn't be a possibility.

The problem is that people beg their GPs to sign them off for stress just because they find it very difficult to cope at work, not being they have reached the stage when they are ill with it and GPs do it because they can't be bothered to argue with the patient, or to ruin their patient-clinician relationship.

I never begged my GP to sign me off with stress, Ive suffered from it in 3 jobs. In one I was assaulted physically, a young person smacked me with a heavy chair (my employer wouldnt do anything about it and pressured me not to press charges).

I was also harassed by a tenant when I went to collect rent from them (Im not a housing officer), I worked in supported housing.
The tenant and his brother were blind drunk and it was only because of the intervention of a colleague who wasnt supposed to be there but who was doing a repair, stopped what would have been a sexual assault.

In other jobs Ive been over worked to the absolute max. Ive had to involve police due to again a violent tenant with an addiction problem and I was very lucky that I wasnt seriously hurt. And in the meantime I was doing my own job, with little support. The lack of support led me to walking out of that job never to return and it eventually led to me leaving the career for good.

I was ill by the time I saw my GP, every time. And a lot of minor adjustments in my job could have helped my health but managers werent interested.

I agree that some people will ask to be signed off before they really need to be but everyone has a different tolerance limit. When you are physically ill at the thought of setting a toe in the door of a workplace you are suffering from stress.

And one persons difficult to cope, might be another persons I cant go back moment. Everyone reacts to stress differently. It ruins peoples lives.

As I said before, it isolates people. I could barely do the basics when I was off work, because I knew, every time that my employer didnt give a monkeys and rather than try and sort the matter out, youd be going back to the same stress you left and more because you had been off and had complained.

Because a lot of employers try and turn the work related stress issue into you having "personal problems"

If a GP is presented with someone who is clearly struggling then I would imagine they err on the side of caution.

My GP didnt prescribe anything, not for the bulk of the time I was unwell, just gave me a sick line (note) and that was it.

I didnt feel like going out painting the town red, but as I said, if someone had asked me to go for a drink, Id have gone, because its hard enough dealing with the effects stress has on your life, you lose confidence, you stay away from people, you end up spending a lot of time on your own.

And there was nothing fun about my life in any of the spells I had off work, going out wouldnt have made anything fun, it might just have been a diversion for a short time from everything else that was going on.

paulineb_2

And a good employer or manager should have policies in place to support a colleague well before they reach the not coping stage never mind stress.

Sadly, some employers dont care.

scooby088

societys_child wrote: »

humm . . . the op has been off work since sunday:(

they must be getting really short staffed at fionajbanana s' workplace . . :rotfl:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4722535

Pot and Kettle spring to mind?

Maybe OP is that bored she has made up a thread? All I would say is stress can be just as debilitating as gallbladder pain, who are we to judge others.

LittleMissGiggles123

Although I agree that it is coincidental that she had no holidays, so has been signed off over the summer holidays, there is no reason why she cannot do these things while signed off work. It's not as if she's signed off with a bad back.

These things could be relieving her stress.

Believe me, I don't condone it. Being a Senior Manager, I dread anyone in the company I work for being signed off with stress.

My husband was diagnosed with depression a few months ago, brought on by stress (he runs his own business so couldn't take time off work) & it's been a difficult process but the 2 things that really help him are going to the gym & doing family activities with our 2 daughters. Apparently the exercise releases some hormone that the medication he has also provides, so it's a natural remedy rather than having to stay on the medication forever. Still a long way off coming off them completely, but he's getting there.

x

ess0two

If you cant beat em join em.

I realised this years ago,pi$$ poor management at the end of the day.

Same happens where I work,shift work environment,same people yet management fail to act.

Mainly consists of sickness on the weekends especially nights.

I just take my 'extra' shifts off in the week to compensate.

Jobseeeker

TBH it will probably catch up with the colleague, call centres do not like people calling in sick. I used to work in one for a bank in the summer hols and I remember 3 periods of absence in 6 months or 4 in a year would warrant a disciplinary hearing.

I wouldn't bother reporting it as it could come back on you HR wise.

fionajbanana

scooby088 wrote: »

Pot and Kettle spring to mind?

Maybe OP is that bored she has made up a thread? All I would say is stress can be just as debilitating as gallbladder pain, who are we to judge others.

Yes I am bored. No have not made the thread up. As most times I log into FB - this colleague's statuses normally the most updated.

I have been in pain since late May/early June, cannot exactly remember the date when symptoms started. For the past 8 weeks (bar one week annual leave) I have been in pain for 80% of the time and dragged myself into work. Colleagues could see I was struggling on some days. Plus, there have been 2 colleagues that have been off sick with gallbladder pain and subsequent surgery to remove in the past 12 months. Basically, as soon as one colleague came back to work after gb surgery, another colleague displayed symptoms of gallstones. Management know what goes on with gallstones.

What colleagues seen this colleague in question since she has been off sick with stress is that she looks like there is nothing wrong with her.

On Saturday, I am not going to the pub to say farewell to two colleagues as I am still signed off sick and colleagues are understandable. If this colleague turns up, she will be in deep trouble. Just needs a couple of photos taken of her. The only time I would go to this when signed off sick is if I have broken or had an op on a limb and people can see I cannot work. A colleague had an op on her wrist 10 days before our Christmas party and had a cast on her arm.

evanjonesaber

AP007 wrote: »

Why would you want to grass them up?

Its none of your business what they are doing unless you are their boss

Of course it's their business if the colleague is taking the p and they are subjected to a heavier workload because of it. Workers like that want shooting.

FBaby

Ah yes, just because they find it difficult to cope at work.

But that's the issue. Being able to cope is subjective. Struggling to cope doesn't mean that their situation is much more difficult to cope with than the situation their colleagues are facing. Some people push themselves to cope, others feel overwhelmed at the slightest change, other collapse at the slightest sign of stress.

It's easy to understand how resentment grow. It's a bit like the sinking ship, those who get off immediately and those who battle on. It doesn't mean the one that got off first was the least able to battle on and help others.

I have seen colleagues totally disabled by work related stress, fighting until they just couldn't do it any longer. I have also seen colleagues who went off sick on stress just because they didn't get their way with one thing or another. In the end, it comes down to what category you believe the person falls under.