Issues with work performance

jemmy8022

Hi all. Sorry for the long post.

I am really struggling at work. I started a new full time job around 9 months ago. When I first started I performed really well and I got praise from my boss about it. But some things have happened recently. In end of January 2022 I was involved in a car accident (I got knocked down by a car) which affected my mental health and traumatized me somewhat. My boss pulled me in around March time saying he was concerned with my drop in usual work standard. I felt bad about that and strived to improve.

The thing is I don't feel I have been able to return to the same work standard I had when I started. I suffer from schizophrenia which I take medication for so my concentration isn't the best generally. A colleague since I started who is there 3 years would make a habit of criticizing my every wrong move at work. As a result I feel very undermined by her. She is not really above me in terms of position but she affects me a lot. I feel intimidated by her confidence wise and frustrated that I cannot relax around her and work to the best of my ability. I had reported her behaviour towards me about 2 months ago to my area manager because she would be moody, due to her menopause she can be cheeky and even another colleague referred to her as The Incredible Hulk due to her changing moods. She has since stopped being rude towards me but I feel I've 'lost interest' in my job and been thinking maybe I should change jobs. However it is a good job and I had told myself before not to give up.

Lately I have been making a lot of silly mistakes that its embarrassing. I get brain fog a lot due to having had chemo in the past for cancer.  My meds also affect my concentration levels. My step dad who I'm close to is undergoing medical investigations and could have cancer again. Its all affecting my mental health.

How can I improve my working ability and performance?

Thank you in advance.

Marcon

jemmy8022 said:

Hi all. Sorry for the long post.

I am really struggling at work. I started a new full time job around 9 months ago. When I first started I performed really well and I got praise from my boss about it. But some things have happened recently. In end of January 2022 I was involved in a car accident (I got knocked down by a car) which affected my mental health and traumatized me somewhat. My boss pulled me in around March time saying he was concerned with my drop in usual work standard. I felt bad about that and strived to improve.

The thing is I don't feel I have been able to return to the same work standard I had when I started. I suffer from schizophrenia which I take medication for so my concentration isn't the best generally. A colleague since I started who is there 3 years would make a habit of criticizing my every wrong move at work. As a result I feel very undermined by her. She is not really above me in terms of position but she affects me a lot. I feel intimidated by her confidence wise and frustrated that I cannot relax around her and work to the best of my ability. I had reported her behaviour towards me about 2 months ago to my area manager because she would be moody, due to her menopause she can be cheeky and even another colleague referred to her as The Incredible Hulk due to her changing moods. She has since stopped being rude towards me but I feel I've 'lost interest' in my job and been thinking maybe I should change jobs. However it is a good job and I had told myself before not to give up.

Lately I have been making a lot of silly mistakes that its embarrassing. I get brain fog a lot due to having had chemo in the past for cancer.  My meds also affect my concentration levels. My step dad who I'm close to is undergoing medical investigations and could have cancer again. Its all affecting my mental health.

How can I improve my working ability and performance?

Thank you in advance.

There seem to be a lot of medical flags raised in your post, which suggests that your best starting point is likely to be getting some professional help to deal with all these issues, both mental and physical. Doing that should help to get you out of your current downward spiral, which in turn will help you to feel more positive about things and improve your work performance, assuming it really does need improving. Have you had any recent feedback on how your performance is currently viewed?

How much does your employer know about your various health issues and how sympathetic are they? If you are having to deal with so much and feel you have to 'keep it quiet', that certainly won't be helping. Does your employer have any sort of employee assistance/counselling programme which you might be able to access?

TBagpuss

I think Marcon is right. Talk to your Gp in the first insntace - they may be able t oreview your current medications etc to assess whether any changes might be beneficial, and may also be able to make referrals for you to see a counsellor or other therapist.

It sounds as though your employer acted promtply when your collegaue was behaving inappropriately to you, which is a good sign.

If you have problems concentrating then it may be worth thinking about what would help you to focus better - ths varies a lot from person to person and what is practical will depend on the workkplace and type of work, but it's worth considering whethher there are any changes, such as (for instnace) being allowed to listen to music using headphones (if your job is not cstomer facing or phonebased) moving your desk (e.g. into a quieter area, facing awall, or having dividers added, if any of those things would help (including helping you to pay less attention to your cowoker and to compare wyourself less with them) 

You could ak your employer about those changes and explain that you feel thay would help you focus better. It's possible that your mental issues amount to a disability and that you could request changes as a reasomnable accommodation, biut you would have to decide how comfortable you were sharing information about your health with your employer - you may prefer to ask first without flagging it as a disability accommodation.

In terms of how you improve your performance, would it help to talk to your manager to ask them for speifc feedback about your strngths and weaknesses and what you could do to improve? 
You may also find that things sucgh as giving yourself samll, freqent targets so you can see that you are achieving things would be useful - for instnace, a 'to do list that you can tick off as you complete each task.Sometimes it can be helpdfeul to be able to see / record that you have made progress!