Leaving work due to anxiety

BaaLamb

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Of course not with a physical problem, but I would exclude someone with a mental health problem if it would effect there ability to work at full capacity.
Why should I be ashamed for protecting my business and employees? I'm not a charity or state sponsored.

Why would it affect their capacity to work anymore than someone with Crohns disease, asthma or diabetes for example? You are clearly absolutely discriminating against people who suffer from mental illness of any kind. You should be ashamed of your ignorant and factually incorrect assumptions. What are you protecting your business and employees from exactly? You can't catch depression like you catch a cold you know.

I have worked for nigh on 20 years in a number of different professional roles while suffering from depression and anxiety, this year is the first year I ever taken some time off sick because of it. I've had days off here and there for all the normal stuff like colds or stomach bugs etc. I'm well known by colleagues for working my backside off even when sick at home as I find it very hard to switch off, as a result they knew I was really sick when I was off earlier this year. How dare you assume that someone like me is a lesser employee and more likely to be unwell than the next person.

drunkmonkey

livedadream wrote: »

people with mental illness do not have a diminished capacity for work.

you are a disgrace and like ive said before i hope you never suffer from an illness you have no control over and dont meet someone with the same opinion as you.

your lack of humanity and basic respect or empathy for your fellow humans is abhorrant to me.

Your a disgrace calling owners of small and medium sized businesses in Ireland "assholes".

BaaLamb

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Yes there are grants for taking on people who can't work at full capacity. That's they way it's worded when there trying to get your to take on people.

Dear God you really need to stop posting now. People with mental health issues are not all unable to work at full capacity just as people with Crohns disease, irritable bowel syndrome, high blood pressure, cardiac problems, liver problems and any other chronic illness you care to mention are not unable to work at full capacity.

Honestly, I'm gobsmacked by your attitude......

BaaLamb

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Your a disgrace calling owners of small and medium sized businesses in Ireland "assholes".

No he didn't call all owners of SME in Ireland "assholes", I'm pretty sure it was just directed at you and deservedly so in my opinion.

Tell me how

How much of these posts are helpful to the OP at this point?

BaaLamb

Tell me how wrote: »

How much of these posts are helpful to the OP at this point?

Apologies, you are right. I'm just incensed.

OP I think you should go and speak to HR. It may well be that they are sympathetic again and work with you to find a suitable solution. I think you should probably look into a psychologist / experienced counsellor to help you maximise the effect of taking some time for yourself.

Nototrump

drunkmonkey wrote: »

I'm basing it on multiple people not just one, I said I employed one knowing that there was a previous mental health condition but thought it was behind them.
Regardless, I'm not sure what kind of diligent business owner would take on someone knowing they could be absent a lot or effect the mental health of other employees, that's just reckless when there are other candidates to choose from.
There's state schemes to take on people with diminished capacity. I'd assume that's why you would take them on.

I really didn’t like your comment on my issues affecting the mental health of other employees as if to imply it is some form of contagious condition that people must be fearful of. I think that was a bit over-board and I sincerely hope an employee doesn’t come to you with a problem such as this, it appears you would show zero empathy towards the suffering individual.

With regards to you labeling me of “diminished capacity” I have 6 years’ experience in my field and obtained a first class honours degree and masters before embarking on my career. If anything I stress out too much about my job and every last detail. I have seen countless projects through from start to finish and to a high standard even if that meant working extremely long hours on my own time so it’s not like I can’t be an asset to an organisation.

However I do feel like a burden to them at the moment which only adds to the situation. I had a previous job before this for 4 years without any days off due to the issues I outlined even though I was suffering the same but always seemed to keep on top of it at that time.

The anxiety and depression is usually managed through medication and certain techniques I have acquired over the years but I can’t seem to shift it over the last year or so and have had about 5 weeks off in total in the last 14 months or so leading to this lost of confidence in myself. I think it’s all due to the increasing responsibility and work load and I may not be able for my current position which is a shame.

In any regard, I plan to the discuss the issue with HR next week and see if we can reach a satisfactory conclusion. If not I may take my holidays and look for a more suitable role . My doctor has referred me for cognitive behavioral therapy to someone he highly recommends and fingers crossed I may get on top of these issues once and for all.

Just to say thanks to everyone who weighed in, didn’t expect to see so many helpful replies so quick. I took them all on board. Cheers!

livedadream

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Your a disgrace calling owners of small and medium sized businesses in Ireland "assholes".

sorry thats not what i meant at all.

let me clarify and ill take my yellow card for it.

im not calling owners of small and medium sized business in ireland assholes.


i'm calling you an asshole.

drunkmonkey

BaaLamb wrote: »

Why would it affect their capacity to work anymore than someone with Crohns disease, asthma or diabetes for example? You are clearly absolutely discriminating against people who suffer from mental illness of any kind. You should be ashamed of your ignorant and factually incorrect assumptions. What are you protecting your business and employees from exactly? You can't catch depression like you catch a cold you know.

I have worked for nigh on 20 years in a number of different professional roles while suffering from depression and anxiety, this year is the first year I ever taken some time off sick because of it. I've had days off here and there for all the normal stuff like colds or stomach bugs etc. I'm well known by colleagues for working my backside off even when sick at home as I find it very hard to switch off, as a result they knew I was really sick when I was off earlier this year. How dare you assume that someone like me is a lesser employee and more likely to be unwell than the next person.

Depression can bring down the overall mood or other employee. We're not talking about working around your illness that most employers would do. This is about employing a new staff member when you know they could be out for prolonged periods and their illness could effect other employees.
There's incentives in place take people on with disabilities whether there phiysical or mental. You can't compare the 2 though as it's a lot easier to manage a physical disability and it has no knock on effect on employees. I'm basing that opinion on first hand experience of both. Dealing with a mental illness is stressful on employers and managers. Again your not going to deliberately put yourself in that position knowingly.

Taking on any employee your discriminating in some way against someone else. That could be as simple as appearance, accent, experience. If there's a medical issue its only normal that would be considered when waying up the pros and cons of each employee.

Corporations can afford to have staff out but most Irish businesses can't. That's the simple economics of it.

When discussing your point in relation to OP's initial question you need to look at it from an employers point of view.

livedadream

Nototrump wrote: »

I really didn’t like your comment on my issues affecting the mental health of other employees as if to imply it is some form of contagious condition that people must be fearful of. I think that was a bit over-board and I sincerely hope an employee doesn’t come to you with a problem such as this, it appears you would show zero empathy towards the suffering individual.

With regards to you labeling me of “diminished capacity” I have 6 years’ experience in my field and obtained a first class honours degree and masters before embarking on my career. If anything I stress out too much about my job and every last detail. I have seen countless projects through from start to finish and to a high standard even if that meant working extremely long hours on my own time so it’s not like I can’t be an asset to an organisation.

However I do feel like a burden to them at the moment which only adds to the situation. I had a previous job before this for 4 years without any days off due to the issues I outlined even though I was suffering the same but always seemed to keep on top of it at that time.

The anxiety and depression is usually managed through medication and certain techniques I have acquired over the years but I can’t seem to shift it over the last year or so and have had about 5 weeks off in total in the last 14 months or so leading to this lost of confidence in myself. I think it’s all due to the increasing responsibility and work load and I may not be able for my current position which is a shame.

In any regard, I plan to the discuss the issue with HR next week and see if we can reach a satisfactory conclusion. If not I may take my holidays and look for a more suitable role . My doctor has referred me for cognitive behavioral therapy to someone he highly recommends and fingers crossed I may get on top of these issues once and for all.

Just to say thanks to everyone who weighed in, didn’t expect to see so many helpful replies so quick. I took them all on board. Cheers!

You are not a burden and dont ever let your self feel like one.

you are an asset to your org and be proud of that,

if they cant give you leave its not because they think you are incapable it might be fore buisness needs.

Best of luck, keep the chin up.

Mrs OBumble

I wonder if there's an age/experience difference in the perspectives here.

I know people who are now in their 50s and 60s, who were diagnosed with mental illnesses in their 20s and 30s. The combination of the illnesses, slow start to treatment and side effects of the drugs which were tried on them at the time pretty much made them unemployable, apart from very small amounts of volunteer work at times of their choosing. If anyone hired them, they absolutely would have a negative effect on the mental health of other employees.

And I know people in their 30s who had a problem develop, got rapid treatment with drugs with minimal side effects. They're well able to hold down jobs, provided they get a (usually short) period of sick leave when they need it.

Of course these are generalisation based on very small samples. But they tie up with what I observed when I spent 10 years living in a nieghbourhood with lots of half-way houses: as services got better and drugs got better understood, the visible effect on people's behaviour changed dramatically. More people recovered or at least learned to live with themselves and to have full meaningful lifestyles.

As to hiring, I'm afraid I'm with drunkmonkey: I wouldn't knowingly hire someone who had any issue which might pre-dispose them to needing unscheuled periods of absence - unless they brought some very special skills to the table. Mental OR physical issues. I'm not stupid - there would be a water-tight, documented legal reason why they weren't the best for the job. BUT I don't think that this should influence what the OP does next week. The OP should take medical advice - including challenging it if they want to.

D0NNELLY

Why not just hand in sick certs?

BaaLamb

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Depression can bring down the overall mood or other employee. We're not talking about working around your illness that most employers would do. This is about employing a new staff member when you know they could be out for prolonged periods and their illness could effect other employees.
There's incentives in place take people on with disabilities whether there phiysical or mental. You can't compare the 2 though as it's a lot easier to manage a physical disability and it has no knock on effect on employees. I'm basing that opinion on first hand experience of both. Dealing with a mental illness is stressful on employers and managers. Again your not going to deliberately put yourself in that position knowingly.

Taking on any employee your discriminating in some way against someone else. That could be as simple as appearance, accent, experience. If there's a medical issue its only normal that would be considered when waying up the pros and cons of each employee.

Corporations can afford to have staff out but most Irish businesses can't. That's the simple economics of it.

When discussing your point in relation to OP's initial question you need to look at it from an employers point of view.

I've rarely read such a pile of crap. You're just ignorant and trying to justify your shameful attitude by saying you are thinking as an employer. I've always disclosed my mental health issues to employers and thankfully none of them had an attitude such as yours.

BaaLamb

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

I wonder if there's an age/experience difference in the perspectives here.

I know people who are now in their 50s and 60s, who were diagnosed with mental illnesses in their 20s and 30s. The combination of the illnesses, slow start to treatment and side effects of the drugs which were tried on them at the time pretty much made them unemployable, apart from very small amounts of volunteer work at times of their choosing. If anyone hired them, they absolutely would have a negative effect on the mental health of other employees.

And I know people in their 30s who had a problem develop, got rapid treatment with drugs with minimal side effects. They're well able to hold down jobs, provided they get a (usually short) period of sick leave when they need it.

Of course these are generalisation based on very small samples. But they tie up with what I observed when I spent 10 years living in a nieghbourhood with lots of half-way houses: as services got better and drugs got better understood, the visible effect on people's behaviour changed dramatically. More people recovered or at least learned to live with themselves and to have full meaningful lifestyles.

As to hiring, I'm afraid I'm with drunkmonkey: I wouldn't knowingly hire someone who had any issue which might pre-dispose them to needing unscheuled periods of absence - unless they brought some very special skills to the table. Mental OR physical issues. I'm not stupid - there would be a water-tight, documented legal reason why they weren't the best for the job. BUT I don't think that this should influence what the OP does next week. The OP should take medical advice - including challenging it if they want to.

I don't even know where to start with this, I really don't. Just to say again that it is no wonder people hide their mental health issues and the kind of stuff yourself and drunkmonkey have come out with just serves to keep people from talking to medical professionals or seeking the help they need. The stigma really is alive and well.

drunkmonkey

Nototrump wrote: »

I really didn’t like your comment on my issues affecting the mental health of other employees as if to imply it is some form of contagious condition that people must be fearful of. I think that was a bit over-board and I sincerely hope an employee doesn’t come to you with a problem such as this, it appears you would show zero empathy towards the suffering individual.

Sorry if I took your up wrong, I was concerned when your felt like the weak link on the team, I took that as you were dragging your team down and it was amplyfing the problem. I could only go on the information you supplied in your original post so was none the wiser when commenting.
In relation to the diminished capacity comment, employers are asked to take on people who can't work at full capacity, they tell you how much a person can work, for example a person with a heart condition may only be able to do 50% of the job a normal employee can do and they will subsidise the employer to make up for this. That is what I meant by diminished capacity.

Sorry this thread has turned into such a mess and hope things play out well for you.
I'd appreciate if you didn't make assumptions on how I care for my staff as there not accurate. I answerd your question honestly and didn't expect the amount of personal attacks that followed.

bottlebrush

OP, It seems to me like you feel guilty for being out sick and being paid at the same time. If you can afford to, perhaps you could suggest availing of some unpaid leave for a period of time to get yourself well again. I don't think it's a good idea to leave the job - if you find yourself unemployed with no money coming in, it will only increase your anxiety. It is very important that you keep a routine. What is your employer's sick pay scheme - i.e. are you entitled to sick pay if certified by a GP? Mental illness should be treated no differently to a physical illness.

Fluffy Cat 88

D0NNELLY wrote: »

Why not just hand in sick certs?

That's the best advice you're going to get here. It will give you time to work at getting well again. I'm sure your GP will help you in this regard, stepping away from work, even short-term will give you more time to rest and recuperate both mind and body.

It's not fraudulent in any way to do this. You are ill and need to get well again.

Best of luck, take care of yourself.

livedadream

drunkmonkey wrote: »

In relation to the diminished capacity comment, employers are asked to take on people who can't work at full capacity, they tell you how much a person can work, for example a person with a heart condition may only be able to do 50% of the job a normal employee can do and they will subsidise the employer to make up for this. That is what I meant by diminished capacity.

id love to see a link this this ''diminished capacity'' grant.
i think if anyone in the DSP or government used that phrase a forced resignation would be pretty fast in coming.


the only one im aware of is the Wage Subsidy Scheme and thats for disabled people.

the employee retention grant is for someone employed by you that develops a disbility which combined with the workplace adaption scheme is actually pretty good but

again all for people with a disability.

mental illness isnt a disability.

get a clue mate.

cursai

Drunken monkey I can see what your saying
Some people will jump on any excuse to be 'incensed'.

drunkmonkey

livedadream wrote: »

id love to see a link this this ''diminished capacity'' grant.
i think if anyone in the DSP or government used that phrase a forced resignation would be pretty fast in coming.


the only one im aware of is the Wage Subsidy Scheme and thats for disabled people.

the employee retention grant is for someone employed by you that develops a disbility which combined with the workplace adaption scheme is actually pretty good but

again all for people with a disability.

mental illness isnt a disability.

get a clue mate.

You need to get a clue, it is a disability under social welfare. I don't believe you've personally taken on people with mental health issues knowingly.

B_Wayne

drunkmonkey wrote: »

I'm an employer, while I'll do my best for my employees and have done in the past I will not knowingly take on someone with a mental health issue, I've done it once and will never again.

drunkmonkey wrote: »

I'm basing it on multiple people not just one, I said I employed one knowing that there was a previous mental health condition but thought it was behind them.
Regardless, I'm not sure what kind of diligent business owner would take on someone knowing they could be absent a lot or effect the mental health of other employees, that's just reckless when there are other candidates to choose from.
There's state schemes to take on people with diminished capacity. I'd assume that's why you would take them on.

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Give it a rest, your not willingly introducing a new employee with anxiety/depression into an otherwise healthy work invironment.
I'm really struggling to believe your a business owner as you implied if it doesn't cross you a second thought when choosing an employee.

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Depression can bring down the overall mood or other employee. We're not talking about working around your illness that most employers would do. This is about employing a new staff member when you know they could be out for prolonged periods and their illness could effect other employees.
There's incentives in place take people on with disabilities whether there phiysical or mental. You can't compare the 2 though as it's a lot easier to manage a physical disability and it has no knock on effect on employees. I'm basing that opinion on first hand experience of both. Dealing with a mental illness is stressful on employers and managers. Again your not going to deliberately put yourself in that position knowingly.

Taking on any employee your discriminating in some way against someone else. That could be as simple as appearance, accent, experience. If there's a medical issue its only normal that would be considered when waying up the pros and cons of each employee.

Corporations can afford to have staff out but most Irish businesses can't. That's the simple economics of it.

When discussing your point in relation to OP's initial question you need to look at it from an employers point of view.

drunkmonkey wrote: »

You need to get a clue, it is a disability under social welfare. I don't believe you've personally taken on people with mental health issues knowingly.

Drunkmonkey, I sincerely hope I never end up working in your company. You have a terrible grasp of mental health.

I'm in an area that requires pretty high performance on a regular basis. I'm pretty good at what I do, I've only ever had a positive effect on morale. I also do a bloody fantastic job at hiding the fact that I suffer from depression and anxiety. Personally, it does not affect my performance. It's somewhat managed at the moment.

The simple fact is, if you hire a decent amount of people, you'll find a fair proportion of them suffer from mental health issues of some kind. If an employee realised that you held such attitudes, it's probably far more likely that your attitude towards pretty ordinary mental health issues would impact their performance. If one feels their work place will not support them, great for morale of all employees!

drunkmonkey

Of course I have and will continue to support my employees. I happen to like them.

livedadream

drunkmonkey wrote: »

You need to get a clue, it is a disability under social welfare. I don't believe you've personally taken on people with mental health issues knowingly.

Its considered an illness that is covered by the Disability payment, the same as crohns disease is covered but its not a disability.

its not covered by any of the wage subsidy schemes you were refering too either.

stop talking out your ass and trying to convince people theres something wrong with having a mental illness, its people like you who have perpetuated the stereotype that having a mental illness is something to be ashamed or embarrassed about, which is one of the huge contributing factors to the astronomical rates of suicide in Ireland.

Its is not a disability in regards to the grants you were refering to to make your argument and you know it.

stop taking parts of legislation and DSP information out of context to make your point.

drunkmonkey

livedadream wrote: »

Its considered an illness that is covered by the Disability payment, the same as crohns disease is covered but its not a disability.

its not covered by any of the wage subsidy schemes you were refering too either.

stop talking out your ass and trying to convince people theres something wrong with having a mental illness, its people like you who have perpetuated the stereotype that having a mental illness is something to be ashamed or embarrassed about, which is one of the huge contributing factors to the astronomical rates of suicide in Ireland.

Its is not a disability in regards to the grants you were refering to to make your argument and you know it.

stop taking parts of legislation and DSP information out of context to make your point.

Your putting words in my mouth I didn't say and making suggestions about my attitude to staff which are unfounded and incorrect. You haven't answered any question your were asked just personal attack after personal attack.
Just go away, your one of the most insulting posters I've seen in a long time. Talk to the hand from here on in as I won't be listening to your crap.

livedadream

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Your putting words in my mouth I didn't say and making suggestions about my attitude to staff which are unfounded and incorrect. You haven't answered any question your were asked just personal attack after personal attack.
Just go away, your one of the most insulting posters I've seen in a long time. Talk to the hand from here on in as I won't be listening to your crap.

you'll be missed im sure, with your winning personailbyl and positive outlook on people withe mental health issues,

jesus what do you think of people in wheelchairs, or with a intellectual disability.

i do find it hilarious that your so ready to play the victim despite openly admitting to discriminating against people with a mental illness.

Stheno

Locked for mod review.

There will be cards.