What to expect from occupational health appointment that was arranged due to work stress?

[Nifedipine]

Hello! Does anyone know what happens at an OH appointment and how it impacts on things later? I have been suffering from a lot of stress and burnout due to workload and management issues at my workplace. Now an OH appointment has been called and it is making me even more stressed! Not sure what to expect and I am worried it may make things even worse for the future. Could I lose my job due to things I disclose? E.g. if I say I struggle to keep up with the workload or to maintain standards, can this result in me being classified as no longer capable of doing my job? I am so worried this will have the opposite effect of what is needed and will just be used by management to get rid of their perceived problem, aka me.
Anyone has any advice how I should prepare and what I should be careful with in terms of disclosing?
Thank you!

I had an occ health app in my old job, it was more like a chat really- asking what the issues were and what I felt would help, they also had some suggestions. They are meant to be impartial and the report was pretty much just a summary of the conversation- saying they recommended part time (which work wouldn't grant anyway), that as I was being pro active in seeking support they didn't see that it would impact my work in the long term. Then we had a meeting at work about it and they were content as it said it would be fine long term, but if I had said I'm really struggling and don't see an end to it in this role, I'm sure the meeting would have been different as they would have likely said this is going to be ongoing; they work for the company too if that makes sense.

Essentially if you can think of adjustments that would actually help, bring them up, if it's been prompted by management as part of performance management, be wary of what you say.

Thank you! I think this is exactly what is causing me anxiety, that it may be used as part of performance management without me knowing. No performance issues have been raised with me, but don't know if something has started in the background.

I was stressed due to being bullied by my boss. I engaged with occy health but refused to give permission for my report to be passed to my org as I felt it would be detrimental to me. Nothing else happened with it, but I did end up leaving a few months later. They got rid of the boss, but the damage was done. Toxic workplace.

So, yes, you do have a final say on what org sees.

Thank you, that is reassuring. It is a very toxic workplace and I feel management can't be trusted at all. 🙁

Occupational Heath are there to provide impartial advice on work related health issues, but ultimately, decisions are made by managers. Stress itself isn't an illness, but the effects of stress can cause ill health.

Occupational Health often advice to staff and managers is often 'deal with the stress and the health will improve'. They often recommend you and your manager complete a stress risk assessment. The Health and Safety executive have a good one, which I've used with staff and managers. I like it because it doesn't place blame on anyone. Some staff I've done then with aren't satisfied with the process, but that's because it doesn't make them less unhappy in their jobs.

Hi OP. I have referred a lot of people to occupational health over the years. If I'm honest, there have been two reasons for doing this.

In the majority of cases, it has genuinely been with the intention of getting advice that might support the employee to manage their work and health conditions alongside each other so that they are able to stay in work without their health being negatively impacted. Some really useful recommendations have come out of those referrals for reasonable adjustments that have genuinely helped e.g. standing desks, special chairs or other equipment, tweaks to working patterns, extra breaks etc. All agreed in partnership with the employee and with the genuine intention to support.

I will admit that there is another category of people who I have referred when I am either in the middle of taking them through a capability process or about to start this. In such cases, I would still take any occ health recommendations seriously in order to support the employee appropriately, but being blunt, my main motivation in these circumstances is to cover my own back so that I can demonstrate further down the line that I have taken every reasonable step possible to support the employee and make any adjustments needed. Essentially, I'm protecting myself against the possibility of future allegations of having failed to make reasonable adjustments. However, if it is reassuring to you in any way, I definitely would not view the occupational health appointment as a means of collecting data/evidence that I could subsequently use as part of that capability process. A robust case for capability should be on the basis of your work performance alone, and an occupational health review should be seen as a supportive intervention, not a weapon to be used against you.

I should add that, if I were about to start formal capability proceedings, you would definitely be aware of that already as we would have had lots of informal conversations before getting to that point. If nothing has been raised with you, that's a good sign... though some managers are clearly shit and don't do things properly so there are never any guarantees.

Unfortunately the recommendations put forward by the OH are not always followed up by managers! This is when the problems begin. Not only for the employee but also for the employer.

I was in a position of being bullied/harassed by a colleague where the line manager swept matters under the carpet. The inevitable happened and I had a lot of odd days off sick. So I was sent to the OH (large organization). I also produced a letter from my GP who was treating me for stress and the interview went well. The OH recommended I be separated from the bullying colleague and this is what initially happened. For 4 months I worked well. My health improved and and I was without a single day absent. during that period. Then I found out the office was being re-organised and I would be back working closely with the bully. When I raised objections my head of dept was unhelpful, although he could have arranged for me to work elsewhere. He just dug in his heels and said he was not going to be dictated to by the OH!

Eventually I went on long term sick leave and the organisation terminated my employment. They did not terminate it on the grounds of unfitness but on the grounds of misconduct! In this and other respects they failed miserably to follow their own set out procedures. If you are going to dismiss for misconduct you have to show evidence that you have followed a set of disciplinery procedures. The HR officer dismissed the accusations of bullying as "different styles of working". Fortunately I was in a powerful union who got me an employment law solicitor who threatened them with a tribunal. It cost the a ten grand settlement figure.

That was the point where I left employed work and used the ten grand to set up my own business.

I later heard on the grapevine that the H o D was given a bollocking by the management team and the line manager was issued with a verbal warning for failing to deal with the situation at her level. After al lthey ahd cost the organization a lot of money.

Hi OP - in my experience (union rep) OH can be useful in getting management to accept that you need some modifications to your working practices. So - as an example - you could say that it would really help you manage stress if senior staff would stop sending you emails out of office hours (I’m just making up an example here) and OH could then recommend that to management. Similarly I’ve seen OH back an employee in a standoff with their line manager about working practices and management told the line manager to back off.

I’d suggest you think proactively about what changes could be made which would help you, and then use the OH process as a way of getting management to agree to those.

Of course in some workplaces management just use any OH findings as further grist to their mill if they’ve already decided to push you out. It doesn’t sound as though you have much faith in management so obviously be wary of that - keep your interactions with OH constructive, have concrete suggestions for change etc.

Thank you very much everyone for the helpful comments. You have helped me focus on the actual adjustment that would help me, so will give some more thought to that.

@AlexaShutUp Your message is so useful, thank you! I think unfortunately I fall into the second category you describe, not necessarily due to performance issue (I believe I deliver at a good level) but because I am typically one of those people who have been there for too long and has become bitter. I voice my discontent often which I know my manager despises, but my colleagues share a lot of my concerns and often back me up but most of them don't directly voice these themselves. This is due to some of them being on fixed term contracts, so don't want to cause trouble and some people just generally don't like to raise concerns much, especially because nothing ever changes substantially.

Glad it was useful, @Nifedipine.

What kind of thing are you voicing your discontent about? It can be annoying for managers if there are staff who appear to be constantly complaining about stuff, but on the other hand, those employees can be a really useful source of info on what people are feeling more generally, and on what's working/ what's not. Feedback is useful, if it's delivered in the right way, but sometimes it just feels like a whingefest if it is not presented carefully.

I had a "black hat" thinker in my team in a previous role, and she always seemed to see the negative side of everything. Actually, she was very good at spotting issues that needed to be addressed, and I valued that, but the way she communicated the issues she identified did irritate people because they felt that she was constantly complaining. I ended up doing a lot of work with her on how to communicate her points in a different way.

Is there any way in which you can try to be positive and constructive when you're raising issues, and are there solutions that you can potentially suggest to your manager which wouldn't cost much or require lots of work from them? Sometimes it's worth picking your battles too. And be careful about appointing yourself as spokesperson for others who might say one thing to you and another thing to your managers - this is not uncommon, I'm afraid!

You say that you have been in the role too long...is it time to think about moving on?

I think you are spot on, I definitely whinge and I am 100% sure I irritate some people. The thing is, I have done years of constructive feedback and also a lot of training and mentoring in our team to make it a better place for everyone (I have had a ton of feedback on these from various people, but must admit, I can't be sure everyone would rate my contributions highly). But have run out of steam and patience, so am now just blunt. But also, things have become really bad about workload and work environment and I am shocked to see the toll it is taking on my mental health. I have always been a very resilient and mentally strong person, so this is a whole new and scary experience and I hate the effect work stress is having on me.
The things I tend to moan about are unfair task allocation between teams, lack of communication and transparency, lack of decision making, and specifically, our time being wasted on being "consulted" about things where no suggestions are ever followed up but not being consulted on things that directly affect our ways of working.
You are 100% right, it is time to move on, but I am mentally not able to get the headspace right now and financially cannot go without a job without a new one lined up. 🙁 But I am sure my line manager would have a huge sigh of relief if I handed my notice in.

Sounds tough, OP. And it doesn't sound like things are being well managed at the moment at all, which must be incredibly frustrating.

On the plus side, you clearly have plenty of self awareness, which is so often lacking in the workplace.

It really does sound like time to move on, but I get how hard it is to get into jobhunting mode when your mental health is at rock bottom. Can you set yourself a really small goal, like doing something for just 30mins to an hour each week to start planning an exit strategy? Or maybe rope in a friend to help you? It's easy to get stuck in a rut and feel there is no way out, but you need to take action of some sort in order to change the situation. Have you seen your GP for help with the mental health?

Not suggesting that you'll find another role in half an hour per week btw, but sometimes just taking some sort of positive action can help you to build up the momentum. Baby steps...

Thank you so much for your kind words! Definitely an exit strategy is what is needed, but for various reasons it would be best if I could stay put for a few more years, so am trying to find my peace somehow. I do like your suggestion of devoting a little time to it each day, then when the right time comes it may not be so daunting to take the leap.

I have spoken to my GP, she has suggested talking therapy but waiting list is very long. She also offered time off work, which I didn't take, because right now I feel like it would just compound the stress, having to catch up with work after time off.

Thank you for taking the time to comment, I would imagine as a manager you already have more than enough of this sort of stuff during the work week! 😉

Hey OP - sorry you're having to deal with this, i know the feeling well! I've also managed people in the same position so have seen both sides.

General advice:
Try not to fall into the trap of letting it out in team meetings and public places - it feels good at the time, but really all it does is make your other colleagues feel on edge, and support from colleagues can make your situation more bearable. Plus, behaviourally it is something you can be managed on as it can be deemed not appropriate - dont give them any ammo. Make sure you raise it in your 121 with your manager, and blow of steam with your colleagues in private, but dont air it out in public - 99% of the time it will not actually get you a result, as people then feel humiliated and spiteful towards you.
Its so hard though, because a lot of these environments thrive on 'the elephant in the room' and it does feel better momentarily to get it off your chest, but in the long term it will make things more tense. I really feel for you. I hope you find something else soon.

My other advice would be:
Remember that OH can give recommendations, but your employer isnt actually obliged to carry them out. A lot of people are under the impression that employers have to do everything OH says, and that OH determine what is 'reasonable' for that particular employer to do. Neither of which is true, as it would be impossible for OH to determine what is 'reasonable' for a company to do as that depends on so many factors.
Start documenting - you will thank yourself later. Any conversation due to stress, sick, performance, or any time you've had off sick, or any incidents - make a note of it (a word doc with a date/time next to it does the trick - you want a big timeline)
If its anything significant to you as an individual regarding performance or sick, make sure they put it in writing.

And finally - try and seperate out the manager from the business - what a lot of people make the mistake of doing is giving their manager a load of shit about things that are largely out of their individual managers control. There is nothing to be gained on repeating the same complaints to soneone who doesnt have the power to change it, or has either raised it to no avail, or is unable to raise it at all for various reasons. Obviously if fault lies entirely with your manager, ignore this (and look for another role if you feel like you've escalated your complaints or that the business is aware but choosing to do nothing)

@TDMN Words of pure gold, thank you! I painfully lack diplomacy skills and have zero ability of the stiff upper lip (and also very low tolerance for it...) which is definitely contributing to the problems. You are really making me reflect here, I don't think this OH appointment is at all about work stress, it is about trying to make me 'behave'. I have been quite good in the last couple of months in terms of keeping my opinion to myself and only let steam off with close colleagues, but recently some bullying has started (or came to light more) in the team and it has triggered me again. It is a very toxic environment (or for me anyway) so not sure I actually will be able to tolerate it for much longer. I think I also lack perspective at the moment, this may be totally normal workplace stuff and I just expect too much.

Actually, OP, dealing with people issues is the bit I like best! I find people endlessly interesting, and I enjoy my own job much more if I can find ways of getting the best out of my team. Most people genuinely want to do a good job, in my experience, so often it's just a question of trying to facilitate that and removing the obstacles that are getting in the way.

I'm dealing with my own work stress at the moment, so I can totally sympathise. Not a people problem in my case, but a fairly serious financial one - not of my own making but I will have to sort it out anyway. It grinds you down sometimes, and can be hard to switch off, so it's good to have something to take my mind off it!

If you can't get talking therapy via your GP, does your workplace offer an employee assistance programme of any sort? They usually have some level of counselling as part of their offer.

If you need to stay put for a few years, finding peace with the current situation sounds like a good plan. Have you tried meditating? There are lots of apps that can help with this, and I find it definitely makes a big difference. I hate to say it, but regular exercise is also the best stress buster that I have ever come across - it's worth making time for if you don't already.

I hope that things improve for you soon.

Interesting replies. My husband had major treatment for cancer was off work and they tried to send him to OH to see if he was fit to take part in a redundancy process

@AlexaShutUp I definitely don't envy the work of a manager and try to cut slack for my own, but gosh, how much I would like to have one that is also a people person! 😁

You are very right about exercise, every so often I make the vow to go for a lunchtime walk every day but taking that break results in work building up and making me stressed, so I stop doing it. There is 100% a workload issue but my manager seems to not want to acknowledge it. The whole thing makes me feel horrible as the workload stress is starting to have an effect on the quality of my work and I find that so unfair, because at the end of the day I am judged based on the quality of what I deliver. 😞

@hopeishere Jesus Christ, that is shocking! Hope your husband had a good outcome of the treatment. ❤

Sounds horrible, OP. You really should be able to get out at lunchtime - it's important to have a proper break, and you'd probably be far more productive in the afternoon as a result. I know that feeling though, when taking a break feels like it will create more stress than it helps to resolve. It's a shitty place to be.

The manager sounds quite poor tbh, though they may be under a lot of pressure from above to deliver with insufficient resources. I presume that you have tried the old strategy of asking them what they would like you to prioritise, as there isn't time to do everything to the standard that is expected?

What's the response when you raise issues re workload? Are they expecting you to put in loads of extra hours? Are they telling you to be more efficient/work faster? Denying that there is any issue at all? Are you actually getting everything done at the moment or is it piling up and creating a backlog?

'I painfully lack diplomacy skills and have zero ability of the stiff upper lip (and also very low tolerance for it...)'

Me too!! And like you i find it hard to keep myself in check when the pressure mounts up again. And i hate things being 'unspoken'.
Also in terms of perspective, its great you're thinking about that and its massively helped me in the past - and being a manager has really opened my eyes to why things that happen can be misconstrued or blown out of proportion.
Try asking someone you trust outside of work to give you their impartial opinion, but be open about the fact you think you might be being unreasonable - you're more likely to get honesty from them that way.

I have come across people who for a variety of reasons dont have that much experience in other workplaces and therefore have totally lost perspective. Its very easy to do so, especially in a high pressure environment where it just takes up so much emotional energy being at work.

To give you an example:
Perception from Person A:
'i've been allowed to sit by my mate (Person B) for 20 years and now im being told i have to move, yet other people are being allowed to stay where they are, why am i being singled out, this feels like bullying after i raised a concern about shift patterns to my manager'
Reality from the manager: 'Another member of the team (C) is struggling performance-wise and will benefit from being sat next to an experienced colleague, so the manager has decided to move them. Elsewhere, two other colleagues are very loud and disruptive when sat together, which they've been warned about, but have not done anything to change. The best way to resolve this is to move A inbetween them as she's more experienced and they wont want to disturb her out of respect, and move C next to B who is a great coach who loves to help out. For various reasons due to disability adjustments we cant really move anyone else without a lot of disruption, and it wouldnt be appropriate to fill A and B in on C's performance issues or the noisy twins behavioural ones, so we'll just say we thought a little shake up would be good to spread knowledge wider across the team'

In another company, person A would go 'oh ive been moved - thats a bit annoying as i love chatting to B but im there to work, not the end of the world'
But in an environment where you have a lot of other issues going on, very easy to think its about you when it isnt.

Im also guilty of gettting wound up by things that have nothing to do with me! If you see something REALLY wrong happen in front of you its hard not to get involved, but for a lot of things in hindsight i think... did that situation actually get resolved by me expressing my opinion or getting involved in the way i did? Probably not is the answer. Its helped me reflect on:
How i get involved, if i get involved at all, or if getting involved actually will help the person im trying to help or if i just hate the company so much im on edge all the time ready to fight another battle?

I was referred to OH in the civil service. I suggested being down graded and this option was in the report. Luckily they found/made a role for me at a lower pay scale with less pressure so it suited me and I could afford it.