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!

@hopeishere

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

So sorry to hear this - that must have been so stressful for you both to deal with all that at the same time. I (thankfully) have very little experience in redundancy - im curious, if you dont mind me asking did they explain why in any detail? Like did they need a deeper assessment of his condition in relation to his specific line of work as opposed to a letter from his Dr which would focus on the condition?

Ah, thank you @AlexaShutUp, I feel it is more horrible lately due to changes in company leadership, which I know isn't my manager's fault. They have their own pressures for sure, probably also burnt out themselves. I need a guide to how to survive under a burnt out manager! 😂

Some workload issues just not acknowledged, and sometimes some firefighting response is made that eases the stress temporarily but does not create long term solutions. There was a recent incident of some stupidly extreme hours expected from me, and at the end I think this is what prompted the OH referrel. However, this is what I have a problem with, that it isn't really the case of a one off, the problem is the constant and underlying lack of resource. On my sympathetic days I just let go as my manager is also a small fish and under even more pressure, on my less sympathetic days I despair at being ignored.
I do have some backlog, not crazy amount though, but it is only because of extra hours I put in. People sometimes say to let things collapse so that someone takes notice, but it is hugely anxiety inducing to be willingly the person that drops the ball!

@TDMN You are giving me so much food for thought, thank you! Especially this:
"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."
I think I need to tone down my self-perceived justice moments!

@AlexaShutUp

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 wish I had a boss like you.

You sound amazing.

OP, someone mention the HSE Stress Questionnaire, which you can download free, IIRC. It's short but structured, so it should help you get your thoughts in order.

I used it with a whole team to get a baseline picture (pre-stress), then used it as required when team members told me they felt overwhelmed. It helped provide a focus on the real areas of concern, and helped me & HR offer the person relevant adjustments.

@TDMN I really don't know what they were thinking! They were all over the place with their processes.

Thank you, I will check out the stress questionnaire! Really want to go with my thoughts in order as I have a tendency to ramble otherwise... 🙈

It sounds like a difficult situation, OP. It absolutely isn't sustainable for you to carry on worrying stupid hours. Is the overtime paid or unpaid?

I have been that burnt out manager myself, and it is never an easy situation, but the one thing I was absolutely committed to ensuring was that I would not shit on the people below me in the structure in the way that I was being shat on from above. Part of the manager's role is to protect and advocate on behalf of their team, and they should be doing that, no matter how hard things are.

Is it possible that your manager wants to use the OH referral as a bit of ammunition to convince the powers that be to allocate more resources to your team? Either way, if you have been asked to work an unreasonable amount of hours, the OH appointment will be a good way of documenting that and recording the impact that it has had on you. That should make them a bit wary of asking for the same again.

Have you had a really open and honest conversation with your manager about where things are at? Explaining that you know you sometimes come across as negative, acknowledging that some things are beyond their control, but pointing out that you genuinely can't continue to do the extra hours indefinitely and that you're concerned that this means you'll eventually drop the ball?

Thank you @itsgettingwierd, that's so kind. I think I do pretty well with the people management bits but I have some new challenges in my current role that I'm not quite sure how to tackle, so feeling a bit out of my depth at the moment. I hope I'll be up to the job!!

@AlexaShutUp

You should be a management consultant, lots of wise words!