To wonder why people at work think I’ve got no intention of going back

[User600900]

I’ve been off with work related stress ,anxiety and low mood for five months. I’m getting better but it’s a slow process. People at work have saying I’m not going to return ever and they don’t understand why I’ve not just left. AIBU to think there are people who have long term absences and still go back to work?

I had 5 months off last year with MH problems, I'm now back in my full capacity, I had a couple of people ask me if I was planning to come back, but most just accepted I would be back when well enough. In my profession long absences for stress related illness are common.

The situations where this has happened to me, the people at work have had to cover the workload of the person who is off sick between them. It’s obviously not the person who is ill’s fault, but it led to a lot of overwork, stress and unhappiness for the people left as well as resentment towards the person as if they were to leave, they could have been replaced and the work would have been covered properly.

Not necessarily a fair or reasonable thing to think, but just to put across the other side.

Of course people go back.
There have been loads of threads on going back to work after long term absence for work related stress recently!

Redlocks28 would they/you have resented the person if they were off having treatment for cancer?

@SoyDora spot on!

Certain people in my department probably would, sadly.

The abscence led to others going off with work-related stress themselves.

I completely blame the management for not taking steps to cover the workload properly.

That’s not very kind of them. How are you hearing this, are you in contact with your colleagues or has someone told you?

Tbh if someone has told you it’s out of order to tell someone off work from stress about negative things colleagues have said about them. Not exactly helping you get better is it.

I’ve had a long absence due to MH issues and returned myself so I do sympathise

However in my case my issues were not caused by work, they just left me incapable of working.

When someone has stress or other issues caused by work then I do wonder if they’ll go back because the cause of the issues won’t change or go away.

And cancer etc isn’t usually caused by work so not the same thing at all

It feels like they don’t want me to come back.

User600900
It is probably your anxiety and stress making you feel they don't want you to go back and not your work colleagues'.

Plenty of people go back after long-term sick leave, usually on a phased return, especially when it is caused by work-related stress.
If you want to return just make sure you don't return too soon.