If you're off with sick, is it crass to flood SM with pictures of what you're up to?

[MakeMineALarge1]

Just that really.

I work in a place that currently has a high incidents of stress and we have up to 20 people off with work related stress.

Now I get going for walks, out for lunch etc, can be great for you, but is it crass to put pictures on of all your weekends away, decorating your house and nights out?

* This thread is about those on longterm sick, for whatever reason be it stress or back ache, posting about their excessive socialising. There is a sick note culture in this country, enabled by the 6mths full pay employees like the nhs provides.*

^Completely agree. Get rid of 6 months full sick pay and the rate will plummet

if someone is off work sick with stress then they’re off work with stress- they’re not off life with stress. Work is usually the source of the stress so yeah, of course they’re feeling much better when they’re not at work!

Then the problem will still be there when they return so perhaps what they need is a new job not being paid to be off work living it up.

You are either so unwell you can't work or you aren't.

Brieandcamembert
I see your point, but I think some things can change.

I know a lot of teachers who have had work related stress, and have been the person picking up the extra workload because of it. Some it was because personal circumstances and work collided, others it was due to bullying in the workplace and they needed time to get better before taking stock of their options, some were able to return to work in a different role and the school recruited a replacement for the teacher's former role.

It's not generally as simple as sitting off work for 6 months having a party when you're well enough to work.

What's always sad on MN employment threads is that there's an awful rush to the bottom in places on everything from employment conditions to sick leave.

@JaniieJones

'Nah, no stigma about mental illness here… '

But again it is not just about anxious or stressed people being off. I know someone who was off with a broken toe for 6 weeks yet was out and about having a great time, another with back ache for 3months but managed an overseas holiday plus weekends away. If you are incapacitated to such a degree you cannot work then it is not unreasonable to expect this would also impact on one's social life.

Again, people get signed off from work, not life. Their own doctor has said they are unable to job their job at that time. Often, occupational health can also say an employee is unfit to work too. It has happened to me a few times.

Had I been in work when I broke my foot, I would have had a few weeks off, but I could still hobble to the shops, have nights out etc. I would not have been able to do my job though. Having a sick note does not mean you have to stay confined to your house.

It is sad reading the comments from people who only went out for walks when it was dark because they were scared of getting seen. How is it acceptable that people feel like that?

@JaniieJones I’m sorry, I just can’t take anything you say seriously after your previous posts on this thread

@Brieandcamembert

if someone is off work sick with stress then they’re off work with stress- they’re not off life with stress. Work is usually the source of the stress so yeah, of course they’re feeling much better when they’re not at work!

Then the problem will still be there when they return so perhaps what they need is a new job not being paid to be off work living it up.

You are either so unwell you can't work or you aren't.

Or perhaps they’re working with their employer to find a solution to the stress inducing issue?

As usual it’s those who haven’t a clue spouting nonsense.

Well said XenoBitch
I've had long periods off work with orthopaedic problems where I've been unable to weight bear for any length of time. Since my job involved long periods on my feet and required the ability to move pretty quickly, I couldn't do it. I could, however, do non weight bearing exercise like swimming and cycling without too much problem. In fact my surgeon and physio both advised me to do as much as possible in order to build my muscle strength back up, but being seen doing so generated plenty of bitchy remarks!
The other thing some people seem to be incapable of understanding is that, especially after a major injury or illness you don't go from being bedbound to fit for work overnight, it's a gradual process. There will be points in your rehabilitation where you can do some activities reasonably normally but not necessarily a full day's work, day after day.
A lot of workplace sicknrss policies are "all or nothing" or allow for very minimal phased returns so you do have to be confident that you are at least close to full fitness before you return. Therefore you will obviously be functioning relatively normally in other aspects of life before returning. I could have done some elements of my job before I was fully fit but my employers weren't at all flexible - it was "you're either fit to do your whole job or you're off sick" leaving me with little option. And I certainly wasn't locking myself away for the entirety of the "inbetween" phase.
Yes, there are some people on long term sick leave who are swinging the lead I'm sure, but it isn't a simple issue with a "one size fits all" solution. After a while I gave up justifying myself to anyone. My HCPs and Occ Health said I wasn't fit to be in work and the details were nobody else's business.

@LolaSmiles

Brieandcamembert I see your point, but I think some things can change.

I know a lot of teachers who have had work related stress, and have been the person picking up the extra workload because of it. Some it was because personal circumstances and work collided, others it was due to bullying in the workplace and they needed time to get better before taking stock of their options, some were able to return to work in a different role and the school recruited a replacement for the teacher's former role.

It's not generally as simple as sitting off work for 6 months having a party when you're well enough to work.

What's always sad on MN employment threads is that there's an awful rush to the bottom in places on everything from employment conditions to sick leave.

In real life it’s much more nuanced and not as black and white as ‘saw sick colleague in pub, ok’ or ‘off with stress , posts loads of party pictures bad’.

If there are loads of people off sick at the same time but only one of them is posting endlessly . Or if that person was a known pisstaker and never did any work anyway despite the entire workplace being toxic.

Anywya not enough info here but posting photos alone doesn’t say anything about being U or not

'Completely agree. Get rid of 6 months full sick pay and the rate will plummet'

Indeed.

@JaniieJones

'Completely agree. Get rid of 6 months full sick pay and the rate will plummet'

Indeed.

Yes, because the threat of poverty cures mental health issues. Hmm.

' lot of workplace sicknrss policies are "all or nothing" or allow for very minimal phased returns so you do have to be confident that you are at least close to full fitness before you return.'

Oh I beg to differ, the nhs (which gets slated on mn for being a shit employer) often has people on prolonged phased returns for aages. Pop in for a couple of hours then off you go. Whilst getting full pay. Granted it is a great system for those genuinely ill, sadly we've all seen the usual shirkers take full advantage time and time again.

@JaniieJones

' lot of workplace sicknrss policies are "all or nothing" or allow for very minimal phased returns so you do have to be confident that you are at least close to full fitness before you return.'

Oh I beg to differ, the nhs (which gets slated on mn for being a shit employer) often has people on prolonged phased returns for aages. Pop in for a couple of hours then off you go. Whilst getting full pay. Granted it is a great system for those genuinely ill, sadly we've all seen the usual shirkers take full advantage time and time again.

Not in my experience. My phased return was starting on a full shift for 3 days, with a day added on each week. After just 2 weeks, my next shift pattern was a full 10 days in a row. I went off sick again.

@JaniieJones

'Nah, no stigma about mental illness here… '

But again it is not just about anxious or stressed people being off. I know someone who was off with a broken toe for 6 weeks yet was out and about having a great time, another with back ache for 3months but managed an overseas holiday plus weekends away. If you are incapacitated to such a degree you cannot work then it is not unreasonable to expect this would also impact on one's social life.

I had 2 months off sick after having an operation on my thumb. The job I was doing at the time meant it was impossible for me to work those 2 months.....you can't hand stitch if you can't grip the needle. I could, however, go out visiting friends, go for coffee and do all the other stuff that I didn't rely on dominant had for. FWIW I was only paid SSP for those 2 months so would have jumped at the chance of going back to work, but doing my job was physically impossible.

*dominant hand

I had a colleague with a broken wrist who regaled us all with tales of her fabulous sick leave. She was taken to task over it. I get that people are off sick and not dead but it lacks judgement to plaster SM with details of your trips out and interior decorating ventures. Then again no one is interested in anyone else’s trips out and interior decorating ventures are they?!

Very silly

I wonder if this type of sick leave carry on is found more in the public sector versus private.

@VladmirsPoutine

I wonder if this type of sick leave carry on is found more in the public sector versus private.

Possibly. The public sector is known for under financing and overworking staff. And unlike high stress private sector jobs, there's no possibility of pay negotiation etc.

Totally wrong rubbing peoples faces in it, grips my 💩. Y A N B A

@Bambi77

Totally wrong rubbing peoples faces in it, grips my 💩. Y A N B A

Isn't everything on social media "rubbing people's faces in it"? Or does it only apply to people off sick?

Had a staff member (think electrician or similar) regularly off sick with foot problem. My (very good) assistant was FB friends with a friend of his missus and kept coming into my office to show me posts/photos that had pinged into their sm ‘flow’ of sick person and fiancée drinking wine during days out at various attractions when sick person was meant to be off sick and resting foot. The situation was appalling but as someone propping up the NHS and spread thin to breaking point I did not have the time or resource or energy to get what was left of the HR department galvanised. Funnily enough there were bigger safety issues to address…

Cuck00soup Oh they do all sorts whennthen are being paid! My senior manager B8’d was off sick for stress and anxiety but seen working as a phlebotomist in an ED near her home!! She’s back now and still earning 77k +!!

Definitely crass, and exceptionally poor judgement for putting it on SM too.
YANBU.

Very frustrating when others are having to cover the work that the "sick" colleague should be doing. Some companies won't pay sick if they see people out socialising but unable to work