Burnout! To get signed off work

[Stressedgiraffe]

I'm reaching burn out. I'm off in 2 1/2 weeks to get a mastectomy and will be off for a couple of weeks. I'm working flat out atm but am getting further behind as I can't focus even though I'm up most nights at 430 and try to start work but due to my adhd ( on medication) I'm faffing. Doesn't help that I have too many meetings too many projects to juggle and not enough time to do anything

My work is great and will pay me full pay while I'm away. But I'm so burnt out.
Wibu to go to the doctors and get signed off before the surgery?

When are you going to stop worrying about work and taking care of yourself? Seriously.

No, you don't "speak to them" about finishing work a week early, you go to the doctor, explain the stress you are under and get signed off. Then you tell work that you have been signed off, here's the sick note. Bye.

Seriously OP, you have to take care of yourself. Work don't give a flying fuck if you run yourself into the ground. Is there some reason why you are very anxious about taking the time off?

I'm anxious as we are a small team with a hugely important portfolio of work and it's the companies top priority. I'm trying to manage it and worry deadlines and delivery will be missed.

You shouldn't be even thinking about work at the moment - when you go to the doctors you need to explain how you are feeling. A member of staff I used to manage was offered a 3 month sick note no questions asked in the same circs. She was shocked but I totally encouraged her to take it and use the time to look after herself- you need to look after you.
No-one at work will thank you if you keep going in - the fact you have been 'thrown under the bus' by someone is bloody appalling - fuck em all and get signed off and concentrate on you.

Well, your health should be your top priority. They will be fine. Again, what eould they do if you got hit by the proverbial bus?

I'm sure you're great at your job, but truly, nobody is indispensable.

When I was diagnosed I was signed off immediately and off for 7 months. I had a lumpectomy followed by radiotherapy. I worked in social care and it was during Covid , my consultant advised me to be off for the whole of my treatment and I took their advice.
I found the emotional side of it harder to deal with than the treatment. You need to look after yourself, work will cope without you. No wonder you feel your burnt out the stress of a cancer diagnosis is immense .
please put yourself first, I hope your treatment goes well.

Is it your company, or do you have shares in it? I suspect the answer is no. Their portfolio, their priority, their deadlines. You are flogging yourself to benefit them. I repeat, when are you going to start taking care of yourself?

OP, I've never, ever worked anywhere that truly put its people first. Maybe they can't... maybe a company can't survive if it prioritises people over profits. But if you were losing them money one way or another, even if only because they'd changed and considered your role redundant, I'm as sure as hell that they'd get rid of you. They wouldn't prioritise you over making more money and you shouldn't prioritise them over your health.

But you don’t think that’s more important than your baby, right?

Come on OP, no more work for you. You have to think about your own/babies needs now.

But the thing about companies, and small teams and everything else is that companies have a choice - they can choose to employ enough staff so that people aren't desperately juggling if someone is sick or if someone wants to take annual leave. Or they can choose to leave their staffing such that even if someone gets cancer there's still not enough room in the business to deal with that. That is a business decision - it makes them more money not to have any slack in the team. It also has consequences - when people get sick, their business can't deliver any more. That doesn't make their choice (and let's be clear it is a choice) not to employ enough people to deal with issues like this your problem.

You need to look after yourself and your health because it's very clear the organisation isn't going to.

Apologies! Wrong thread!

No worries my babies are now teenagers but your point still stands. I'm about to phone gp and see if I can get an appointment

Seen the doctor. Got some propananol and amitriptaline
She wanted to sign me off for 2 weeks until my op but we compromised on a weeks time. She thinks I'll be off for up to 12 weeks which is a shock but thinks as I wfh 4/6 weeks is doable. So I'm a bit worried.

You need to listen to the doctor OP. She said 2 weeks. And she's saying 12 weeks afterwards so you should stick to that. Otherwise you will not give your body adequate time to recover and that will delay your recovery.

So what if you are managing a team with a Very.Important.Portfolia for the company?? So what??? Honestly, what does it matter?
Your health is the most important thing - not some portfolio.

None of us are irreplaceable at work, absolutely none of us. Sorry if I sound harsh. But that's the way it is. If you were to have a fatal heart attack tomorrow, they would have to get on with it. There would be no option. And they would get on with it, and in a few months, most people in the company would have forgotten you were ever there.
But your family would never forget you. And both you and your family deserve to have you around and to enjoy your life, not killing yourself for some fucking company.
OP, please, take your doctor's advice and give yourself the time you need to process your cancer diagnosis, to have the mastectomy and recover in peace and quiet and also to have any follow-up treatment and tests which may be required afterwards.

You can always review the sign off period after appointments following surgery. I had a month off and was ready to go back to the office full time. I was really careful about not lifting anything heavy. For chemo I would take 3 days off work after each session. I found that much harder than surgery. Just listen to your body. You may need the 12 weeks or maybe not. Everyone is different.

Thought I'd update. I'm off work from Monday so will have a week before the operation then a check in with my boss after 2 weeks post op. Looking forward to relaxing next week and trying to sleep as I have terrible insomnia atm

Glad you are off work now @Stressedgiraffe - sounds like things have been really stressful for you.

Hope you can catch up on sleep etc in the coming week.