Holiday photos on Facebook whilst off sick

[TeaAndBrie]

Really interested to hear opinions on this one.
Staff member off long term sick (fully paid as local gov) due to mental health issues, signed off by GP for 4 months so far.
staff member is friends with manager on Facebook.
staff member has been uploading photos of holiday abroad on Facebook.
i would not expect someone who is on LTS for mental health reasons to never leave the house etc
Holiday photos seem a bit much though - especially when manager and other colleagues who can see these pics are having to pick up all of the work whilst he is away.
YABU - let them have their holiday, it’s good for them!
YANBU - let them have the holiday but would be better to have have pics on SM

I used to fly a lot and found it not at all stressful

I didn't say mental health issue i said mental illness.

Oh FFS. I went on holiday to continue my recovery from my time in the psychiatric hospital and the treatment, including ECT, that I'd had in there. Do you think I should have been reading a few self help books or something?

Your very calm and polite posts stand out on this thread @alexalisten. You've had people sneer at you despite how you've described your very serious issues. I really wish you well.

She's shown scant respect for other people's experiences.

This is true - I don't have any work colleagues added on Socials, only LinkedIn and I don't post holiday pics to LinkedIn.

Thankyou and thanks for the support I appreciate it

They have calmly and politely debated or challenged points. Unlike many others who have been quite rude. I get the defensiveness I really do, it must be hard to hear what people think. When off sick don't post widely about holidays on sm.

Surely it is a good thing to know how these things are perceived. Just have settings for close family and very close friends?

I respect your own experiences but this particular post is about someone with a mental health issue?

6 months is a long time to be off with mental health issues.

It depends what they are, surely?
And their GP feels they are unable to return to work at this point.

People often use the terms MH issues/illness interchangeably. I don't see the point in arguing about the difference when it comes to the topic of this thread. It does not matter.

Surely you can see the importance of differentiating between poor mh which everyone has at times and mental illness. A pp was arguing with me because I was saying feeling anxious is not the same as an anxiety disorder. This is something people do need to understand

We have a similar situation at the moment - OP, I did wonder if you might actually work with me! Local gov, so 6 months full pay. I am - thankfully - not connected via social media with our person in question, but I was sent some screenshots of what she’s been posting on her holidays (I am a manager) whilst she’s been signed off unwell, currently in month 4. I am on annual leave at the moment and my understanding is that another senior manager in our team has been handling this, how I don’t know and I’ll find out when I’m back in a few weeks! But the screenshots - absolutely I agree time away can be therapeutic and good for mental health, but the captions and general tone of them are both foolish and insensitive considering she’s signed off and her colleagues who are picking up her work will see them. The posts would have been fine with more considered wording imo.

I think you are missing out a bit in that...... and its about semantics..... I wouldn't call occasionally feeling sad/anxious/stressed/angry even with the word "very" in front of it, poor mental health, any more than I would call a headache, indigestion and so on "poor physical health" If someone feels continually sad/anxious/stressed/angry or continually has a headache or indigestion then that moves it into the area of a health issue but those things are symptoms and not a diagnosis and what I would call a mental or physical health issue. It seems to me that this is what the person in the OP's post might have and we don't know what has caused it. People who have an ongoing diagnosed psychiatric condition as I am guessing you have are in a different sector again.

Basically feeling anxious about something sometimes is not poor mental health. Feeling constantly anxious about everything all the time could be an anxiety disorder or it could be a mental health issue and curable.

Why are you Facebook friends with your team? LinkedIn is fine but you’re just asking for trouble being so connected to their private lives. I’d remove them all and be done with it.

To be completely honest, you are completely unreasonable in my opinion.

I have been signed off for mental health issues before, I have worked with psychiatrists and have had therapists agree with me that I should be getting out there, going away, doing things I love, rather than moping at home.

I would be mortified if a colleague pulled me up for going away for a week to destress and relax whilst legally being signed up - it could put me over the edge

You have no idea what someone is going through. You have no idea why someone might feel like they need time away from everything and everyone.

In the kindest way, your colleague that is signed off has more important things to think about than work and her manager is responsible for cover and what not whilst people are off.

And still you fail to understand and listen.

I'm guessing public sector?

To be completely honest though many agree with the op. Fair enough the vote was split but irl I would bet a tenner more would agree.

'therapists agree with me that I should be getting out there, going away, doing things I love, rather than moping at home'

No one disputes getting out there is an issue. Rather, if well enough to go on holiday you're probably well enough to rtw and if you won't then at least do not overshare holiday snaps. Show a little bit of awareness and sensitivity,

Perhaps if you’ve broken your leg and are signed off and are posting photos of you on a skiing trip I’d 100% agree with you.

But mental health is a extremely complicated.

Tell me now if you still think I shouldn’t have gone on holiday… I lost twins and had time off due to the trauma. I booked time away with my DH to get away. I was signed off work understandably as was in bits. We went away to get some space and just “be” after an awful time.

I wasn’t capable to face work and get back to the grind but I felt like I needed to get away because mentally I wanted my life to end. It did when I lost the twins. Just being with my DH for 5 days in another country away from life helped me - therapist even advised to just go for it.

I'm verry sorry for your loss but sick leave due to bereavement is not the same as someone taking 6 months off due to stress and depression whilst showcasing all their nights out and trips away on FB.

It’s not the same but it’s still valid? No one is allowed to rank who is worth it and who isn’t x

yup, lets keep this thread from being "I am entitled to it, THEY are not"

100%! Xx

But we can and do rank though. If someone ls off with stress and depression <not bereavement related> then if they can travel, if they can post all over sm they are clearly in a positive enough mental state to manage work too.

Posters keep saying how important recreation is but so too is work. Work and play are both basics for positive mental health