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

Going on the holiday is fine. Posting the photos for all their colleagues to see is taking the piss a bit, they’re not doing anything “wrong” but should read the room better. Would definitely make me feel less sympathetic towards them as a manager!

It’s a piss take for people picking up the slack and gives people who are off sick a bad reputation.

If you have an office job / receptionist ect and can’t manage that but can book a holiday / travel / engage with people ect then no I definitely don’t get it.

And you would be wrong. And if you were my employee Id be seriously considering your position on the team.

We once had someone on long term sick who used to come to work nights out, some of us would have to leave early to start at 7am leaving the person off sick on the dance floor .

I was off long term sick for MH. A friend got me to a pub for the evening and one of my colleagues saw me and reported me. Said I was laughing and "didn't seem depressed". I am not even sure why they knew the reason I was off sick. That is meant to be confidential... but my workplace and management was a shitshow anyway.

How snide. One illness does not trump another, maybe be annoyed with your friends employers not lashing out at others.

The holiday is a non issue. The posting on SM is "what they do" I presume.
IMO you should never be SM friends with your colleagues - mainly to avoid judgey people.
However, if someone is on long term sick leave, their manager should be recruiting, rearranging etc to fill the gap otherwise they are going to have a MH sick leave snow ball.

Eh? How does a mental health problem stop you putting a picture on SM?
People with MH issues aren’t all lying in a darkened room unable to communicate you know.

Glad you're doing well ❤️

I empathise as I have faced very similar situations as you described. Oddly I am amused by the thread - the level of absolute ignorance is quite astounding.

Those absolute melons being almost jealous of someone signed off on fucking health reasons, can you imagine how stupid you have to be to be jealous of a person who is off sick just because they (gasp) posted a fucking photo.

I can completely see though how two years ago (before I went on sertraline) this thread would not seem at all amusing to me!

As I said, there's no point in my wasting my time on someone with such a limited understanding of severe mental health issues.

Clearly taking the piss how? When medical advice for certain MH conditions is to get away and relax?

That’s a fucking disgrace @XenoBitch I'm sorry that happened to you.

Good. Your employer was completely out of order.

Hanging around waiting at airports and the ensuing journey/ transfers are stressful and tiring, if you can cope with that you can cope with work.

What if your mental illness came from work?

That would be because of shit management not ensuring it’s covered, not because of the ill person.

But this very much depends on where someone's head is at. Your friend may find the distraction and routine of working helps as do many others receiving treatment.

An isolated quiet break in the countryside sounds like a nightmare for someone who's struggling and needs to be around people and keep themselves busy and distracted with a change of scenery. It also depends on the root cause of the stress - is it work related stress in which case being away from work is helpful, is it related to a bereavement or a chronic condition etc. Mental health challenges are so varied and affect each individual uniquely so it's impossible to say there's a right or a wrong type of holiday.

I'd also suggest that people tend to stay for longer in jobs with good flexibility in their policies, my last workplace was very strict and people simply couldn't take time off and while I was there they let someone with a serious heart condition and someone going through chemo go because of their absence policy. Their sick leave rates are low but their staff turnover is very high and most of the team are on the verge of burnout. I'd much rather my team took time they need in the way they need it and perform better and stay for longer as a result. In my current team our leave policies are very flexible and my team rarely use them except in genuine circumstances and I believe they feel more loyalty to the company as a result as it really does try to be supportive.

Exactly.

Some people on this thread have a very poor understanding of mental health.

Often a holiday is highly recommended as a chance for people to reset, take a break from the normal day to day life stresses.

How many if you would really begrudge someone really struggling, some time away to try to relax, rebuild and recuperate? Even if you are carrying theor workload, that's on management, not the individual employee.

While posting on social media may not be the wisest choice - it's not an indicator of how much the person is struggling or not.

There are only two things that matter:

• what the sick leave policy says & whether employee is in breach of it

• whether the employee is struggling or not - occupational health, doctor's reports etc should be the basis of the majority of assessment - not social media

I had to go a see the crisis team every day when I was off with a weeks break to go away, It’s the stigma and shame that makes things so much worse (if that’s even possible) I’ll be so willing to bet the most slathery posters would be the first to fake cry at the funeral of a colleague and say ‘I wish I’d known’ and such like.

Well yes. But that’s not what’s happening, is it?
Getting away can help MH issues. It’s more like the physically ill person posting pics of their physical therapy.

You really are clueless.

Do they make a difference to the validity of the trip?

I had hyperemesis in my daughters pregnancy, was off work the whole of the pregnancy (I am a midwife) we had a holiday booked, I informed my manager that I was still going to go, she said it will do you good absolutely. Yes I did post the odd photo of my son on the beach but tbh I was in the hotel room vomiting most of the time, no one would have guessed from SM. Social media isn’t always reflective of the truth but equally I had to inform my manager I was leaving the country. I think I was placed on annual leave for that week and returned to sick leave when I came back. Can see why the team would be annoyed but it’s not always what it seems and would help with someone’s mood.