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

@Farmwifefarmlife WTAF are you on about? I was burnt out from workplace bullying and signed off for five months (only three paid). I could barely get off the sofa for the first six weeks. Could not watch television, read, do anything that required more than 10 minutes of my attention.
Eventually, booking and going on a holiday was the relief I needed to get my head back together.
Sorry if I am projecting, but if I had a broken back rather than a broken brain, would you be more empathetic?

Well yes, but going running on a broken leg is never going to help it, will it? Going on holiday when signed off with stress etc is unlikely to be contraindicated.

This.
Work and holidays are totally different. If you holiday is as stressful as work then you might need to look at booking something else.

Colleagues shouldn’t have to be picking up the work. There should be cover whilst people are away, as otherwise you are basically paying their sick pay rather than the LA (or company in private sector) paying it.

Going on holiday isn’t incompatible with being off sick with MH problems, but it’s very unwise to plaster it all over SM.

Is their SM private or public?

If private, assume you have consented access. They're not expecting you to weaponise this. If you don't have access, then serious issues around your conduct.

You say you're the manager and you're understaffed. Sounds like a you problem.

I'm not clueless. Ive been on holiday and I've also been seriously ill. There is not a chance I'd go on holiday when ill. I'd recuperate at home.

Do you think perhaps there’s some connection between the length of time people tend to need off for serious health issues and the length of time full pay sick leave continues?

If it's a work social media account yes absolutely should not be posting. If it's a personal account that some of her work colleagues happen to have access to, it's 100% FINE. They are posting what is going on in their lives. If they are sick a relaxing holiday may be just what they need. The only reason this would be in any way an issue is if the person was off for something that definitely wasn't true because of what they posted. "I can't come to work with a broken leg, but I'm on my skiing holiday" - yes that's bad. Anything else NO PROBLEM.

You genuinely don’t see the difference between navigating a holiday and navigating work? What mental energy do hotel buffets take ffs? Or dancing? Or airports really.

Actually, they do.
Being so brazen to flaunt your holiday to your colleague is all you need to know.

There are enough privacy settings allowing you to post private stuff without the world and your work colleague to see.

When you have setting very private, holiday pics are a nice memory and something to share with your close friends.

When you publish for random colleagues to see, it's a "Look at me" attitude. Which is what social media was invented for, of course.

So someone with MH issues does whats advised and you think its cheeky?

What a bizarre post.

of course we can see the difference. One is work, which you can't be bothered to do, the other is a holidays which is literally that.

Their colleagues shouldn’t be covering. Management should manage the situation.

Seriously ill with a mental health problem? Luckily for me, my DH booked everything, checked in, held the passports, help me hold it together in front of kids who unbeknownst to them nearly lost their mother. If you do have a clue then that’s even worse given the opinions you hold.

We've all been on holiday and packing, planning, organising all these things that go into a holiday are stressful. When we are well it is of course manageable but anyone with mh problems would surely find a trip abroad a challenge, Fine go but don't rub collegeus noses in it!

Not against the person going away, as others have said maybe it's good for their recovery. BUT it was very inconsiderate to post pictures of it on social media where colleagues stuck at work can see them and likely feel put out.

'Their colleagues shouldn’t be covering. Management should manage the situation'

We all know that doesn't happen.

Please see ab

The manager is FB friends with the person off sick, so of course they will see their posts. They are looking at a snapshot of their private life, and like someone else on here said, they are weaponizing it.

There is nothing wrong with posting holiday pics on FB. it is not "flaunting"... it i just sharing what you are up to. And like a lot of people, they are probably using FB as an online photo album, and provide them with memories of their holiday each year.

And if being at home was making it worse?

I’ve not been on holiday while signed off sick fwiw but I have become very unwell due to an incident at work. Maybe I should have had the sense to have experienced the flashbacks on the beach rather than at home (a place that eventually ended up feeling incredibly unsafe due to the trauma). Maybe ops employee has the right idea?

Physically tiring sometimes, yes. It’s not anything that would be a problem for many MH issues though. Plus you’re travelling for a short period of time. It’s not like work in any way.

Not posting on social media doesn't change the fact that they have had a holiday. Maybe unfollow anyone you know who goes off sick, just in case you see something that bothers you.
I assume they posted for family and friends to see, or maybe work is the source of stress so they don't care what work may think.
Going on holiday while off sick is absolutely fine.

A holiday is good for mental health.
If she is signed off work, work clearly isn't good for her mental health.
Therefore, a holiday may speed her recovery and have her back in work sooner.
It sounds like it could be a toxic workplace though and if that's leading go her issues she may deteriorate soon after returning.

Hard as it is ( and I would be annoyed) the holiday maybe doing his mental health good. However posting pics on sm really isnt acceptable in my book

what do HR say, I would be raring to have a conversation when they come back to work about how they have pissed off everyone covering for them