If you're a manager, what do you honestly think of staff going off on mental health sickness?

[CarrotCrusader]

I'm off at the moment, hopefully only short term but I'm really fretting of what my colleagues and bosses think of me.

If I knew someone was off sick and posted stuff of themselves on SM relaxing, I would think 'good for them' and hope it helps. Then I would get on with my day.

Also, some people do not work at all due to their MH. Are they not allowed to ever post about days out on their SM?

Interesting comments about low resilience.

Some in my workplace may have thought this of me when I had to have time off with stress (caused by an impossible workload and constant overtime).

Recently I have been informed by my psychiatrist that it is highly likely I am a autistic and this is likely why I find “normal” things much more difficult.

So not low resilience at all - simply someone trying to function in an environment not designed for them.

Luckily for me my employer was decent about my time off - although it didn’t lead to any significant changes and eventually I left my role for a different one - less stress and better pay. They however lost an excellent employee with a decade of experience.

At present I’m off sick from work for Schizoaffective Disorder as I’m changing from one anti psychotic to another. Unfortunately it will be a long process and I can’t currently work as I’m under medicated which means I am very paranoid as well as having issues with side effects of the change of meds.
Like yesterday I went out to return an online item to the shop and I felt that everyone who was laughing was laughing at me, even toddlers. It was horrible.

I enjoy my job and I’m good at it. My manager has been supportive with adjustments under the Equality Act. But I may need to be off now until February at least which is very worrying for me.
I know certain colleagues don’t know what my illness is and I feel I can’t tell them, they are probably quite prejudiced against me.

No problem with people being off with long term mental health issues and hope they would come to me for help before it got to that point.

Massive problem with people having random days off ill, stopping when they hit the trigger for intervention and starting again when the rolling sickness period tips over. Massively disruptive and a piss take for their colleagues.

Most of the time sympathetic except for one colleague who has payed the NHS system a blinder for 2 years now with on and off work related stress. The fact is she can’t do the job and rather than resign she falls out with someone, causes a row and then goes off with stress. I wish they’d get rid she’s worked 10 weeks in a year, will come back on another phase return and still have 8 weeks annual leave. Then off sick again rinse and repeat!!!

I feel like you've taken my comment a little too personally.

My opinion is that it can come across crudely if your colleague is off with depression for example and then you see multiple snaps of them sipping cocktails and grinning. I'm not saying I don't think they should do that , but it will be tasteless to their colleagues and will be viewed a certain way. But to be fair, it depends on their character and past form. If it's someone that rarely goes off sick and you know they're genuine it's a little different. If it's "sick note Sarah" who's off every week with various ailments then you are more likely to think they're a piss taker.

How can you possibly know? Everyone I know who struggles with mental health difficulties has issues that date back to traumatic events in their childhood, so even if the current issue they're facing is minor, their resilience might be low for reasons that have been around much longer. Low resilience is a symptom of poor mental health, not a personality trait

Sorry, I take it a bit personally as it has happened to me. It was awful having to justify why I was out and smiling, as the person who reported me deemed that if I was off with MH then it meant I was to stay at home and be crying into my pillow 24/7. Because some people think that is what mental illness is.
I was also just seen out. Nothing was put online.

I see it & manage it in the same way as physical health absences. I do get frustrated by odd days sick here & there for unrelated & vague reasons where there is no formal diagnosis or attempt at seeking help or an improvement (yes I'm fully aware of poor NHS for mental health but company has very good talking therapy & app based options for anxiety & depression). I also get frustrated by odd days absence for vague, mild reasons for physical health.

Needing time off for a mental health crisis, emergency, admission etc is exactly the same as physical health equivalent.

Everyone YOU know has deep rooted trauma. That's not always the case for people who go off sick citing poor mental health.

The question posed what what do managers THINK, not what do we do. You're right in that I don't always know whether people have deep rooted trauma, so that's why I follow our policies on this.

But that's different to "what do I think"

Why are managers privy to such detailed info anyway? When I was seeing OH, they had to send a very brief summary of my difficulties, and basically agree with my GP that I was not fit for work.

I tried to retrain, and went to uni for a healthcare course. I was declared not fit to practice after a while, and I was copied in on what was sent to my link lecturer that sorted placements etc. It was basically saying I was not fit to practice. No details at all.

I get some people have good relationships with their manager, but I really don't think it is appropriate that they know things about past trauma etc.

Well thankfully your not my manager

Same. And if you are off sick, how your absences and workload is being managed should not be a concern.
I could have beat myself up over the fact that I was off sick long term, being paid, and the NHS was forking out for someone from an agency to cover me. But I didn't because what would be the point? We have managers to deal with this exact thing.

I think the statistics are that 30pc of people will suffer from depression or mental health issues at some point in their life. So your manager will have seen it before, if they've managed more than 1 or 2 people for any length of time.

For me what I'm thinking is "how do I cover the work", "have I done the stress risk assessment /other required paperwork" and "I hope abc is okay".

I've been suicidal and dealt with the suicide of colleagues. Mental health can be a life threatening illness, and while there are people who drive you dotty with their absences, I'd never treat it as anything else.

Damn it, I knew there was a reason for my bipolar! Lack of resilience, glad we've cleared that up.

Apologies, I was responding to above poster

Yep, a dear friend and colleague of mine had bipolar too. He was off work for a few months as he was in a manic episode, but the work rumour mill called it "stress" and I was fed up hearing about how he had no reason to be stressed as the job was easy. Of course, I didn't say the real reason why.
The truth was, he was totally unfit for work at that time. His GP had signed him off, as had OH.
Again, why people were talking about why he was off sick was beyond me. Why does this stuff escape the manager's office?

Well that's dreadful and I'm really sorry you went through that. I understand why in that case it provoked a reaction within you.

I think it's really tricky. HR policies are in place so everyone is managed fairly but in terms of what we really think, it depends entirely on the employee. I have one member of staff who has really genuine struggles. I monitor her closely and step in if I need to. Another member of staff can be relied on to have an anxious episode whenever they are asked to do something they don't want to do, run out of leave or feel like they deserve a break. Ironically they are among the first to fire off a sarcastic jibe if someone else is off. That one I have no sympathy for. They play the system, avoid the trigger points and irritate everyone around them. It's the wider team that suffer then and the wider team that get my sympathy. As with most things, its the few that take the mick that spoil it for the many genuine cases.

Domestic violence, sexual assault, serious diagnosis in the staff member or their close family member, they're not good enough for you?

I had five weeks off with stress because my autistic child was having multiple violent meltdowns a day - we had neighbours call the police out, I ended up in A&E twice - he was also waking me every two hours in the night (sleep deprivation is hellish) and refusing to attend school. Primary care mental health services suggested I try mindfulness. I don't think I lacked resilience, I was in an unbearable situation for which it appears there's very little support.

I think anyone who needs time of should take it, whether it's a physical illness or mental health difficulty.

It's not right to be in work when unfit to work whatever the reason.

I would much prefer if a staff member took the time they needed and only return when they are well enough. It's far easier to manage an absence than someone who is unable to do the job due to other issues.

Take the time you need, use it to get the help and support you need and return when you are better.

I had colleague take 8 weeks for mental health reasons a few years ago. He's back. He's good as his job, was, before his absence, still is now. His decision to take leave was the right one and it did him the world of good.

I've struggled with this. I think the problem is that with some mental health issues, we really do just have to take the person's word for it, and there is no verification possible. So, for me it would depend on whether the person was otherwise conscientious, hard-working and a good team player. If such a person takes time off for mental health reasons, I would trust that they were being truthful, and would be respectful of their need for time to recover. I've unfortunately had some raise 'mental health issues' when they have failed to perform well over time, and it just side-steps any further scrutiny and accountability for their (poor) performance. I am, honestly, suspicious of this. And, then, yes, I do wonder if they are (whether knowingly or not) just characterizing things as mental health issues when what they are going through is what most folks have to power through to get work done, dealing with work and personal pressures.

Going through bereavement isn't a mental health condition, it's a natural reaction to grief.
Lacking resilience also isn't a mental health condition. People who battle with mental illness can be some of the most resilient people. They manage to keep picking themselves up when they're going through something awful.
You should look at doing some training, no one should me in a managerial role when they have zero understanding of mental illness.

Today I attended the funeral of a friend that took their own life. Mental illness is a deadly illness. The comments on this thread fill me with despair. If you have never experienced depression just thank your God.

It’s a luxury to talk like some of the people on here. So blase and unfeeling.

1 in 3 eh? Eventually some of them are going to fall….