Occupational Health - How honest could I /should I be?

[NewUserName4Today]

I have posted on this board before and a link to my previous post is below for easy reference.

In a nutshell, two men who sit near me have been making life quite difficult for me, my previous post gives all the details. This, along with some other issues in my personal life, have led me to me being diagnosed with depression.

The people in question, who are referred to in the post below, have not spoken a single word to me since my last post. They ignore me to the point that one of them was holding the door open for one of my colleagues and when they saw me approaching barged in front of me and let the door slam in my face. They make passive aggressive comments which are obviously about me but nothing I could report them for. They make fake vomitting noises if I eat something at my desk and feign disgust at things I say / do. They are horrid.

As I have been diagnosed with depression and had a couple of days sickness as a result I have been referred to occupational therapy.

My question is - how honest should I be to Occupational Health about the situation exacerbating / causing my condition. Should I just "yes and no" through the appointment to not rock the boat or should I be honest about the impact their behaviour is having?

Link to previous post: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/employment_issues/2842449-Is-this-bullying-what-next

I haven't r as your previous post but you need to report to either OH who will feed back to HR or direct to HR.

Hi newuser I posted on your other thread, and I'm pleased you took on board my suggestion to make notes about all the occasions. Hopefully you now have a catalogue of all the events and bad behaviours with names, dates, and how it made you feel at the time - threatened, frustrated, isolated, humiliated are useful vocabulary to use because you will need to illustrate the direct effect of the bullying targeted towards you.

Can you get hold of your bullying/ harassment policy from HR (maybe request from the Occ health person before your meeting.

There should be a clause about retaliation. You need to focus their attention on the fact these people are not only bullying you but retaliating against you having already escalated it, and a Manager getting involved.

It is not rocking the boat. You have a right to a safe working environment, they are in the wrong. Please maximise the opportunity with Occ Health to highlight this, and tell them it is affecting your work productivity.

Thanks Dasiychain - that is exactly how I feel.

I've just sat with my notepad and made notes from the bullying and harassment policy that are relevant to this situation.

It could be argued that since they are now ignoring me it is better than when they were saying nasty things, but it has made me feel isolated.

It has also affected my work performance as I feel so uncomfortable using the phone in front of them, especially on conference calls.

One problem I may have is that one of them is quite well thought of (the other not so much). He had resigned a few years ago and was offered more money to stay. He is good as his job - just not a very nice person. They may see me as more easily replaceable.

Thanks again for your advice.

Hi there New...OH person here...a good OH dept will listen and more importantly keep the medical stuff private. In our department we often see work issues that affect people preformance. Do tell them the whole story they will feed back to management/hr diplomatically and should be able to offer suggestions for how you might be supported. Also if you do have to take it further it will show that you have made efforts to get help etc...

Good luck it sounds like a very difficult situation.

Thanks so much Canada. I feel more confident being honest now.

I think I'll pitch it as I've had some issues in my personal life (bereavement) and this work situation combined has led to this diagnosis.

Thank you.

I agree be 100% honest with them, they are there to help you. I found they were a lot more sympathetic about medical conditions than my past managers and it helps to get it off your chest. Good luck x