Absence issues

[Anxiouslegal]

Any senior managers out there who have several members of a small team off sick at once? It’s worrying me so much. I feel like a failure at my role. I look back on the last year and don’t know what exactly I’ve achieved.
I’m due to go off on a belated honeymoon soon and work issues are preying on my mind. I don’t even know how I can go away leaving someone behind to cope with these absences on top of everything else. I can’t recruit temporary staff or replacements as the field is specialised and there’s not enough time to train anyone even short term. Any advice gratefully received, thanks.

Do you have a manager you can discuss this with, can staff from another office be asked to come and cover the sickness. Is it long term sickness that's causing the issue, do they have an h,r, department.

Why are they off sick, is there something at work causing it?

They’re off sick for non-work related reasons but I’ve no one to cover, there is an HR department which I work closely with. I’m seriously falling apart at the seams and can’t see how I can stop this feeling of not being able to cope. Some of the work I’ve picked up in their absence is not right and has implications across other departments I feel so ill thinking about it. Told my manager I’m not good enough for this job, I don’t enjoy it. I should have raised resourcing issues and other things a long time ago but I didn’t. I don’t see how my manager can help as there’s nothing they can think of that can fix this otherwise I’d have found a solution too. Sorry I’m so rubbish! Thank you both for replying!

OP, you need to stop catastrophising for a start - is this something you've done previously (assuming the worst)? The big signal here for me is that you don't expect your manager to come up with a solution but you do expect yourself to. Think about that bit, if you don't think someone else can do it why do you think you can?!

Are the staff likely to be all off at the same time as you or will some of them return? If they are away, then take a bit of time to list any work with a deadline that falls while you are away, then prioritise in order of importance. That way, the most important items will get done.

I'd sit down with your boss and together try and come up with ideas of prioritising the workload, sharing it out, perhaps getting cover from elsewhere. It's not about you not being good at your job, sometimes it all seems to just mount up and we feel out of control. Your boss and h.r, should be supporting you in trying to come up with solutions.

I manage a specialised service with small group of staff who I cannot replace quickly. So I appreciate your vulnerability and stress. You need to face up to the fact that your service will fail. It’s about identifying what bits you let fail and what bits you protect.

Don’t make the mistake of coping and leaving yourself responsible for any errors or failures. This needs managing rather than developing as a uncontrollable issue.

Agree with @ILovePierceBrosnan

You need to accept the situation and now put plans in place

When will service recover
What plans can you put in place to cross skill
How can you get your colleagues back into work with reasonable adjustment

They key is not the situation but how you respond and prepare

Thank you all, great advice here. I’m so anxious I can’t think clearly anymore so I will give this some thought and see how I can cope from all your suggestions. Appreciate the help!