Give Me excuses to take time off work

[curlyhairedd]

I've had 2 previous miscarriages and now 11 weeks pregnant for this first time. I'm constantly anxious and unable to enjoy my pregnancy for this reason

I NEED a good excuse to force my work to allow me to work from home

I previously used to work from home until we had a new manager that's just being difficult. My job can be done fully remotely and there's absolutely no reason for me to go into the office everyday but this is the expectation now.

I just need a good reason to give them to allow me to work from my bed for the next month or so?

Give me your best excuses

So yet another post advising the OP to lie. Of course they could certainly lie. But then they'd have to sign off sick. I'm sure the GP would provide a sick note though, so no problem there. After all, if you are vomiting twice an hour you couldn't be very productive could you? Best signed off sick.

The OP has made it clear - it wasn't "poor wording" - they want to work from their bed. Quite apart from the fact that little work will ever get done from a bed, do you want to consider the amount of H&S that breaches or the fact that it would be very bad for the baby?

The reason I hate threads like this is because it actually plays into all those agendas that tells employers not to employ women of childbearing age, because they are all piss-takers and liars. Fully 2/3rds of the posts here must be actively advising someone to lie about sickness in order to get their own way and stay in bed whilst saying they are working. This isn't empathy with a sick person or a poor downtrodden employee. It is actively undermining the position of women in the workplace. It doesn't give us rights. It makes liars of us all.

I work from my bed very effectively.
Perhaps by lunchtime I sometimes fancy a change of position and I'll move to the kitchen table.
My work involves a laptop and my brain.
I can even work in the nude if I want x

I agree that you shouldn't lie. If your perception that working in the office is possibly going to cause a miscarriage, then you have excessive anxiety and your GP may well either sign you off sick or recommend the reasonable adjustment of working at home.

If what you say is true - that you can do exactly the same job as effectively at home, then why should your organisation quibble? Of course, your managers might not actually agree with this- employees don't always see or know the full picture, but even so might accept you wfh on a temporary basis.

Overall though I agree with those suggesting getting help with your anxiety as that is actually the problem. Of course there are risks with a pregnancy, but is there any reason to suspect this pregnancy is at increased risk, beyond your recent history?

That may be your opinion. Have you had a DSE done on your bed? On what basis can you spend hours in bed with your lap top and maintain a safe working position that does not contribute to long term damage. Hint: the answer to that question is that you cannot. Your work may involve your laptop and your brain - your seated positioning involves joints and ligatures that you will probably want to retain for long term / lifetime usage.
www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210217-is-it-bad-to-you-work-from-your-bed-for-a-year

@Jalisco - I'm saying I can work very effectively from bed for a few hours in the morning if I so choose. You're saying that to do it all day would be bad for my posture. OP is saying that she wants to take it easy by working from home - yes possibly while resting in bed for a few extra hours in the morning while working, without the stress of the journey into the office. You're saying her quality of work wouldn't be up to scratch. But also that her posture would suffer - which is it? And why do you assume home workers don't look after themselves and their bodies? More wild assumptions

I am a home worker and making no such assumptions. My evidence based comments are due to my experience of health and safety and home working. 40 years in Health & Safety, active union member and union official. So perhaps you could explain - other than the anecdotal "I like to occasionally work for a couple of hours whilst lying in bed" - what your experience of H&S, home working, DSE and pregnancy risk assessments are? Lying in bed whilst working impacts on posture, and on productivity, and has long term detrimental physical impacts. So it isn't a case of either / or. It is a case of all the above - you can do serious harm short-term, medium term and long term - and poor posture and bad working practices can, in fact damage your baby. That is why every pregnant woman must have a DSE / risk assessment. It's the law! The wild assumptions here are yours - that just because you do something occasionally and have not (yet) suffered any damage from it, that the same is true of everyone.

If the OP is sick and not fit for work, then they should be getting themselves signed off. If they are fit for work then they should be in work, in accordance with their employers policy. And in the latter case there should be a full DSE and risk assessment conducted of their workplace - wherever their workplace is. And I can tell you right now what any H&S officer would say about a pregnant woman working from their bed (or in fact anyone else). And that would extend to kitchen tables and chairs / sofas etc as well.

Just because people do stupid things is not a reason to encourage it. And just because employers allow stupid things to be done (assuming they know about it) is also not a reason for people to do those things.

@Jalisco but during covid lockdowns it was fine to work from home however the employee chose though? After all, the wheels of industry had to keep turning right?
The employee is a human being and can decide what's right and appropriate for them and their body. All that HSE stuff means nothing day to day - what should happen and what does happen are poles apart. I work for a massive brand, known all over the world and I haven't had a desk assessment since before covid.
This is about this woman's need to have understanding and special allowances temporarily during the early stages of her high risk pregnancy

This will be my last reply on this matter. It is becoming boring, since you don't want to deal with facts. "All that HSE stuff" protects workers and is the law!!! If you think it meaningless then that just about sums up an unlawful and irresponsible approach to working conditions.

And you are right - a human being can decide what is right for them and their body. And the employer, also a human being, can decide what is right for them in relation to their employment practices, providing they operate lawfully. Employment is not slavery, it is a voluntary relationship into which you enter. If the OP (or anyone else) decides that their decision about what is right for them and their body is different from that held by the employer, then they are able to resign and seek employment with an employer who agreed with them.

I have already made it clear that just because people did or do stupid things is no reason to let them - lockdowns or not. Perhaps your employer was fine with that, then and now. Perhaps not and simply didn't know. My employer was not and neither were many others. And my union was not either. Safe working environments and the correct equipment to do the job are rights. Just because your employer didn't care about your right to that, or because you were willing to risk your health to lie in bed does not make it right or lawful.

If you haven't had a DSE then shame on your employer. Ask for one. Do remember to tell them they'll need to include your bed in the assessment.

There is no evidence that this is a high risk pregnancy - having had miscarriages previously is not an indicator of high risk. Nowhere has the OP suggested that the pregnancy is high risk. If it is high risk then that is actually a very strong argument for her doctor to provide evidence of that to the employer and for the employer to either conduct full and thorough checks / assessments of her home and office (if allowed to work from both); and potentially to refuse working from home unless the correct equipment and environment can be created for home working. "Understanding" and "special allowances" are not euphemisms for "stupidity" or "unlawful working conditions".

Of course, I am happy to return to the point that if her pregnancy is such high risk then being signed off sick is actually the appropriate route, and the OP should consult their doctor on this.

Ok not sure what rules I broke but I wanted to emphasise that I felt sympathy and empathy for OP. If she was in my team at work I'd be approaching my manager and HR to make recommendations that working from home be agreed for a set time, for review but with an opened ended possibility until mat leave. This would include regular, calendarised touch points and reviews.
An offer of working equipment to be delivered home such as a desk and chair (this was offered by my company during covid.)
I'd be monitoring performance in line with the rest of the team and I'd make it clear that I'm available to chat privately anytime. I think it would be good to get the fit note from the GP with wfh recommendations just for everyone's records and I imagine HR would have a form to complete with the change in working arrangements to be signed by all.

Anything less than that is failure to pregnant women in the workplace who request support in this country.

And here's why; It's women who have the babies, the uteruses and who bleed every month and for some women it's not ok.
There's so much work still to do to improve this situation for working women.
I had a tumour discovered on my ovary at 20 weeks pregnant and my employer was incredible with wfh flexibility, baring in mind this was even before covid. That's why I think OP should be thoroughly supported in her request, given that she has a history of complications.
I wish you well OP and it's hard to believe the harshness out there