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Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

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Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#181

Post by Nition »

malnourish wrote: post #27
sethjgore wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correct me if I'm wrong, I think that's called a personal day here in the states. They usually give you two a year too, along with sick days. Though I do agree, that there's stigma towards taking it for personal sanity, mind healing.

Are sick days still a thing? At my job we get PTO and holidays (floating depending on the year), but no specific sick days. Apologies for any naivete.

The USA is one of the few countries that doesn't enforce some amount of paid sick leave allowance[1].

[1] http://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/newshour/wp-content/upl...

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#183

Post by chris123 »

I don't think it's likely that a day will come, at least in our lifetimes, where workplaces are free from mental health issues. Yes, that would be great, but it's about as realistic as having colds and flus not be an issue in the workplace. These things are not going away in our lifetimes.

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#184

Post by droopyEyelids »

chris123 wrote: post #183

I don't think it's likely that a day will come, at least in our lifetimes, where workplaces are free from mental health issues. Yes, that would be great, but it's about as realistic as having colds and flus not be an issue in the workplace. These things are not going away in our lifetimes.

I'd actually go further and predict mental health will continue to be an issue, even outside the workplace.

I'm not even certain a just, enlightened society would require people with mental disorders to work in an office!

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#185

Post by samstave »

siliconc0w wrote: post #60

There is a kinda secret code for OOO or WFH emails that managers should respect. Definitely got to "Respect the code" (say in a pirate voice). As a manager I'd write purposely vague emails to contribute to this, "Sorry will be late, got jumped by a gang of ninjas" because I really don't like to set a cultural tone that isn't trusting of employees. I basically need to know you aren't going to be here but I don't need…

This mentality of feeling the need to justify why you're late or out comes from industries where employees are only paid shorty wages and are monitored for time on the clock.

I have had to mentor many people in my life that your reasons for being put are your own, and if you give some overly wordy specific reasoning it looks fake even when truth...

An email calling in late or sick should never be more than one sentence.

"OOO today - but reachable

OOO today off grid

WFH - reachable by normal channels

Etc

Even better is #OOO slack channel and people just post in there any day they are out...

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#186

Post by catmanjan »

chris123 wrote: post #183

I don't think it's likely that a day will come, at least in our lifetimes, where workplaces are free from mental health issues. Yes, that would be great, but it's about as realistic as having colds and flus not be an issue in the workplace. These things are not going away in our lifetimes.

Even people on the Enterprise had mental health issues, I think it's part of being human.

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#187

Post by suneilp »

paulddraper wrote: post #78
calafrax wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Medically speaking a mental illness is no different than a physical illness. Mental illness does not have to be severe just as physical illness does not have to be severe. Sick leave policies typically only require a doctors note/visit if you are absent for multiple days. Taking a single day off for mild mental illness, something like elevated stress levels causing anxiety that interrupts your sleep, seems perfectly…

> Medically speaking a mental illness is no different than a physical illness. I'm sympathetic, but don't make the discussion worse by throwing falsehoods like this around. Besides the fact expressed by others that physically illness is more diagnosable, you typically don't get mentally ill from being in proximity to a mentally ill person. (At least, I never have.) Physical illness is a different situation. That's wh…

Mental illness can cause physical illness. Anxiety can cause gastrointestinal disorders for example. So should someone having an anxiety attack not take the day off just because they weren't exhibiting any physical issues? And many gastro disorders can happen without being obvious until the situation worsens.

Waiting until the worst happens isn't sustainable and just makes things harder to recover. Perhaps burnout isn't just simply mental but a larger, systemic degradation of the body.

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#188

Post by WalterBright »

TallGuyShort wrote: post #40
steven777400 wrote: post #5

Great article. A few years ago (at a previous job) I took a sick day for "sanity", but told them I wasn't feeling well. I felt guilty about doing it. I think part of it is the association of sick leave with externally visible medical issues, and the corresponding "straightforward" medical verification. In other words, if you have a temperature or are vomiting, that's obvious. Many infections or physical injury can be…

>> I've never heard of anyone here being asked for a verification, but it would tend to discourage people doing the "sanity day" sort of thing. I suspect that the lack of trust this indicates on the part of the company (not to mention foster on the part of the employee) is probably a sign that you're past the point of no return. I suspect a company that asked for verification was not doing so to see if you were genui…

I've seen people routinely abuse sick days and they considered it normal (they brag about it). Others coincidentally are "sick" for exactly 10 days a year, year after year. They think management doesn't notice, and wonder why they don't get much in the way of raises or promotions.

Basically, you're right. The verification thing is invoked to provide convenient evidence to get rid of someone they already want to get rid of.

Trust only goes so far. If a company does not have good cost control and verification procedures, they can and will get robbed blind. Heck, the cash register was invented by a bar owner who suspected the bartender was embezzling in a blatant and ruinous fashion.

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#189

Post by KirinDave »

phil21 wrote: post #64
throwaway2928 wrote: post #50

Not that long ago, I was considering joining a startup where an old manager of mine was the head of eng. They seemed to be doing some cool stuff, another friend had recently joined and spoke well of it, and I thought I'd give it a go. As part of that process, my old manager took me out for coffee to talk about the company, etc. When we chatted, he basically laid down that he was concerned- when I had worked for him,…

This is where it gets tricky. Is your negative attitude due to a medical condition or you just being an asshole who has an attitude problem? And is that even material to the decision to hire you or not? No one really cares why you act like that, they simply care that you do. I'm going to say it's entirely on you to present yourself in a positive light at work, and I honestly think your ex-manager was doing you a soli…

> This is where it gets tricky.

> Is your negative attitude due to a medical condition or you just being an asshole who has an attitude problem?

See, if it's diagnosed depression then it's not tricky all. It's because of a medical condition. Why even say this? Why even imply this?

For people with depression, sometimes "being positive" is "getting out of bed and finding a way to make it through the day" or even simply not taking your own life. Writing a blurb about positive attitude suggests you're dismissive of the issue. I'm not sure if you meant to be, but you're dismissing this person's condition in the most insulting way possible.

You're further warning them that if they do treat it their career is over and they should avoid that? You're being awful.

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#190

Post by markdown »

malnourish wrote: post #27
sethjgore wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correct me if I'm wrong, I think that's called a personal day here in the states. They usually give you two a year too, along with sick days. Though I do agree, that there's stigma towards taking it for personal sanity, mind healing.

Are sick days still a thing? At my job we get PTO and holidays (floating depending on the year), but no specific sick days. Apologies for any naivete.

> Are sick days still a thing?

Why wouldn't they be? I assume they're mandatory in most countries.

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