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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

#221

Post by AlphaWeaver »

inetknght wrote: post #31
intheletter1 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uhg, I am in that exact situation right now. I've done the therapy thing in the past, didn't help. Meds in the past seemed to help but hard to isolate them as THE factor that helped me out of a rut. So now I feel out of options. I am so burned out. So much on my plate, so much work to do, and literally not one neuron fires to get me going. My memory and mental function, at an all time low. I gotta believe this just g…

Ya'll are lucky that you can afford therapy. There are many who cannot and whose insurance won't pay for it.

I believe that lack of access to mental health care is one of the fundamental problems with modern society.

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#224

Post by quickthrower »

It's one thing taking a day off for mental health, but what if the job itself is contributing to said mental health problem?

For example being bullied or having unreasonable expectations with some kind of negative reinforcement loop.

Certainly doesn't sound like the case at the company in the article. But that CEO sounds exceptional.

We also need to address treating employees as humans not workproduct producing AWS instances.

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#225

Post by framebit »

phil21 wrote: post #56
TallGuyShort wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> 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…

You're generally correct for the folks who have decent salaried careers. If I got asked to justify a regular random day or two I took off as PTO I'd tell HR to pound sand as anyone rightfully should. Get into hourly low wage stuff and you are treated like children, many shops require a doctor's note for any and all absences with 1 or 2 dermits until you're fired. This has reasons from both ends of course. When I was…

Another reason blue color jobs might be stricter about attendance policies is that many rely on someone's physical presence. If there's nobody there to make the sandwiches, the sandwich store can't open. If I'm not there to make progress on my code on a particular day, who cares.

Not advocating treating people like shit for missing work once in awhile, just sayin'.

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#226

Post by framebit »

phil21 wrote: post #56
TallGuyShort wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> 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…

You're generally correct for the folks who have decent salaried careers. If I got asked to justify a regular random day or two I took off as PTO I'd tell HR to pound sand as anyone rightfully should. Get into hourly low wage stuff and you are treated like children, many shops require a doctor's note for any and all absences with 1 or 2 dermits until you're fired. This has reasons from both ends of course. When I was…

Another reason blue color jobs might be stricter about attendance policies is that many rely on someone's physical presence. If there's nobody there to make the sandwiches, the sandwich store can't open. If I'm not there to make progress on my code on a particular day, who cares.

Not advocating treating people like shit for missing work once in awhile, just sayin'.

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#227

Post by just4themoney »

stevenbedrick wrote: post #72
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,…

That sounds like a really great realization to have had! For the record, what your old manager was doing (directly asking you about your mental health status in a quasi-interview setting) was probably illegal, at least in the US (IANAL). There are pretty strict rules around the kinds of things that employers are allowed to ask prospective employees about, and health (mental or otherwise) is very much on the "not allo…

>health (mental or otherwise) is very much on the "not allowed" list

This is a gross oversimplification to the point of being untrue.

In addition to what the sibling comment said about asking itself not being illegal, you're allowed to discriminate based on health/disability status all you want if the disability prevents an employee from doing a bona fide job requirement and there isn't any "reasonable accommodation" you can provide for that employee.

For example - if you're a interviewing/hiring for a job that requires the employee to, say, move heavy boxes all day you're going to need to ask that employee "can you lift and move boxes up to 60 pounds?" and you're going to have to reject candidates that can't due to health conditions. Likewise you may have to reject a candidate who is a bad coder even if he has a learning disability.

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#228

Post by lovich »

TallGuyShort wrote: post #209
lovich wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With the exception of a Nintendo DS, 1 game, and some beer, all of my money from 4 years of jobs went to rent,food, and the tiny little bit left over went to tuition. Anyone going to college in the past 20 years was not paying for it all with a job you could hold while going to classes

graduated with a B.S. 5 years ago debt-free with no help from parents . It's possible.

Id certainly believe that it's possible to do so. However, in the same way that anyone could be president, not everyone can be. Lots of colleges don't even have enough jobs in the area to support every student working, and the number of hours you'd have to work can prevent anyone with a difficulty major from doing so

Edit:I did say _anyone_ in the past 20 years so that is some unfortunate hyperbole on my part

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#229

Post by DrScump »

goodroot wrote: post #19

My partner works at Olark. It truly is a human-focused business. I love that she is there. The intention that their team and leadership have applied into creating a safe environment is deeply rooted and honest. As someone who struggled with depression for two decades, while ultimately thwarted, it was a hopeless, numbing plague. As a coping mechanism, I developed my career working remotely. I was unable to function w…

  My partner works at Olark. It truly is a human-focused business.
Perhaps that explains the lack of openings on their jobs page?

Re: Mental health is still an issue in the workplace

#230

Post by asdfologist »

komali2 wrote: post #167
phil21 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're generally correct for the folks who have decent salaried careers. If I got asked to justify a regular random day or two I took off as PTO I'd tell HR to pound sand as anyone rightfully should. Get into hourly low wage stuff and you are treated like children, many shops require a doctor's note for any and all absences with 1 or 2 dermits until you're fired. This has reasons from both ends of course. When I was…

Culture can matter a great deal as well. In my experience working in Japan and Taiwan, everyone is considered an immature child that must be babysat minute by minute. My go-to story: Friend in Japan's train route was significantly delayed by a suicide. Rather than sit in the train station for ~2 hours waiting for cleanup, he leaves, gets on his motorcycle, and rides to work. Shows up 30 minutes late, but his pay is d…

If the work culture is infuriating, why do you love working there?
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