Having read messages about this subject, there are
obviously some very strong feelings out there.
Bashyr-see what you have started!
Whilst I totally agree that some employees will
pull the "stress at work" card to their GP's & some will dutifully &
unquestioningly (for many reasons) write that on their FMED3's, there is
ultimately something wrong with an individual who feels that she/he cannot face
work. It might be simply that one is lazy & tries to get out of work for any
little excuse; it might be that there are family problems & that person
needs time out to sort them out; maybe the organisational structure is creating
a stressful environment or it may be that the person is at the onset of some
form of mental illness of one form or another.
I could go on & on about this but we have to
consider what we as OHN's can do and we have to really investigate &
question a GP when "stress" appears as a diagnosis on the FMED 3's.
On the other hand, we need to raise awareness of
the stress that is piled onto the remaining employees who have carry the load of
the absent person. I make it quite clear to many of the persons I have contact
with (in the nicest of ways of course!) that actually an employer's sick pay is
a privilege as opposed to a right!
We all know that generally, when a
person is satisfied with the job one is doing, work is actually
therapeutic, but not so if one hates the job and has done for a long time, in
which case the best advice for their long term health prospects is to find
another job, change careers etc etc
Glen-maybe the person returns to work (rtw) at the
6/12 point because he/she may make their mental health worse should financial
difficulties be added on top of whatever is the problem of ill health. Many who
rtw immediately after the 6/12 pay cut off point are not fully recovered and
will still need monitoring.
Kevin-I do hope that the HSE stats for stress come
from psychiatrists & OHP's!
Many regards
Maudie