Why do people go on stress leave as soon as they are “in trouble” at our office? ?
February 27th, 2009 | by Anthony |Widget asked:
Silly as this sounds.. I have noted a huge trend in our office. Being part of middle management often allows me to know things that others below me do not.. such as those who are being repremanded or written up for stuff.
OUr office has been going through a clean up period for the last year with old management gone, new one’s in. There have been a couple of employees who are obviously trying to get themselves fired ( sarcastically saying) as they just don’t follow the rules….. the last three who have been written up… all of a sudden go on “stress leave”…. how does this really work? I mean why do people do this?
Patricia I think you are right about not being able to fire someone on medical leave. I assume it’s the ploy to prevent being terminated as these gals should of been promptly.
TANGELA
6 Responses to “Why do people go on stress leave as soon as they are “in trouble” at our office? ?”
By officer uggh on Feb 28, 2009 | Reply
‘Stress leave’??? LOL If I had that I’d never go to work.
By Patricia B on Mar 1, 2009 | Reply
I’m not sure that you can fire someone who is out on medical leave.
By tracy on Mar 1, 2009 | Reply
They are just working (rather “abusing”) the system and the rules. Why do they do it? Because they can.
By Terri J on Mar 2, 2009 | Reply
Unfortunately, this is common. All they have to do is get a psychologist to go along with them, and they can claim that they are unable to work due to stress. In some cases, they can even collect temporary disability. As long as they are on “stress leave,” they cannot be fired. Eventually, there has to be a resolution, but they can stretch it out. In the meantime, if they’re looking for another job, they can even list themselves as currently employed. The employer is barred from sharing the information that they are not currently reporting to work. All they can tell them is the dates of employment and salary.
Sad, huh? All you can do is hope they find another job. If they do come back, you can start the process to fire them for cause.
By L C on Mar 3, 2009 | Reply
It happens a lot where I work, too… It’s a high stress environment and people tend to burn out after a couple of years… The burn-out shows up in all kinds of personal and emotional issues…
A few of the ones who go on “stress” leave are just trying to postpone the inevitable… For a lot of them, though, the possibility of getting fired can be the wake-up call they’ve needed, and they honestly take the time to figure out IF (and HOW) they can salvage their job…
I’ve seen a few of them who managed to pull it together at the last minute… Taking time off seems to have given them a whole new outlook… One of them bounced back to become the best employee I have ever had. Unfortunately, a lot of them can’t be saved, and by the time the question of dismissal comes up, it’s too late…
It would be nice if they could just get it together without the threat of being let go, but denial is involved with any type of serious emotional issue, so they can’t…
By RK on Mar 6, 2009 | Reply
Probably it is becoming part of your “office culture.” Once one person has gotten away with it, that person passes the word along and others start abusing in the same way. It is a way to get some extra vacation, sometimes a paid vacation depending on the workplace, while postponing actually losing the job.
It would be interesting to see whether the same psychologist is certifying all of them as eligible for medical leave. If so, it might help for your new management team to write him/her a letter expressing concern that “so many of our employees are being certified by you for stress leave.” The psychologist may get nervous about possible reporting to the relevant professional association. The APA, for example, states one of its objectives as “the improvement of the qualifications and usefulness of psychologists through high standards of ethics, conduct, education, and achievement.” These associations don’t take kindly to the scamming of employers, and the wholesale writing of medical certificates may get them in professional trouble. The credentials of the certifiers should also be examined, and they should be either a PhD or an MD or certificates required from both.
If you are located in the UK, the employer has the right to dispute the employee’s stress leave claim. The company workcover insurer may then require the employee to visit an independent doctor, and then a psychologist, for second opinions. S/he is then interviewed by an investigator. If the reasons given are ambiguous or not work-related, the company is not found at fault and the application is dismissed. This process can take three months and may result in the employee having three months off work with no pay if the claim is dismissed. That would certainly cut down on abuses, I would think. In other words, your company is not completely at the mercy of this type of scam.