Work related stress - best next steps?
I work in England for a large company in a heavily regulated industry and have been there for close to 10 years.
Since returning from maternity leave around 6 months ago, I have had a new manager and now long hours are expected (50+ hour weeks are common), and they frequently undermine and speak inappropriately to people below them in the organisation.
I’m aware that concerns about my manager have been raised by multiple people and I have been involved in supporting some of those processes. I am considering raising my own concerns as well.
Recently I have been struggling. I have spoken with counsellors and this week I had a long conversation with my GP, who felt my symptoms were consistent with chronic long term work-related stress. Historically I’ve barely taken sick leave but my GP has signed me off for 4 weeks, which I plan to submit to my employer on Monday.
At the moment I’m finding that certain topics or situations trigger a very strong emotional reaction and that is very unlike me.
Given that:
- The structure of my role requires ongoing interactions with my manager
- The role is realistically incompatible with reduced hours
- There are ongoing internal processes relating to the situation
Other than focusing on recovery, what do sensible next steps look like?
In particular:
- What are the benefits of engaging with occupational health early vs waiting until treatment is underway?
- How realistic are temporary alternative duties in situations like this?
- Is there anything people wish they had done earlier in similar situations?