Work And Depression. Unsure Of Next Move. Please Help

[tsider]

Hi im new here and looking for some advise.

 

I previsly resigned from a job due to depression in early 2008, i then started a course of fluxetine (which i stupidly did not finish the course) as i found employment and things looked on the up. However just over a year on depression has hit me again in a big way. I have been in touch with my gp who has given me fluxetine and diazipam (for the anxiety) and a four week sick note.

However i feel the a big part of my depression is again due to the line of work i am in ( i work in a callcentre which i find very stressful with targets, irrate customers, and having to tell people to pay bill which they cannot afford and often they breakdown).

I feel i wont ever to able to return to my role as it increases my anxiety and depression. I am generally a depressed person but this just makes things worse.

My thoughts on this are i want to hand in my notice seeing out the rest of my contract on the sick(if the docter will give me another note) as i dont want to string along my employer ( i feel very guilty about being on the sick for depression.

However the advice i have recieved from my parent is that i should stay off using doctors notes for as long as possible until they terminate my employment.

I am looking for advice on what i should do IE resign my possition due to depression which i think will aid my recovery or to continue to try and get signed off until i am terminated.

 

Also does anybody have an opinion if the docter will give me another note as i am very worried my gp will not be willing to give me any more sick notes.

 

work have also contacted me to request and absence review what will they want to ask at this.

 

Any help will be apriciated Thanks

[flipper79]

Hi there my friend, and first of all let me say I'm sorry to hear of your situation. I can completely sympathise, working in a call centre myself. Unfortunately, when people call it's easy to forget they're speaking to a real person who, having to take ownership, also end up taking the screams and rants to heart.

 

To be perfectly honest with you, alot of the questions you ask are gonna have to be decided by yourself. But sounding out opinions is always a good way to try and figure it out.

 

One thing I would really really want you to pay attention to though...DO NOT feel guilty about suffering from depression! It's an illness like any other and in no way your fault. And I also know that call centres do very little to support their staff from abusive customers, or having a structured way of dealing with alot of stressful queries. And further from that, DO NOT consider yourself as stringing your employer along!

 

If you want my opinion, I think you should take things slowly. Are you in a position now where you feel you can make important decisions? Probably not, since it's obviously causing you anxiety. Be honest with yourself and with the doctor and maybe ask if the meds are the only source of help they can offer.

 

At the absence review they will probably request an idea of when you and your doctor think you will be fit for work. They should also ask you what they can do to help you readjust back into work. If they've given you a date for the review it may well be a good idea to see your doctor again just before then.

 

If you really feel like you can't stay working there and quitting is an option, personally I'd advise going about it the right way by giving notice. Maybe in the future you'd consider going back, and besides you never know who you may bump into further down the line with regards to applying for another job.

[zazen.warrior]

I wonder if you are working for the same company I worked for, your description fits my previous job exactly, and yes it made me ill with stress too. I was signed off sick for months and eventually sacked.

 

When will the people who run call centres realise how badly people are affected by the constant pressure to reach unreachable targets, the relentless analysis of your every breath and the threats of dire consequences for ‘failure’.

 

Unfortunately these places expect a high level of 'attrition' and they simply don't care because it means hardly anyone stays long enough to get a pay rise and those who do are targeted for particular harassment until they leave because they don't want to pay anyone a decent wage.

 

They prefer 'call centre burn out' (yes there’s a name for it.) There are websites devoted to how best to chew up and spit out call centre operatives and they make sickening and dehumanising reading.

 

Okay, my advice is this; leave as soon as you can because you will already be on a hit list for daring to fall sick as a result of their treatment.

 

The longer you stay the worse it will get and if (when) they sack you, you will have much more ground to cover to get better. It took me six months to feel fully recovered after this happened to me.

 

Sorry if this seems negative and unhelpful, but I am speaking from personal experience and at the end of the day you have to look to your own well being above anything else; no one who has succumbed to stress related illness is going to help themselves by staying in the problem.

Edited June 16, 2009 by zazen.warrior