Can't cope with night work anymore but need to work - help.

[hillbilly5]

Hi

 

I have been working for the last 8 years for a national supermarket chain - always had fantastic annual reviews and have had excellent work reputation. I work 2 nights a week. I originally worked nights when my 3 children were younger so that I could tailor my work hours around them. We have recently moved house and my youngest still needs me to take him to and from school so I am limited as to the hours I can work - I don't have any family around who can help me with childcare.

 

Over the last few months my absence rate has been over the trigger level of 3% - my young son has been very ill, we have had some personal problems and I am genuinely finding that with all that I have on my plate I'm struggling with my hours working at night (10pm-7am).

 

Our personal situation has come to a head over the last 3-4 weeks and my doctor signed me off for 2 weeks with stress - I was working my nights, and then because of the stress we are under came home and couldn't sleep (one week I slept about 2 hours in 50 over the 2 days I was working) because my mind just wouldn't stop racing and I can't eat properly because of the worry of our situation either. I just got to the point of collapse, crying all the time and feeling that I just can't cope. I asked the doctor for something to help me sleep which she wouldn't give but signed me off instead.

 

I am still signed off this week and would like some advice on how to proceed when I go back to work. I will have a return to work interview and I don't really want to go too deeply into our personal circumstances that have caused me to collapse in a heap - do I have to tell my manager chapter and verse of what has happened? Also because of our financial situation, I can't afford to give up work completely, how could I proceed to ask them about the possibility of transferring onto days or as the nights (along with my circumstances) are affecting my health, how I could alter my hours to a more sociable time that I could cope with better?

 

Any ideas/help would be so much appreciated.

[SarEl]

You don't have any rights to get what you are asking at all - so you are going to have to present your case, and the more detailed it is the more likley that they will try to make adjustments - or possibly not sack you (which is where the absence procedure is leading). I'd suggest that you give as full a disclosure as you can, as you have nothing to loose here. And whilst I may agree that medication isn't the answer - nor is threatening your livelihood by signing you off sick from work without any other form of support or treatment. So go back to the doctor and make it clear that fitness notes are not "cures" for depression and the doctor needs to find a method of providing support. You might ask your employer is they could refer you to occupational health too - they may be able to help.

[nicolee2931]

I can only assume when you say the absence reviews are triggered at 3% that your employer is Tesco, and if your employer is whom I believe them to be the way in which they manage absence is totally and utterly brutal. I totally agree with what SarEl has posted you have nothing to loose by disclosing everything to them in the hope they can make adjustments as now are clearly suffering from depression. I would like to think having worked for your employer for the past 8 years you have built up a strong relationship and shown a strong amount of loyalty to the business, and maybe a change of hours or a departmental change may lift your mood. If you are a union member have a word with the in store rep and if you get no joy contact your area rep.

 

However I have to mention be prepared for nothing to change as supermarkets Tesco included are trying to slash their operation costs by reducing staff without the need for redundancies, as you may have noticed staff who have left never seem to be replaced. No supermarket wants to announce redundancies as it shows a sign of weakness, so non replacement of staff by natural wastage in a business of high staff turnaround is their get out of jail card as it seems Tesco are the forerunners in applying pressure to staff in difficulty. I'm sorry its a bit gloomy but be prepared I've been there but gladly survived the carnage that followed I'm sure you will do the same. BTW there is a Tesco forum out on the web which describes the true horrors of working there just google it as I can't link to it from here.

[papasmurf1cx]

You could ask your GP to refer you to the local Mental Health Team. Is there any way you can post you problems that are causing you the problems so we can suggest solutions?