Well, I'm still waiting to hear about my situation re WFH following my Occu Health referral last summer.
I have recently been chasing up on the matter, and going higher up the ladder, which culminated in me having a phone call with my line HR manager just now.
Just as a quick catch up, I will list below the timeline of events so far, a timeline which I emailed to all parties involved back in Jan.
- 20th July I emailed to raise the issue of my anxiety relating to the return to the office. A number of exchanges were had, and I was advised to speak to my GP and arrange an appointment with PHC.
- 27th July I spoke with my GP and was diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder. I was prescribed anxiety medication, and referred for CBT. A follow up appointment 2 weeks later was made.
- 10th Aug I had a GP review, and my medication was increased due to no improvement.
- 16th Aug I had a phone assessment with PHC
- 19th Aug Report from PHC received by all parties via email.
- 8th Sept CBT started with mental health team.
- 12th Sept Follow up appointment with GP, and signed off until 4th Oct (first week self cert)
- 4th Oct sick certificate extended until 2nd Nov by GP during review.
I think that is a pretty good summary for anyone to make a start from.
Unfortunately the call I just had filled me with nothing more than dread and despair. The HR manager was not really up to speed with my situation, history with anxiety, journey through this matter as listed above, nor much else about me to be honest. Checking with me the dates I was off sick, what my diagnosis was, what my job title was, and what "persona" had been allocated to my role. A phrase I was unfamiliar with, but understand it to mean office/hybrid/remote.
It is nothing personal of course, but incredibly frustrating to have a conversation with one of the links in the chair, and to discover that they have pretty much no idea what you are talking about. I have gone from speaking with other parties and feeling confident that we are getting somewhere, to feeling that I am asking a bit much, and it is unlikely that I will get a favourable outcome.
She did have recollection of talking to the manager about the group decision, but there was very little more said on that. The outcome was basically that she will speak with my manager about it tomorrow, and get back to me with an email update tomorrow. I did have a whole list of questions I wanted to ask all written down in front of me, but firstly didn't really get the chance to say much other than answer her questions, nor have much faith that they would get any kind of answer. I tried with a couple, asking who makes the decision, and a time scale, but the replies were open and a bit empty. The decision will be made by..... I don't really know, it depends what your manager says, I will speak to him about it.
So that just makes it sound like NO conversation has taken place between any parties since the initial PHC referral, which given it was about 8 months ago now, is both disappointing and fuckin outrageous! How can we be this far into the matter, with a full medical report written by Occupational Health, a full timeline supplied by me numerous times, a whole chain of emails going back almost two years talking about this, and there being seemingly absolutely NO knowledge or progress on the matter?
I am currently sitting here going through a whole range of thoughts and emotions about it all, none of which are very positive. I do however fall back on my decision about all this, and that regardless of outcome, I will not go back to a toxic and negative environment.
I started today feeling pretty happy and chipper, maybe a little anxious about the call taking place. A simple 10 min phone call has wiped out most of the positivity I had, and left me further back the process than I started the day with. It feels like I am starting all over again now. All I can do is wait to see what the email update from HR says tomorrow, and go from there.
PS, I am not in a bad place mentally, just really annoyed and upset by the call.