I have a friend who works in PD and I can see a decline in her overall attitude and enjoyment in little things she used to like. I told her to consider short term disability so can can have some time off and deal with her issues.
She is pretty against any sort of leave and her department is slammed with work.
Has anyone gone through the process of doing a short term medical for issues like this?
Any advice I can pass along to her? I am afraid she is just going to keep getting worse.
One problem with these angry and retributive managers is that they are going to be angry whether you take care of yourself, or whether you dont take care of yourself and go far beyond the extra mile to satisfy them, which you never will. So why not take care of yourself? It may hurt your career or it may not, but working for an angry manager for a long time can also hurt your career.
Do not take this leave or even mention any word of it. Ford will retaliate against you, by making up a fake reason about your work performance. Even if you were to take a leave, what happens after 12 weeks? You just come back to the same insanity. I suggest you tell your “friend” that she should save up some cash. Start interviewing. When she finds a new job, set up the start date so she can take a month off. Also, go see a therapist and get some counseling and medication. People with mental issues tend to have them no matter what situation they are in.
Don't know what you're talking about on many fronts. First off, you do not submit your medical leave application to HR - it goes to the leave unit. IN THEORY HR does not ever know why you're on leave but will most likely find out by word of mouth.
Tip: if you were to go on a leave, NEVER tell your management (and only those you intimately trust) team why other than to say it's a protected LOA and that you're estimated return is x-x. They can and will retaliate against you if it's other than physical. You're entitled to 12 weeks of UNPAID job protection, meaning they for all intents and purposes have to return you to the same job or something very similar. That said, the "very similar" moniker is where Ford can and will spin things against you.
Also, Ford (or its agents) fights these tooth to nail no matter how much they tell you they care about your mental health and well being. You can always fall back on the unpaid job protection status (if not approved for pay) but go over the 12 weeks by a small amount and you're subject to losing your job; getting thrown into some pit; or expected to drive an ungodly distance to and from.
Don't expect to declare a sudden over taxed/burdensome mental health situation and expect to get paid. In many instances they'll look at your treatment and or declaration of your condition leading up to the leave to determine if you'll be approved for leave pay. Bottom line is your friend has to determine if her own condition is serious enough such that she can go 12 weeks without pay and be subject to a different reporting relationship. Also, your friend should also absolutely ensure she qualifies for FMLA protection guarantees prior to initiating the leave.
yeah if you need leave, try to get it. in the 2007 debacle, some
one jumped off the roof of the "blue lagoon" building on ford road on the weekend, into the atrium. look it up. all kept hush hush. dont let it get to that point. we have to help each other.
Yes, I did a short term leave about ten years ago for medical (back). As another person said, it starts with an honest discussion with your doctor; after all, they are the one to fill out the form and make it medically necessary else it goes it unpaid leave if absence territory.
Bad news it is a pain to have to keep track of the paperwork, keep your doctor in the loop and have then provide updates every two weeks; good news is you job is held for you and you can have up to two months off (depends on the issue and doctors advice) without two much effort and can go to a third with a little effort - all at full pay.
Free counseling is available. Go to the Health Benefits section of Life@Ford for the phone number or link.
She can start with seeing her doctor. If her doctor supports, she could apply for a medical leave (depression can sometimes qualify).
First of all, good looking out for your friend. Things get hard and it’s nice to know there are people like you looking out for others.
I don’t know if there are other ways to go about it, but I do know someone who has done this and the first thing they did was talk with their Doctor. After hearing about their situation and the strain it was putting on their mental health they were written a note recommending a short term leave of around 4-6 weeks I believe.
That gets submitted to HR and once they approve it you get put on leave. I don’t know what the pay or anything is like during your leave, but I do know that your team or supervisor are only told you are on short term leave or something. They don’t find out the reason so don’t be worried about retaliation or anything like that. I know some of the older people here don’t know the importance of mental health.
I know it’s incredibly hard for some people to even consider doing this, but looking out for your own health physical and mental should take priority over your job (easier said then done I know). To the company you are just another worker they wouldn’t hesitate to let go of or nickel and dime you out of benefits as the countless retirement posts on here have shown. It takes a lot of courage for anybody to acknowledge they are struggling and need help so just be aware of that when trying to help your friend, but good looking out for them