The stress is getting to be too much. I want to ask for a short mental health break but I'm worried it'll backfire and cost me my job. Any advice from people who've done it?
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"scared" "mental health break"
Grow a pair of te------s, wouldja?
I have known around 5 people who have taken mental health breaks over the last 20 years. They are all still working at Shell.
@OP Take care of yourself first, Shell isn’t here for that. All of the “care” talk is BS but we’re good at that. How secure and comfortable do you feel with your team? Any friends outside of work within the group? Anyone supportive of you in general? Beyond your IPFs does the team and your line manager really like you? All seem like ridiculous and juvenile questions but that’s how Shell works. You’ll not formally be targeted for redundancy or anything like that but the leave will stick in peoples’ minds. If the team thinks highly of you; they’ll see the leave as deserved and warranted. If you don’t have a friendly or strong connection with your team, line manager or someone higher up, tread carefully with leave. FMLA isn’t a protection from being laid off. Shell has let people go while on FMLA under the guise of a reorg. Well it’s not even as covert as that; it was just naturally easy.
@s5 Wow what? I really feel like you’re holding a gem of a story and should alleviate our stress by sharing. Please?
If someone from the Houston office could pass out on the street with their 3 month old baby and not get fired then you should deserve a little break.
If it is a toxic work environment, take the leave and actively start looking for a new job. Once you take the leave, you will most likely be on the chopping block unless you are actively being protected.
have some tea and then take a huge wael
Take care of yourself first.
It'll be fine. Go on.
If you need it, do it, better to act now before it's a full crash. This place will hold it against you if you burn out and get signed off anyway, and we all know there's no reward for showing "resilience" (HR speak for su-k it up).
Just have a mental break down at work and start crying and make a scene of it. That’ll set the scene if they try to retaliate against you 😀
Having had to do it twice for a legitimate disability both times it has affected my performance and rankings at work as well as lack of promotion at Shell. However on the flip side I am still working at Shell.
Other thing to remember is that FMLA does not get disclosed to your manager about why you are taking leave but it will be on record with Shell health in your internal file which is confidential.
My advice is that put your health first and don’t stress about your job it will be a speed bump in your career but most things in your career are out of your hands anyways. The best always rise to the top…
I haven't done it myself, but there is such a thing as FMLA (federal law). You can get up to 12 weeks (unpaid, most likely), get a diagnostic/prescription from a doctor (mental health qualifies), you give them (or not) 30-day notice, and they have to keep your position, otherwise they're in huge trouble. Good luck!