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Return to work some guidance needed

B

brightbaby

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi

Thanks for the advice about how to deal with boss, made me feel a lot more at ease.

Anyway decided to start looking for a new job and applied for a few today so we will wait and see what happens. In the mean time need to stay in my job as hubby aint in permanent work so we both cant be unemployed

I was thinking of suggesting to the hr team at work if once my sick note runs out if I could come into the office on the Thursday before the Monday im due back as this is payday and is a very busy day in the office and wont have proper time to read any important eamils which have impacted on my job in the time ive been off. Also will allow me to ensure they are aware of the fact I will need to eat something mid morning. Usually this wouldnt be a problem but with it being a contact centre I wont be able to get away from my desk as will be mayhem

I dont know Im trying to do things to help them out, it should be the other way round but hey thats just me

Allyx
 
Hi Ally,

My personal view would be to ask for half a day to begin with - it wouldnt seem as daunting for you - also, i think you will just have to make it clear that you most definately will need to leave your desk for a snack - unless your allowed to eat at it? I doubt any company would 'make' you sit at your desk if you risk a hypo! Bev
 
Hi Brightbaby

Re your comment about needing eat mid morning - what regime of insulin are you using? Generally, snacks are not needed with basal bolus regime, although snacks and regular mealtimes are needed for the much less flexible bimodal regime. I'm not suggesting a change, especially not when returning to work, but just to mention that there are different ways of using insulin, some more flexible than others.

Hope your return to work goes well. Please let us know how you get on.
 
Don't forget you are also covered by The Disabitlity Discrimination Act, and the law states you should only work a maximum of 4 hours without a break.

I agree to begin with half a day is less daunting than a full day. Speak to your HR advisor or wellfare officer if you have one. Wellfare officers are normal willing to help satff talk to and deal with difficult managers. Do you have union representation? The more help you have the less stressfull it is likely to be.

Good luck for your return to work and I hope you feel better.
 
copepod im on a basal bolus regime and i still need to snack. everyone is different including the amount of fuel we need for our bodies. i have a very very active lifestyle and i do a lot of exercise so i need to have a mid morning, mid afternoon snacks and also i have to have supper. if i dont i get hypos due to work/lifestyle.

if you feel the need to have a mid morning snack and are happy with the current insulin regime you are on then i wouldn't change it. (if it aint broke dont fix it) also i would go for the half day return to work as it would allow you to get a good idea if you are ok in going back or still need more time and if you even want to go back.

well i hope all goes well for you :D

mike
 
Alex is also basal/bolus and he is so hungry and does need a snack between breakfast and lunch and then another one between lunch and dinner - but maybe thats because he is young and is growing - if he doesnt have one he can go hypo though! Bev
 
Hi, returning on reduced hours would be a very good idea if you can get them to agree to it. One thing you may not realise when you go back is just how much longer and harder the days seem than you expected. When I broke my leg a few years back I had good employers (not like the ones when I broke my arm!), and they worked out a system of late starts/early finishes until I felt ready to go back full time. Even so, I found it very hard (one of the things I hadn't thought of was how far it was to the office loos when you're on crutches and can hardly walk!), and exhausting as I wasn't getting much sleep at the time. You don't realise when you are home, and can just take a nap, or have a cuppa and relax whenever you want.

I did what I could, and expectations of me were reduced because people could see I wasn't back to 100%.

Hope all goes well!:)
 
I agree about needing a snack on basal bolus regime when I'm being active at work or leisure, but if I just cycle 5 miles to work in an office (Brightbaby mentioned working in an office in her original post), I don't need a snack. That's why I said "generally". The only thing to be wary of with half days is the temptation to do as much in half a day as you would in a whole day, plus you still have the same amount of commuting.

Anyway, hope it all works out OK for you.
 
Does your employer have access to occupational health? I have generally found them useful in work- health issues. They have always agreed with whatever I have said I needed. Which is quite important really to know what you think will help and what you need from your employer.

would you not normally be entitled to a break in the morning?
 
sofaraway said:
Does your employer have access to occupational health? I have generally found them useful in work- health issues. They have always agreed with whatever I have said I needed. Which is quite important really to know what you think will help and what you need from your employer.

would you not normally be entitled to a break in the morning?
Click to expand...

If you can see occupational health it would give you some guidance or a guideline for you and your employer to work to. Because of the ammount of sick leave I've had recently I found them very helpfull.

If morning shift is 8am till noon, not all emplyers give a break, which is why many places have a staggered start (8am till noon 9am till 1pm 10am till 2pm) for example.
 
Just a quick one to ask how things are going and say I hope it is all OK for you.
 
Things going ok, Dreading going back to work still even though occupational health are involved I feel as though they will not be very helpful about the situation as my sickness reocrd last year at work was terrible. So we will have to wait and see

Ally
 
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