Hi All I have been on a staggered rreturn to work over the last 3 months. This has been a real struggle to manage but I am now jjust about to start back full time have booked some annual leave to make things easie for me over the nnext month. My boss has been great since I had an access to work work station assessment working for a large corporate company has proved so difficult to obtain the equipment recommend due to the red tape about where you can get the equipment from. My boss is fully behind me in getting the right equipment. I am so glad he has been there for me to back me upwith my requirements. He has been so supportive and is not pushing me at all. I am so glad he has been there to get back t work. GGetting back to work has enabled me to feel more normal since diagnosis and made me feel like this disease isn’t going to win. Barney
It makes such a difference knowing your workplace is behind you. I work for a large company whose HQ are in the States and they have bent over backwards since I was diagnosed. I’m still full time and don’t need any equipment but they did offer me a larger screen if I need it (due to optic neuritis) and have told me they will help me in terms of providing me with adaptations as and when I need them.
The last place I worked, I’d have been fired by now or at the very least, pushed out. I find the multinationals and larger companies are more wary of lawsuits so tend to be more helpful. That might sound cynical but it’s just my own experience from working in small businesses and larger corporations.
That’s great that your boss has been so supportive. I feel really lucky that I work for a great company who have been really supportive and understanding. I work from home most of the time and they are flexible in allowing me time off for hospital appointments etc and have been good at letting me swap my days around. I work 4 days a week and normally go into the office every few weeks but as they know I’ve not been well and am just coming out of a relapse they’ve let me skip the office meeting for a while.
Well done in getting back to work - and having an understanding boss makes all the difference. If mine thinks I’m getting too stressed he will ask me how everything is going and how things can be sorted to make it better.
I agree that having some ‘normalcy’ in your life counts for a lot. This condition can take your life over and it can be so easy to just let it win. Please don’t ever let it win.
Good luck for the return to work. Keep fighting
Thanks for sharing your experiences
Good to hear. Glad there are some supportive bosses out there - have read/heard some horror stories so it’s nice to read about the positive ones!
Hi Barney,
Really pleased for your return to full time hours Well done you! I returned to work last week after relapse but I’m only part time anyway I don’t excatly love my job but the “back to normality” thing is so important to my mental health.
Keep on Keeping on
BeckyX