Feds: employee assistance program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:… and they would need to give me some other tasks… and so I would be relieved from most difficult tasks that are standard in this role.

I’m a manager but not a fed manager so my opinion is most likely irrelevant. It’s sounds like you would need a different role. If the tasks are standard to the role and the relief is from most of them, how would you be fulfilling your responsibilities?

I would be open to looking for a different role for my employee and would support that. I would fight to keep them employed. However I would not be able to keep them in their original role under those circumstances for long.

OP here. Thanks, I get it. That’s why I don’t know how to navigate us. It seems unfair to make such accommodations to one person then I’m not in the position to look for completely new role or job because I’m very very rundown. I’m looking into disability consultations with a lawyer. I got a note from the doctor to just take a week off and get better. This week is pain management, but I have other issues that are piled up on top of that, which is making it huge trouble.

Thanks for your perspective - it helps me with my thinking process to figure it out.

Non-fed manager here - I would support a month off (just for example) and then slow ramp up back to regular duties. There just needs to be a plan.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I’m not able to cure it. So one month is not a long term solution in my case unfortunately. I’ll keep brainstorming.

[Anonymous]

IIRC in your other thread you were considering quitting entirely, so I don't see the harm in going for the RA to cut certain duties. If they don't accept it you're no worse off and you can opt to leave. Hard to say without knowing what this is. If it's like, you're an admin and your jobs are typing letters, creating spreadsheets, filing, answering the phone and moving boxes, and you can no longer move the boxes, I think you'd have a reasonable chance getting it. If it's, as someone else said, a bus driver who can't drive anymore, that's different.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks, I’m thinking about. It’s going to be tricky. It’s like bus driver who can be assigned to drive any kind of bus per job description. The bus driver has no say in it. He is dreaded of oversized bus; his condition gets worse from it and it’s relatively new caused by an incident involving huge bus. On any given day, he can be driving oversized bus from 30 to 100 percent of time or so all depending on client demand… so then imagine the bus driver goes and requests reasonable accommodation that he is never ever assigned that huge bus…

My thoughts are not streamlined yet so I’m just thinking various options back and forth.

Like, I will have to continue working with the other bus drivers. And they will have the hard part of the job… the huge bus. It’s just so awkward. I don’t see myself being that person with special arrangements. I keep thinking it’s unfair to the others even though I have the condition.

[Anonymous]

That is tough, it sounds like an edge case. If you ask for RA , they have to engage in an interactive process with you, like a compromise. So if your request is to never drive oversize bus, they may come back with you will be limited to driving it once a week, or you will be last on the list, only called to do it if everyone else is out, or if you have to drive it, you're allowed to call in sick to recover.

That may or may not be OK for you, but I would encourage you to try.

You can't worry about others. My office was essential during COVID and stayed open (social services). I had RA to work from home almost two years, I made up for it by being very responsive and helpful, taking on additional work, doing more than before, and people didn't resent me. But if they did, oh well. Health is most important. Livelihood is important.

[Anonymous]

Op would it help if you had advanced notice of driving oversized bus so you're not in constant anxiety? Is there a medication or something you can do to make it more comfortable if you know it's coming?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That is tough, it sounds like an edge case. If you ask for RA , they have to engage in an interactive process with you, like a compromise. So if your request is to never drive oversize bus, they may come back with you will be limited to driving it once a week, or you will be last on the list, only called to do it if everyone else is out, or if you have to drive it, you're allowed to call in sick to recover.

That may or may not be OK for you, but I would encourage you to try.

You can't worry about others. My office was essential during COVID and stayed open (social services). I had RA to work from home almost two years, I made up for it by being very responsive and helpful, taking on additional work, doing more than before, and people didn't resent me. But if they did, oh well. Health is most important. Livelihood is important.

Thanks, I’ll think about this. I broke down in tears about my condition today at my regular doctor. He referred me to get therapy help, prescribed sleep meds, 1 week off letter as I’m beat from insomnia, and closed the case. I’ll see on Monday if I need to use the letter; will go to work if I’m able to function. He also told me this office can’t help with disability consultation. I should go to occupational doctor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op would it help if you had advanced notice of driving oversized bus so you're not in constant anxiety? Is there a medication or something you can do to make it more comfortable if you know it's coming?

Thank you for being so kind and suggesting an idea. I thought all kinds of things too but the reality is kicking me. The reality is - even with advance warning system, once I start driving the bus, I’m hit with that bad symptom. It further grinds on your health. You can drive the bus, and get best ratings, but you will be making yourself sick to the point of pretty bad damage to your health.

Sorry - please read some good stuff. This one is - like everything in life - it will be worked out. Things will fall into their places. Just turning in the news tells you my case is not the end of the world. I should be happy I have food, shelter, phone to type .

It’s ok that I’m not ok a little bit, but it’ll be okay eventually. My big family will support me. I know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:EAP is confidential. Your manager should not know you are using it and certainly wouldn’t be privy to any details.

Correct statement but I will eventually hear it.

- Office Director.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:EAP is confidential. Your manager should not know you are using it and certainly wouldn’t be privy to any details.

Correct statement but I will eventually hear it.

- Office Director.

What will you hear? Because you won’t hear anything from the EAP people themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:EAP is confidential. Your manager should not know you are using it and certainly wouldn’t be privy to any details.

Correct statement but I will eventually hear it.

- Office Director.

What will you hear? Because you won’t hear anything from the EAP people themselves.

Don't be naive. Fed system leaks more than sinking Titanic.

[Anonymous]

Op I’m not sure why you’re being vague. There are 2m feds. What is your condition?? What is your job? It’s hard to tell if you’re being reasonable or not. I had a colleague who couldn’t do complex cases because it brought on her PTSD. It’s definitely in her job description the quantity and complexity of cases she did. Maybe if she were a GS 9 if would have been different but at higher grades, more is required.

Some offices can help you move around to a new role. Others will not be able to. I’m at a large cabinet level agency and I can’t give someone a new job, they’d have to apply on USA jobs.

[Anonymous]

Like the previous poster, it's hard to help when you are being very vague, and this is the second thread about it.

I would guess you have a mental issue and certain parts of the job give you panic attacks and insomnia.

As someone with a panic disorder who crashed and burned professionally when younger, listen to your doctor. Mental disabilities are hard because they are invisible. Getting treatment and having documentation will help you advocate better for yourself during the RA process.

As for your coworkers, they would probably rather have consistency and drive the big bus than not knowing what you can or can't do on any given day and never knowing what bus they are driving that day.

EAP will help you gather your thoughts and make an initial plan, but you have to find a longer term provider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op I’m not sure why you’re being vague. There are 2m feds. What is your condition?? What is your job? It’s hard to tell if you’re being reasonable or not. I had a colleague who couldn’t do complex cases because it brought on her PTSD. It’s definitely in her job description the quantity and complexity of cases she did. Maybe if she were a GS 9 if would have been different but at higher grades, more is required.

Some offices can help you move around to a new role. Others will not be able to. I’m at a large cabinet level agency and I can’t give someone a new job, they’d have to apply on USA jobs.

Op here. I don’t know why I’m being vague. Some people I know read posts here. May be that’s why. What you described is a good example. That’s why it’s rough to come up with long term plan. I’m just mourning for a sudden deterioration caused by new injury-caused condition 2 that requires painkillers. With condition 1, life has become a misery. 1m off will not help. I don’t know if I’m better in 1y, so can’t do or may be I can fmla. But I’m coming up with a plan. I’m gonna be okay folks. All these posts reflect my sadness for myself bc this is formerly high performance staffer who earlier won full ride scholarships for college and grad school and all of it is done. Just like that.because, like, you fell down and got injured. But I’m getting myself out of this mental anguish by — need to hit the gym or something like that. Keep moving forward. DH is mad at me. Outright yelling me - bc he can’t see, he thinks I’m making it up. Brushes for what I say. Here I go again rambling.
I’m gonna go for a jog

[Anonymous]

I think it was Marie Louise Kelly who said, “ Keep moving forward… 1 foot in front of the other…” from what I recall.

Is the meaning of life in how you dodge lemons that sort of keep coming sometimes more than other times?