Anxious/ pressure to find work

[sketchyboots]

I've been having a really anxious two days. On tuesday I went to see a company that specialises in getting the long term sick back into work. I have been doing a bit of part-time cleaning but that has come to an end now as my back was playing up and it was 5am starts which was hard when I got sleepless nights. Anyway, my advisor was really pushing me to apply for jobs that I know I won't be able to do - like working in an old people's home and pressurising customer service work. I don't think she understands my anxiety problems at all. She gets paid a bonus if she gets me into work of course!! The pressure of it all is making me feel ill and when I read about the government plans to get everyone off benefits it makes me feel like I am one of those "lazy" layabouts that refuse to work. I don't refuse to work, I just suffer greatly with depression and anxiety and am on a shedload of medication that I am trying to come off slowly. Jobs are really thin on the ground in the area where I live and this makes things even worse. Anyone else been getting this sort of pressure from these type of back-to-work companies?? I agree that work is good for you, but it should be the right sort of work and at the right time.

[YvonneBelle]

Hi there sketcysam,

Yes, a few years ago (nearly 4) I went through similar to what I'm going through now except I wasn't taking any meds for it. I was referred to a place like you mention and yes, I did feel under pressure to apply for jobs that I knew wouldn't suit me or that I wouldn't like.

The thing to do is let them do their job (or feel like they are) but push back gently but firmly if you really don't want to apply for something. Employers can see straight through a half-hearted application and it wastes their time and yours.

These back-to-work schemes encourage you to apply for loads of things but sometimes less is more. I'd rather spend a couple of hours applying for one job that I really want than wasting my time firing off too many applications in order to show willing.

In my case, I found my own job (one that I wanted) and they supported me with interview clothing and a travel pass (if I remember correctly). That was the best part - the extra financial help and use of their computers. The rest of it I did myself and I got quite annoyed when I felt I was being pushed into things.

When this happened, I explained that I wanted to get work but the more they pushed me the less I felt like dancing to their tune (but not in those exact words but you know what I mean). It was counter-productive.

My advisor backed off considerably (probably didn't want me to complain) but was then more than helpful when I needed financial support and it was a tick in their box so everyone was happy.

You just have to try and make sure they don't take over and let them know you are there because you want to be and not to be pushed into work.

Hope it works out for you - they can be helpful.

Just take what you can from it. :)

[sketchyboots]

Yyvone Belle, thank you very much for your advice - greatly appreciated! I'm feeling a bit more positive about things now :)

[molkogirl]

I signed off benefits and got a cleaning job nearly 2 years ago. I liked the job and everything was fine for a while, then things turned sour and it was making me ill. I went back on sick but was under constant pressure from the benefits and my gp to go back. I was only on sick for 6 weeks and I had to take another cleaning job due to this, which i hate. I have been there just over 2 weeks and its awful.
Please dont take a job unless you are sure because once you sign off its much much harder and they will pressure you even more.
Hope everything works out for you, you will find the ideal work given time.

[Typer]

When I read posts like these I feel so angry that people who are already struggling are having extra worry piled on their shoulders. Why is the GP's word not good enough any more?

The fact that these people are getting a bonus is all wrong in my opinion. They should be paid a decent wage but to offer a bonus is bound to turn help into pressure. It's becoming like those telephone sales people who keep on and on until you are forced to put the phone down or be rude to them.

trouble is, things always have to get worse and figures have to mount before they change things once again. The amount of appeals has gone up so much, its costing so much more than the benefit would for years in funded legal advice and the appeal itself

[simona57]

Hi sketcysam,



hm , sounds like you are in the same situation as I was few weeks back. Me too feel like I am one of those "lazy" layabouts that refuse to work.Your symptoms describes that you are suffering from anxiety and needs to be taken care. I followed advise of a Anxiety expert who pulled me out of this hell. I advise you to consult a good one at the earliest and live the better way!


:lac:

[sketchyboots]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I think everyone is finding the job market tough at the moment - Molkogirl - I too had been doing cleaning - it was Ok at first but was really hard physically on me and after 6 months i was knackered!! There seem to be loads of cleaning jobs though - probably cos no - one sticks at them for long. I just want a simple desk job but they are really low on the ground where I live so I have no choice but to apply for menial work. It annoys me sometimes because I have been educated up to my eyeballs and feel like I'm wasting my skills just mopping floors. Oh well, hopefully things will pick up - if not I guess I'll have to get my apron on and start scrubbing again!! Good luck to any other job-hunters out there x

[doodah]

Hello sketcysam,

Some years back I voluntarily asked for help from a government agency (I think) called Routes to Work - they were supposed to help give me the confidence to find a job that I could do. I have had agoraphobia and panic attacks for more years than I care to remember - but I bit the bullet and asked for help. Trouble was, the two people who were supposedly going to help me, didn't have a clue about agoraphobia or, it seems, any anxiety condition. They kept pressurising me to go for this job or that job, and I repeatedly said that I would, if I could, but that I couldn't get there under my own steam. It was making me feel like a failure all the time.

It was when they phoned me saying there was a job going in a supermarket, 15 miles away, telling me that I should apply for it, that I very politely told them where to go! I don't know how many times I'd told them that I hadn't been able to get to the end of my road on my own for a few years, that I couldn't drive and can't cope with buses. And what a great place for an agoraphobic to be gently eased back into work, than a supermarket!!:scared15:

I think you have to take what you can from these people but don't let yourself be pressurised or made to feel a failure.:winks:

Wendy xx