I love to see folks' stories on here about walking away from the bullshit job that didn't value them. I've thought of myself in a different boat since my job actually feels I'm helping my community (distributing govt funding that helps lower income ppl pay their bills). But my work has gotten harder and harder as my organization loses employees and my stress levels are feeling unmanageable. I've complained to mgmt about the additional responsibilities but have also had an attitude of, I've got to keep going because if I don't do this no one will (usually an irrational thought, but in this case possibly true as they've been unsuccessful at retaining staff or finding applicants).
I've finally reached the breaking point where my stress is manifesting in physical illness, anxiety attacks, and sleepless nights. This is probably predicated on the fact that I am being forced to go back to the office next week after working from home since March 2020. Being able to work in my pajamas, with my cat, seeing my family more because of time saved from not commuting, has been the only thing that's made my job sustainable. It's a form of self care that makes it possible for me to deal with people in crisis every single day. I've made it very clear that my preference is to remain remote and have been told it's not an option (other departments do continue to work from home; my boss said no).
My options right now seem to include
1) quitting (I'd rather not!)
2) having a mental breakdown
3) requesting some kind of accommodations and changes to my workload in order to continue at my job
I'm here to ask for advice about option #3. How best to discuss physical and mental health and ask for accommodations? I've never tried demanding real change at jobs before, just suffer until it's impossible to continue and then quit. But i know that i have rights (my job is union) as far as being able to ask for change. I don't have a documented disability but I absolutely believe my health has been affected by the stress I've been under. Can anyone give some guidelines about what to say and what not to say when talking to my boss about this? He is very “by the book” as far as complying with regulations, and will absolutely not do anything to open himself up to HR complaints or being sued- that's why I think bringing it up as a health issue might actually work. I just need to know what my rights are and how best to state my requests.
Thanks for reading all this and for any suggestions you can offer. Solidarity!