Negative thinking in new job when faced with new challenges

I feel depressed. Each day I have to go to this job I am challenged in ways I don't want to be challenged. And now this audit? Whereby I have no idea what I am doing???? I don't need this challenge right now. I don't want to be challenged. I want to quit this awful job, and I can't.

The only way I could quit and get unemployment is if my mental health condition worsens due to work stress. I would have to tell my doctor that I am getting worse and that it's due to the stress at work. And the reality is, I have to take anti-anxiety medication nearly every day in order to deal with the stress. I shouldn't have to do that and this particular medication is addictive. You're not really supposed to take it every day. I may ask my doctor to increase my anti-depressant medication - I don't know... but I feel myself slipping into a greater depression, and I need help.

I just wrote a note to my treating psychiatrist. I told him my mental health is worsening due to the stress and anxiety that work is causing me. I told him I am having to take my anti-anxiety medication every day to deal with the anxiety work is causing me, can he prescribe something different, can he increase my anti-depressant and what do I do about work?

IF my doctor can in fact provide a note for me, I wonder if I can actually quit my job and get unemployment?

In my state, it says:

"If you quit due to “medically documented” reasons, you may be eligible for unemployment. This may include suffering a condition that is trigger by stress. A medically documented reason refers to visiting your doctor during your time of employment. You may be eligible if your doctor recommended you change your job."

The words "may be eligible" would stop me cold. That is not something I'd bank on in this case, because there is already the review they can whip out if they challenge the unemployment reason, and that shows that prior to you being treated at this time, you were not doing the job as required.

Be very careful with this. At the very least they will challenge the claim and they are probably going to win due to the documentation they already have (review). Then you'll be out of a job and no unemployment.

It says “may”. Typically it means it “will not”.

You won’t qualify for unemployment because it is impossible to prove that the job is causing you to be sick. Honestly if I couldn’t do my job because it’s too hard or stressful, I’d quit and take any job. There are no shortage of jobs. Of course it doesn’t mean you’d have a good job. It would mean it would be whatever job. Then I would look for a job of my choice. I had to do it several times in my life.

Now I think it depends what the doc writes in the documentation. My husband actually had to leave his job due to medically documented reasons (nor mental, but physical issue after surgery). His doctor actually suggested lighter duties. Those weren’t available. Doctor gave him a note that stated that doctor cannot provide authorization for returning to his previous position due to potential danger of reinhury, so he had to leave his job. He didn’t want to but doctor wouldn’t put his signature down saying he could do the job.

But we never thought he’d qualify for unemployment, he found a new job before his medical leave was over. But now I think maybe he’d qualify. The note verbatim stated that he cannot return to his current job position due to danger to his health.

So I wonder if a doctor can write that this job really causes you issues. But he might need specific examples of what it’s in a job duties that causes you issues. Not sure what would he say? He can’t say doing audit. Maybe like speaking in front of people causes you distress?

Thanks, though I don’t think my employer would challenge the unemployment claim. When I brought up a voluntary separation previously, they said they wouldn’t. And the CEO is not an a-hole.

I think I could qualify. I’ve taken the required steps to try to make it work, ie, a leave of absence and reduced responsibilities. Now that they’re giving me more, my mental health has worsened. All I need is a doctors note saying it’s the stress at work that has exacerbated my symptoms.

Good luck. I hope it works out.

Well, I’m not quitting now. I’m just considering my options.

The thing is, I cannot just quit and hope that I could take another job quickly. I want to switch fields, and finding the right job at a salary I can afford will take time. I've seen what is available.

I would have to be more reassured that I can receive unemployment benefits if I do quit. I could call the unemployment office and ask them questions about what is required of me to qualify.

AND, I am making mistakes at work... or, I continue to make stupid mistakes. My head is not in the game because of my father's death and because of my own mental health decline. I am taking anti-anxiety medication every day, that is supposed to be "as needed". My doctor increased my anti-depressant dosage by half and gave me a new anti-anxiety medication as well.

I am not well. I should be on disability, and I can't be.

My doctor said I should let my supervisor know that the added responsibility is causing more stress and exacerbation of my symptoms. I don't know what to do. They're not going to like that, since I asked for more for weeks before my father died.

Okay, stick with me here. Going out on a stress-type reason voluntarily is a maybe for unemployment. Being terminated due to an inability to carry out your tasks to the level of the company's needs WILL be a valid reason for approving an unemployment claim. The downside is the termination process is a blow to your pride. But frankly, you haven't even worked there long enough to put this place on your resume. You will continue to earn your salary during the remaining time (however long that is) at this company.

Don't talk about unemployment or being "unable" to perform your job to anyone else in the company from now on and let the chips fall where they may. Starting today, you do need to apply to multiple places so you can also have the option to exit with a normal notice in case you are hired for a new position.

Above all, do NOT agree to go through 3 and 4 rounds of interviews with presentations and teams of people involved in the interview process. You will no longer be interviewing for that type of high level job. If the process does not involve more than 2 interviews, go for it. More than that, refuse. And try to apply in larger companies this time.

Thanks @Molinit. I greatly appreciate your support and advice.

So, right now, I don't care if they fire me, and would actually welcome it. If I cannot meet their expectations, then I will qualify for unemployment. Sure, I may feel a bit of a negative twinge about being fired, but I want to leave so badly, that it doesn't matter to me how it happens.

Today I thought about contacting my doctor about taking a second, but shorter leave of absence from work. It would be unpaid, but I am paid well enough to cover the difference. I just don't know. I feel a bit tied at the hands; unable to make a decision or move in any direction.

I will continue to apply for other jobs, though I am not quite ready to put on a big smiling face during interviews. If there is a presentation or test involved, forget it. If there's more than a few interviews, that's OK with me as long as I don't have to do work for the company before being hired.

Yesterday was the absolute worst. I am at my wits end at work, with the type of work I am doing. It's monotonous and tedious and pretty much crazy making. Maybe they're trying to get me to quit instead of actually firing me.

A more senior colleague is supposed to be helping me with my audit of this website. She keeps telling me, "we have two more weeks before the deadline - we have time", yet she hasn't lifted a finger to truly help me with the audit and the presentation I have to pull together. She is a procrastinator, and I am not. I want to get it done and on time, and there's a lot more to do. She said she would work on it yesterday, and she didn't. Then she told me yesterday that she would work on it today. This is making me even more stressed out - her dragging her heels on helping me with this project.

If anything is going to get me fired, it will be this - this darned audit. I know I cannot do it by myself, and I fear that she will leave me to do it by myself. I am getting more and more anxious about it, with each day that passes ,and she isn't helping me.

Ugh this is going to be the hard part for you. Knowing a failure is coming and just waiting for the fallout. I've been fired for not meeting requirements before (and gotten unemployment because I honestly was trying to meet requirements and simply could not) and the time where you are just knowing what's going to happen, it's a pride-buster, but VERY uncomfortable - it's hard to live through but do your best and if you get no help guess what? They get an undone project. DON'T QUIT. You can get through this - it's just going to be hard.

Don't even put this place on your resume - just say you were taking care of your dad or something to explain the gap.

I know, and you're 100% right.

I finally DID approach my boss about this project this morning. I told him I am in over my head, that I need more help than what I am getting, and that I would love it if I could be the main support person and have my colleague lead the project instead of me. That way, I can LEARN how to do it.

He said sure, for this one. So, hopefully, I am off the hook on this one.

Now I just need to be sure he communicates this to my colleague and that she heads it up instead of myself.

So, my more senior colleague practically finished the entirety of the presentation for this audit today. I did about 10-11 slides myself and she did more, maybe 14-15. I am SO happy I asked for more help!!! It paid off to speak up and to admit I needed more help and that I was in over my head. Who cares what my boss thinks of that. My father just died, and a ton of additional work stress is the LAST thing I need right now.

Now I just need to get on my job search!!!!

Good job speaking up!!

Thank you @Bill3!

OH MY GOODNESS.

Yesterday I nearly had a heart attack at work. Not literally, but figuratively.

In a nutshell, I was told I have to devise 12-month content calendars for every single client. This means I have to devise blog article topics and titles for every client, 12 months out.

For one client, this translates to 30 articles per month, or a total of 360 articles for 12 months. WTF?!?!?! Are you kidding me????????????

I was/am FLOORED. They wanted me to come up with 360 different article topics and titles for this one client?!?! I nearly flipped out. I told the Director above me who had told me this that 360 articles is a bit daunting. Then I mentioned my concern regarding repetition. I mean, I have to come up with 360 UNIQUE article titles, and I cannot repeat one single one!

This is/was insane to me. And talk about pushing me over the edge into the land of insanity. So, I pushed back a little bit and said that 360 articles is a LOT. He then backed off and said, OK, let's do this on a quarterly basis. So come up with 90 titles for the quarter.

STILL, I am beside myself yet again at work with the work I am being asked to do. So, this is my focus right now. Come up with article titles for every single client for the quarter. For some clients, this amounts to only 30 articles or so. Others, it's more.

I think they want to push me out the door and make me quit. Or make me want to quit, because I DO.

Do other staff members do similar amount of tasks or just you? If they are in general assigning a lot then it’s just a reality. But if it’s just you have to do all this then it’s a different story

I don't ask my co-workers what their workload is like, but knowing how this company operates at high volume, they likely have similar high-volume tasks.