WBC stress story, Genuine concern or taking the mick? Options

[Strafin]

http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/2012/rise-in...rkshire-council

I have just read this story and a couple of things sprung to my mind. If you're stressed out about losing your job, is it wise to be taking time off? I accept stress can be difficult and cause genuine problems but we all suffer and some need a day off sometimes but that's what holiday time is for.

Do these employees get sick pay? It strikes me that it is one of those things that is difficult to disprove so if you get paid no matter what, an easy way to get some free time off. Does this set of figures only refer to the council itself or it's services as well, schools for example? Only we are all under pressure and it would be interesting to know if the stress was reflected across other council workers. If it is there may be something in this, but I wonder if it could also be a culture that has manifested through more people seeing easy time off as acceptable. And finally how are these absences covered and what is the cost?

[NWNREADER]

One constant stressor for those working in public service is knowing what is 'right', what is a priority, what the community needs, but being required to do other things because of political pressures, Stress is not so much caused by having lots to do; much more likely the inability to do the real job because of irrelevant impositions from central Govt/local point scoring....

IMHO, of course....

[Exhausted]

One constant stressor for those working in public service is knowing what is 'right', what is a priority, what the community needs, but being required to do other things because of political pressures, Stress is not so much caused by having lots to do; much more likely the inability to do the real job because of irrelevant impositions from central Govt/local point scoring....

IMHO, of course....

I have to agree with that statement but working in industry that stressor was known as the left hand not knowing what the right was doing but because, in my experience, the path to profit was much more clearly defined, then employees knew where they were going (usually).

I believe the health industry has cases of post traumatic stress caused by beligerent patients, usually alchohol fuelled. This gets bundled into the general area of stress and may distort health service figures. I guess there is the odd stroppy customer that the local government officers have to deal with but very unlikely to fall into the PTS field and my dealings with council tend to make me believe that there are so many rules made by council jobsworths that the workers are always having to look over their shoulder to make sure that they have all the facts both before making even a minor decision or falling foul of the political correctness department. Industry tends to approve and encourage decision makers, sometimes called entrepreneurs, and work around the screw ups later.
As far as education goes, I would have thought that they get enough holidays per annum to get over any stress caused by the job but once again, there is the political correctness department and the alice in wonderland gurus who are ready to jump on and publicise every error of judgement, not helped by parents who have joined the "what can I sue them for" culture.
Until the workforce toughens up a bit and we get rid of the political correctness jobsworths, it will remain a problem.