Return-to-Work Following Occupational Rehabilitation for Long COVID: A Cohort Study, 2022, Brehon et al

[NelliePledge]

After I finally got diagnosed I tried for 2 years to try to get back to reasonable/consistent level of functioning in my job. A lot of adjustments were made. Nothing of value other than ticking a box came from the CFS clinic PACE light course during that time. People will persist in trying for as long as they are allowed by employer. Eventually if you can’t meet the standard needed or are too exhausted to be in work you will end up leaving
Just because you’re still being employed after a year doesn’t mean you are recovered

 

[BrightCandle]

I have a friend who is a union rep, they are seeing a lot of people struggling at the moment with brain fog. Last year one person uttered the words Long Covid and was looking for accomodations on targets and got fired pretty quickly. So everyone since then has refused to say the words and are busy just falling behind and refusing to come into the office because they just aren't able to make the trip. The organisation is willing to make no concessions at all and if it finds you are ill and unable to hit target then you are out. The law is not going to make it possible for people with this level of disability to maintain working, their best bet remains to hide from medicine and from their employers as long as they can. They will eventually get forced into doing too much and then be even worse off. Businesses are just not a reasonable place to be when pacing has to come first.

 

[rvallee]

After I finally got diagnosed I tried for 2 years to try to get back to reasonable/consistent level of functioning in my job. A lot of adjustments were made. Nothing of value other than ticking a box came from the CFS clinic PACE light course during that time. People will persist in trying for as long as they are allowed by employer. Eventually if you can’t meet the standard needed or are too exhausted to be in work you will end up leaving
Just because you’re still being employed after a year doesn’t mean you are recovered

Yup. For several years I must have averaged 10-15 hours per week, with periods of months not working at all. I was self-employed, so no work = no income. That's almost never taken into account. In fact it's often pointed out as evidence that we're all good, I remember something similar written in a Chalder paper not too long ago.

 

[NelliePledge]

Interesting @rvallee I had to go down to 15 hours paid a week but often couldn’t reliably manage that so yeah 10-15 hours a week. Which is unviable financially and in quite a lot jobs/roles you’re not making a viable contribution to the employer/clients due to deadlines.