Update time and oh boy it's a roller coaster.
I returned to work recently on phased return. The two managers above me are now different people, with the problem manager having walked off the job while I was on the sick. I also decided that to avoid issues by basically asking and asking again if not sure of something if only to cover my arse. That I am doing for sure.
So it was hugs all around from the people I was closest to once I walked through the door. And boy things had changed.
The number of people in my department is about two thirds what it was. One person has left with depression and might have been moved on. Two people have left for other jobs, with one going before potential dismissal. Two people have been sacked. Two are on final warnings and others have also had varying sick leave. These are people that were okay prior to last August.
So it appears since my problems started with problem manager last August, others have had similar. It's only because people have started talking to each other that people have realised the scale of the problem. It turns out it wasn't just me dealing with a problem manager, more a case of a more general management problem. There seems to have been a concerted effort to get the head count down without having to pay people off and there's some very unhappy people.
Only a few weeks back and I got told bluntly not to help two colleagues, with a minor concern over a minor typo in a document dismissed out of hand. So it's a toxic atmosphere.
I and two work buddies all applied for a job in another area and all of us have been made offers (by coincidence two of the prettier ladies in the department - no!!!). So we're coordinating and seeing if we can all stay together. I've accepted the offer and I've background checks in progress.
It really is time to go.
My mild AD-HD and mild ASD diagnoses will go through, with my mental health appointment in the not too distant future for initial assessment. These are admittedly three months late, apparently due to an outbreak of flu in the mental health department. Occupational Health and phone chats with NHS mental health nurses concur that there will be diagnoses.
.
At the rate people are leaving, the department will not be able to function properly before long unless they recruit and recruitment just isn't happening.
I've seen this before with a previous employer, there were mass redundancies and the plant (a manufacturer) is now closed.