[shepherdteeth]

Hi everyone, as you may have seen from my working thread "how to convince your employer", convincing my employer to give me a schedule that meets both the company's and my needs took a long time - however I finally got afternoon starts and things are going OK. Nowadays, I generally start around 12:30-1pm. The doctor's letter attesting to the IBS-D and pain was submitted and I haven't been fired for chronic lateness yet. However, with an average of just 20 hrs/week, I started looking for something else and found an opportunity in my current company, for another department.The other department supervisor, let's call him Bob, asked the internal candidates who applied for the openings (they are relying on about 5 internal employees and hired another 10 or so external ones) for our availabilities for the upcoming training. Since I'm an internal candidate, he said my training would be shorter than external ones since I already know our software+tools. I replied indicating:I'm generally available afternoons. Either May xx or xx between 12 and 5:30pm should be okay.What does he reply back?I haven't yet planned the training, but if needed would you be available earlier then noon on May xx, say around starting at 10am instead?------Uh oh. I don't know if I should mention the IBS to him, or just tell him for medical reasons I'm unable to guarantee a morning start, which is why I prefer afternoons. I guess I could have figured this issue might come up, but I was hoping it wouldn't, which is why I suggested a noon start would be OK. What would you say at this point? The new position allows me to finally learn something new in another department and a field I enjoy. My customer service job in the my current department is getting really long in the tooth.

 

[shepherdteeth]

HeyIt is hard, because some companies want people who are flexible, but if you are reliable in the afternoon that should be enough..Do you take ne think to control your ibs? and is just a one of for the training? if it is you could always go to the docs to see if they can give you something.. It is annoying ibs.. things are easier said than done. Id say give it a go, if you are doin a job you enjoy you might find your ibs settles done a bit.. as you are occupied.Are you from the UK?CW

Thanks for your thoughts CW. To answer your question: "Do you take ne think to control your ibs? " , I suppose you meant anything to control my IBS. If so, yes, I take peppermint oil capsules, peppermint tea and acacia fiber supplement. I also try to be calm as much as I can and actually make an effort to walk at a leisurely pace, rather than anxiety ridden speedy Gonzales like I used to be. I've tried probiotics in the past but didn't feel noticeable results.About the doctor's letter, it's already submitted to my current manager and I presume it's in my employee file now which HR keeps, but I'm not sure. I might have to mention it, show it to Bob, my potential new supervisor. Frankly, I was hoping they could accommodate me in the afternoons, since the training is supposed to be "just a few hours" according to them. The work schedule of the actual job, following the training, is unknown. Strangely, the supervisor referred me to HR for that.I guess it wouldn't hurt to mention the medical condition to the new supervisor, no use hiding it - but I don't want to cast doubt in my ability to the job, nor blow this chance. It's a fine line between disclosure and keeping mum. And nope, I'm not from the UK, are you?

 

[Cathy in CA]

Here's an idea you might consider...After thanking him for the afternoon job, it might be best to then tell him why it is so important. It's possible that he cannot control the trainer's hours, but you can ask if it can be rearranged. If not, offer this one-time-only effort that might work so you can be there by 10. Tell him how it will be hard on you since the only way to make it more possible will be for you to get up and start your day hours earlier, although that disturbed sleep may well backfire on you medically... but you'd be willing to do it this one time, but never again (ie for future projects).It's probably best to tell him about your needs, with the dr's letter, right away, upfront, especially since another supervisor already knows about it.And, by showing your difficult compromise for this one time, it will reflect good on you, that you're trying to help him, so he won't view you as a difficult, demanding employee.I've had to do that starting my morning hours earlier thing, when it wasn't possible to arrange something just for me. It's risky, but it can work. My personal problem is that I also have systemic rheumatoid arthritis with severe daily early-afternoon fatigue, so I actually have only a short reasonably safe window of time inbetween each condition's worst time periods. Life is very tricky. But, I have done that getting up early idea when absolutely necessary... ie in November when I was a morning witness in a criminal trial -yikes, I was so scared and loaded up on imodium! It's just a thought.... Good luck,Cathy