Has anyone gone through the process of taking an extended amount of time off from work (FMLA) due to extreme burnout? Can you describe the process to me?

like
Posting as :
works at
You are currently posting as works at

I did and the process at my holding co was as follows:

See your doctor or therapist first. Do not tell HR the leave request is for mental health. That's between you and your doctor. If you don’t have a therapist, a general practitioner can diagnose you but odds are a therapist will be part of your treatment plan. I'll get to that shortly. But first, you'll need to tell your doctor you need an LOA.

When requesting leave from HR, you tell them you will need to take medical leave and specify a duration. Again, do not tell them the reason why, just that you need medical leave. They will give you the correct forms and get the process rolling: for both FMLA and short-term disability insurance if offered.

FMLA protects your job while you're out. You may be eligible for short-term disability coverage, which can cover a portion or all of your salary. For short-term disability coverage, you will communicate directly with the third-party insurance company and they will request a diagnosis and treatment plan from your doctor, as well as once you're on leave, status reports from your doctor/therapist. For mental health, insurance might ask for your therapy notes. You do NOT have to share these. For the love of god, don't. Also, once FMLA is up, your job is no longer protected.

Do not share the reason for your leave with HR, your boss, your colleagues. “Medical leave” is sufficient enough. Good for you for taking the steps to take care of yourself. It's better on the other side

like

Depends on your agency and their process. But typically, if a form requires a specific medical diagnosis, that’s for insurance. And if it’s for insurance it goes to insurance, not direct to HR. And that’s how it worked in my particular situation. For FMLA, you don’t need a doctor to fill out a form.

I did this a few years ago. I'm a bit foggy on the details now, so it's best to check with your doctor/therapist and research the process. You don't need to disclose the nature of the condition to your company. When I let my boss know I was going on leave, I just told her that I needed to address a condition that was making it difficult to work.

That said, you shouldn't feel any guilt in doing this. Your health and your sanity are essential. I wish you well.

like

TBH I’m not sure you can use FMLA for “burnout.” It’s reserved for parental leave or if you’re a caretaker for a family member. I used it when my kid was born. The application was mainly handled through my HR dept.

like

Yes, it counts under FMLA. See details in my other comment.

like

You should speak to your therapist or psychiatrist and get a diagnosis.

like

As others have commented, I believe short-term disability is typically the route for something like burnout, but it usually needs to be documented as a medical issue (e.g., anxiety, stress, etc.).

In my case (back in 2020), I spoke with my doctor and was open about what I was experiencing. We documented the anxiety and stress related to work, and I was prescribed medication and given supporting documentation. From there, I worked with my company’s HR team, and they connected me with a third-party provider who handled the short-term disability claim.

Overall, the process was pretty straightforward once I had the medical documentation in place. I’d recommend starting with your doctor or therapist so you can both document what’s going on and outline a treatment plan.

like

Just went through this successfully and used the time to land a FAR better opportunity. Note that burnout isnt a clinical diagnosis so you would likely need it tied to depression, anxiety, OCD, ADHD, or something else.

In my experience, getting FMLA leave approved was fast and simple. Getting short term disability has not been as easy. They need a lot of info from your doctor(s). I had both my therapist and my psychiatrist submit info—they both told me that std claims around mental health are taken more seriously when there’s a psychiatrist in the mix (though the therapist is who I talk to every week). in addition to the basic for, they asked for medical records and visit notes. Then kept going back to both providers for more info.

At this point since I‘m starting another job, I don’t care as much about getting the pay continuation that std provides, so I might just give that up. Wherher you use FMLA or STD or both depends on how interested you are in getting paid for the time off I guess.

like

What if someone doesn’t work for a company and is freelance? Any suggestions of online therapy outlets that someone can utilize to get this documentation?

like

Look into short term disability and FMLA with a mental health diagnosis from a therapist.

Wait, you can do that?

Related Posts

like

Hello. Does anyone know what is the pay for a junior and senior Data Engineer - Web Scraper in @Certik ?

like

Anyone has done state OCS, which is 18 months long and has any insights to share?

like

SO said he couldn’t receive letters during Ranger School, but finding info online that I can send. Any insight? Maybe he doesn’t want the distraction?

like

Anyone gone through Amazon AWS’ military apprenticeship?

like

Hello Tigers
Just joined Tiger Analytics.. had few questions in my mind.
1) How's the quality of work and Do we get to learn latest skills.
2) If you have done 1-2 projects in and now want to change your technology track, is it possible?
3) How soon can I expect to get promoted to Senior Analyst and what is the % hike that they usually offer.

Thanks and Wishing you a great career ahead ☺️

like

Looking for the right kind of corporate affairs/PA position in Edinburgh. Any referrals out there? My background is mostly global work with experience in leadership and management. I’m open to consultancy/agency and in-house equally. Thank you for sending any leads my way!!!!

'An Empirical Analysis of Racial Differences in Use of Police Force' by Roland Fryer

Link to study:

https://scholar.harvard.edu/fryer/publications/empirical-analysis-racial-differences-police-use-force

Some bullets:

- Blacks 53% more likely to experience any use of force relative to 15% for whites
- All controls available, officers 46.6% less likely to discharge firearms before being attacked if suspect is black.
- Black officers are more likely to shoot unarmed whites, relative to white officers.
- Blacks are 21% less likely to report voluntary interaction with police than whites.

like

Hi all I am looking to move to europe any opportunity

like

What's your favorite restaurant in Houston, hands down? I'm trying to test out all of the best spots before I move! Please drop your favorite

like

Im working in AUM reporting side and looking to automate some daily and monthly processes that are done in excel. I know it is possible with python but I know little to no python any suggestions? Or any other software that may be able to help!

like

I am currently working in CitiCorp as Java Spring Boot Developer

YOE - 6 Years 10 Months
CTC - 12.6 LPA
I am looking for a permanent wfh as its boon for women employees, i felt this will help to manage both family and work,pregnancy times, post maternity i feel WFH will give lot of support. I need all ur helping hands to guide me with good companies. i am scared about "Job Security" for wfh employees though i am very workaholic and work for almost more than 15hrs per day

like

Does anyone need a hr coordinator, or entry level talent acquisitions coordinator that is 100 remote? Remote jobs are extremely competitive and when I find job posts on LinkedIn there are already over 100 applicants. Very competitive!I am open minded about salary,I have so much interest in expanding my skills. I have about a year of recruiting in the staffing industry and 6 months as an hr assistant for a corporate/manufacturing company. MA in Hr and will be testing for phr in July. Thank you

like

Hello,
I have a friend of mine looking to get into customer success or related role! Are there remote entry level positions (that don’t need a degree) that are available?

She has experience in the following roles:
- Logistics Account Executive
- Customer Service Representative
- Customer Service Sales Representative
- Concierge

She really smart and hardworking, I would love to help her find a career - not just a job - that she enjoys. Thanks I’m advance!

like

I have an offer with Capita plc for 22 LPA for 5 yoe.
It's complete WFH.
Tech stack is spring boot and microservices.

Is it a product based company or a service based company?
How wlb will be in Capita plc?
I have been offered 6A band as senior software engineer, so is 22LPA fair compensation?

Thanks in advance.

like

Hi All, I have received LOI from Wipro 8 days ago.I’m waiting for offer letter.Any one received LOI in March and also offer letter.May I know how much time Wipro takes to release offer letter? I’m not an immediate joiner. Thanks in advance.

like

I got referred in optum nearly one month back. Still haven't received the link. Any suggestions on next steps ?

like

Hi All

I'm preparing for GCP Cloud Engineer
What are the best sources for materials and exam practice pls help 🙌

like

Hi Team..

I am looking for a job opportunity in Hyderabad in PM/ PMO domain.
I have 5.5 years of experience in Core Engineering consulting services in PMO & Portfolio Management.
I recently joined ZS as a Sr. PMO Associate.
I have appeared for Deloitte and KPMG but they are on hold. I have applied for Program Manager position in Amazon and Project Manager position in Microsoft but didn't get any response.
Please advise as I like Hyderabad very much and don't want to shift to Gurgaon.

like

Hi everyone,
I have a fully furnished room in an already set and functional flat to sublet. It is located in sector 38 gurgaon, near Medanta.
PS: it’s a girls flat

Additional Posts in Advertising

How to layoffs (in the creative dept.) work?

like

Well, we were the only team on a pitch. We won and still have to hear my boss complaining about me.

like

A few years in and I’m finding that the people who have made their entire persona “advertising creative” are secretly the most miserable. I’m taking it as a lesson to treat this as a job and not a calling because it’s ultimately pretty empty.

likesmart

Laid off, 10 years exp, tired of acct management. Feel so lost. Don't want to go back to agency side. What should I do? I feel like 💩

like

Didn’t know who the CCO is when I was asked about it in an interview... is there anything I can do to redeem myself? I feel like I really dropped the ball on this lol

likefunny

As a creative, when do you quit without another job lined up? What's the line you draw?

like

Calling all managers with junior, intern and mid teams: Who is taking (or is being given) the time to train their juniors on the necessary hard and soft skills? If not, what’s stopping you from providing that support?

like

Anyone else feel like your junior creatives don't want to be creative?? Ex: "I'd love to see some new options. Anything you'd like, no restrictions" response "Do we have to? They'll never buy it"😳

like

If you got fired tomorrow, how long can you go without a paycheck? Assume you get 1 week of pay for every 6 months worked, and then can do unemployment after that ($425 a week)

like

a friend just let it slip that it's generally known that I'm an asshole. feeling hurt and not sure how to proceed from here.

like

I know, I know I shouldn’t complain but it HATE my job. My mental health has never been worse. And I’m so so beyond unhappy. Any advice to get through this seeing as the job market might be difficult to navigate at this time?

like

When my boss asks me to send him a recap of what I’ll be working on next week but things are slow because all my campaigns are paused due to the upcoming Civil War.

Post Photo
likefunny

What should you do if they don’t put your name on the credits of work that is yours? Anybody’s had this experience?

like

Mccann creatives - what are the good groups?

like

Your agency's favorite film director? Who are the guys that get used for everything?

like

Having a low day and wondering if any 🐠 would like to share any happy or funny stories from work? Or the reason why they enjoy where they work?

like

Which agencies in NY do great strategy work and are actually valued? It feels like strategy is lacking at most agencies...

like

How much does it cost the agency for a cannes entry?

like

What does your (romantic) partner do? Is there a big income disparity between the two of you?

like

Future 'Havas Health & You'ers (yes I know terrible name)... what's the verdict. Are they moving the 200 Hudson folks to 200 Madison?

like

New to Fishbowl?

Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
That was just a preview…
Sign Up to see all discussions
  • Discover what it’s like to work at companies from real professionals
  • Get candid advice from people in your field in a safe space
  • Chat and network with other professionals in your field
Sign up in seconds to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.

Already a user?
Login here

Share

Embed this post

Copy and paste embed code on your site

Preview

Download the
Fishbowl app

See what’s happening in your industry
from the palm of your hand.

A phone with Fishbowl app

Scan your QR code to download
Fishbowl app on your mobile

Download app

Sign up for free to view this conversation on Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Already have an account? Log in

Sign up for free to continue using Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use(New) and Privacy Policy(New)
Messaging rates may apply

Already have an account? Log in

For account settings, visit Fishbowl on Desktop Browser or

General

Legal