ON Labour Day recently, Dr Ahmad Samhan shared on his Facebook page a heartbreaking encounter with a patient. She had walked into his clinic and stunned him when she immediately requested two days of medical leave (MC).
In his post, he described her as a woman in her 30s who had a weak body posture, her shoulders slumped and there were very dark circles under her eyes.
The moment Ahmad inquired what was wrong, tears immediately welled up in her eyes.
“I’m tired doctor. I have been working in my company for five years and I am the only employee there,” said the woman before adding that she had to be responsible for multiple tasks such as administrative duties, accounting, and personal assistant tasks.
She then shared how she was forced to work to the point she would have vomiting episodes each morning and began losing her appetite to eat.
“I’ve previously fainted at work but no one realised it happened. Once I regained consciousness, I tried to ask to get a half-day leave, but unfortunately, no one paid attention to my request. I had no choice but to return to work,” the woman shared as tears streamed down her face.
READ MORE: M’sian stunned after being sacked for working part-time on her annual leave
She then informs the doctor that while she no longer vomits as much, the woman added that she still finds it hard to sleep at night and feels weak.
“Actually, what you need is sufficient rest because this is not just a matter of physical exhaustion, but mental exhaustion as well,” said Ahmad, clearly worried about the patient.
“Ask yourself, do you want to be in the same place five to ten years from now? Please consider changing your workplace for your own well-being.”
He then shares to his readers that this wasn’t the first or second encounter he had with an overworked patient before urging employers to be more mindful of their workers’ wellbeing.
“Every employer needs to be sensitive to the mental health needs of their workers and give them time to rest. As for the employees, please don’t feel shy from being open and communicating your struggles to your bosses,” he wrote.
ALSO READ: ‘Public university academics overworked, underpaid’
