An employment conflict can lead to overstrain. These are the symptoms, your rights, and what you can do about it.
An employment conflict is not just a discussion or a difference of opinion, but concerns long-standing differences that make you feel frustrated, tense, or undermined as an employee. When these tensions persist, there is a real risk of developing overstrain (overspanning) - a stress-related condition recognized under Dutch employment law.
You can become overstrained due to a severe employment conflict and experience numerous complaints as a result. These include fatigue, sleep problems, concentration disorders, worrying, and more.
The stress caused by the employment conflict can make you feel like you're losing control. Recovery can take some time and varies per person.
Are you becoming overstrained due to an employment conflict? In response, you may also develop physical complaints. Common complaints include headaches, heart palpitations, dizziness, stomach problems, and abdominal pain.
Because these complaints in turn lead to extra worries and thus stress, you end up in a vicious circle. A circle you'd prefer to get out of quickly.
An employment conflict can be a standalone problem that has escalated in a short time, but more often we hear that it concerns an accumulation of small problems and irritations.
Job changes and transfers are regularly the cause, but of course something else may underlie it as well.
When communication within the company falls short and no clear conversations are held, at some point the bomb can explode.
Task conflicts: A disagreement about the work and/or its execution.
Personal conflicts: Mainly social-emotional factors are involved. This category causes more stress and thus a higher chance of overstrain.
Overstrain is often reversible when addressed in time. It indicates that stress levels have exceeded what you can reasonably cope with over an extended period.
If warning signs are ignored, overstrain can develop into burnout. Burnout typically requires a longer recovery period and a different approach to treatment.
Addressing an employment conflict early can prevent escalation to overstrain or burnout. The sooner you seek help, the better the outcome tends to be.
In the past, tension and psychological complaints were more often dismissed than not. By employers, but also by direct colleagues of the person concerned. A trivializing attitude does not benefit the problem.
Not only does this make you feel dismissed as an employee, it also creates concerns about your wages. Under Dutch law, when an occupational physician (bedrijfsarts) determines that you have overstrain and are temporarily unable to work, this is generally recognized as illness. In that case, you are typically entitled to continued wage payment. If no illness is established, there may be disagreement about whether your wages should continue.
That's why having your condition properly assessed is important for your legal position.
When an employment conflict results in an overstrained employee, it's important to address the underlying issues. In such cases, an occupational physician often recommends a period of recovery combined with efforts to resolve the conflict - sometimes called an intervention period or cooling-off period.
Many employees are hesitant when they hear the word 'workplace mediation'. You might worry that a mediator will side with your employer. In reality, a mediator is required to remain neutral.
A workplace mediator is a professional in psychological and/or legal matters who takes a neutral position within the employment conflict.
The mediator's task is to stimulate the conversation between you and your employer and ensure that you search together for solutions that both parties can agree to.
At LegalBacking, we guide you through the mediation process via video call, so your interests don't get overlooked and you're not alone.
Contact usAt LegalBacking, we stand 100% on the side of the employee. We guide you when you've become overstrained due to an employment conflict.
Get in touch