When should i tell work?

[chattychar1990]

Hello ladies,
Just need a bit of advice, so basically i work in construction. I do the paper work, admin side of things so i am not hammering down bricks or anything lol but my office has just been located to a building floor where workers are basically working around us. There can be an awful lot of dust. Very noisy etc.
Should i be telling HR or my boss ASAP so i can maybe be moved to a safer environment. Or i should i wait it out until the 12 weeks and then share the news.
I am a paranoid mess and i dont want to effect my little seed in any way by breathing in anything.
I know this probably sounds like such a stupid question but i am working myself up.

Thank you xx

 

[WinterWolf]

Congrats again I told work after we saw a heartbeat, so at 7 weeks, only because I was basically dying with morning sickness lol, couldn't cope at all. Personally I wouldn't be worried about dust unless it's full of chemicals. Sawdust etc probably isn't going to do much more than give you a cough. Paint/glue chemicals etc. are something you should be wary of though so if they're planning on anything like that I'd be saying something. It can't hurt to tell them but I don't think they'd do anything unless you really kicked up a stink, which might come back to bite you when you need time off later on. You're also so early. I'd wait until you've at least seen a heartbeat.

 

[night owl]

I had a similar issue, I work in heavy industry, visiting sites frequency such as construction sites, factories using many industrial chemicals, some of them really nasty, places where they hot work on lead, which is highly toxic to a fetus, I also have to work at height sometimes lol, I just didn’t wanna have to tell anyone after my previous miscarriages, I was going out to these sites and sitting in their offices thinking of how I was gonna get out of going up a ladder or going into the dusty areas lol but I started getting horrendously sick at 7 weeks and also had a bit of a scare and had to take a day off to go to epu so I bit the bullet and told my manager at 6.5 weeks, got taken off a lot of my duties, personally I think it’s best you tell your manager, ask them to keep it completely confidential and do a risk assessment for you, also if you do end up with bad sickness you may need to be off a little bit so would have to explain at that point anyway, and you’ll need time for your midwife appointment and 12 week scan, up to you though x

 

[SugaryIris]

I told hr almost immediately, I had to because I needed to get out of work to drive an hour to the fertility clinic to pick up the progesterone they prescribed. But she knew about the fertility treatments we had been having anyway so I always figured she would know early. She didn’t tell any of the directors or managers until I gave her permission to do so at 12 weeks.

is there someone you could tell in confidence who could sort out the situation that you would trust not to spread the news?

personally, I don’t get the whole keeping a secret thing all my family and friends knew by 8 weeks as I figured if something did go wrong, I would need them to support me rather than do it on my own. Everyone is different though.

 

[night owl]

Oh and as winterwolf says you are most likely not really at risk unless you are going and working directly with chemicals, the dust can get into your lungs but that’s it, shouldn’t harm the baby but ask for a risk assessment anyway x

 

[chattychar1990]

I took the plunge and i emailed my boss to ask if i can meet with him in the head office at some point today.
If i don't tell him i will just stress myself out and worry. Its not a nice environment to work in and after looking on google i literally cannot wait to leave work for the day. The thought of having to come back here every day is really making me panic so i am going to ask if i can work from the head office for a while until i get to the 'safe zone' of 12 weeks. xx

 

[WinterWolf]

You do whatever you need to in order to be happy. I know you feel like you and your baby are both made of glass in tri 1, but you're really not. I had a pretty unsupportive work environment and I had no idea they would be that way until I told them, which is why I'm erring on the side of quiet. x

 

[Rainbow1234]

I took the plunge and i emailed my boss to ask if i can meet with him in the head office at some point today.
If i don't tell him i will just stress myself out and worry. Its not a nice environment to work in and after looking on google i literally cannot wait to leave work for the day. The thought of having to come back here every day is really making me panic so i am going to ask if i can work from the head office for a while until i get to the 'safe zone' of 12 weeks. xx

I think you’ve done the right thing. I told my boss right away and she’s been really supportive. Obviously she didn’t tell anyone but it meant she was able to adjust my duties and understand if I was having an ‘off day’ with anxiety or whatever.

I totally understand why you don’t want to be around the dust etc, I’d be the same. 2 people in my small office vape at their desks and it’s driving me up the wall. I don’t want to sit and smell that for 8 hours a day when I’m pregnant x

 

[chattychar1990]

I think you’ve done the right thing. I told my boss right away and she’s been really supportive. Obviously she didn’t tell anyone but it meant she was able to adjust my duties and understand if I was having an ‘off day’ with anxiety or whatever.

I totally understand why you don’t want to be around the dust etc, I’d be the same. 2 people in my small office vape at their desks and it’s driving me up the wall. I don’t want to sit and smell that for 8 hours a day when I’m pregnant x

He was really good. He has took me off of site and is moving me to the head office until I feel okay to go back to working on site. I can also work from home if need be too so I am glad I took the plunge and told him.
God I am shocked your work is allowing your colleagues to vape in your office. That is really bad. Vaping isn’t any better than smoking. Can you not complain? Xx

 

[Rainbow1234]

He was really good. He has took me off of site and is moving me to the head office until I feel okay to go back to working on site. I can also work from home if need be too so I am glad I took the plunge and told him.
God I am shocked your work is allowing your colleagues to vape in your office. That is really bad. Vaping isn’t any better than smoking. Can you not complain? Xx

That’s great that he’s being so good!

I have twice and they’ve been told to stop twice but are still doing it so it’s been escalated. It’s so inconsiderate. Not to mention against the law x

 

[MoominGirl]

I'm glad your work have been supportive. I had to tell work early as I needed adjustments to my duties. I hated the thought of it at the time even though I expected to be supported which I was.

The big plus is that they can support you if needed whether that's appointments or if you're not feeling well etc and actually I felt a whole lot better about it even though I was extremely well and had no sickness etc. Also if things had gone wrong, they would have found out anyway. I also found that people were really respectful of keeping it quiet until I was ready to announce properly. Due to the adjustments, a few of my colleagues had guessed but most didn't suspect a thing due to how well I was.

 

[SugaryIris]

Glad your work is being so supportive. Tri 1 is filled with enough worries so anything you can do to ease your mind and keep you and your bubba safe is great.

 

[chattychar1990]

Thanks as always ladies xxxx

 

[Abi88]

Oh Char I am so happy for you! I pop back on every now and then hoping that you will have had some good news. This has really made me smile!

 

[Wilson14]

That’s great that he’s being so good!

I have twice and they’ve been told to stop twice but are still doing it so it’s been escalated. It’s so inconsiderate. Not to mention against the law x

Your employer has a legal duty to protect both you and your unborn child under the management regs. If they cannot adapt your work or your environment to make it safe for you then you are legally entitled to be sent home with full pay - look up Regulation 16 of the Management of Health & Safety at Work regulations, stick it under their nose then they might enforce it correctly. There's so little known about the risks of Vaping that you should not be exposed to that! Sorry I know I sound like a sad-o quoting regulations but it's the law that's there to protect you and your baby and shouldn't be flouted.xx

 

[Wilson14]

So I've just told work myself, I've not had a scan yet so don't know about heartbeat, but I have warehouse duties and I want to pass them over to someone else so the time seems fitting x