We’ve all been warned by career advisers about how we use Facebook. They give you advice on who to friend, what to say, and what pictures to post. We’ve also heard of people being let-go because of things they said of the popular social networking site, so this story should come as no surprise.
Nathalie Blanchard enjoying the sun while on Sick Leave
Insurance companies are notorious for hiring Private Investigators to snap shots to help them build a case when fraud is suspected, so why not do a quick search of Facebook/ Flicker and cut out the middle-man?
A year and a half ago, Nathalie Blanchard, of Quebec, Canada was diagnosed with severe depression. She has been on long-term leave from her employer, IBM, and has been receiving monthly payments from her insurer, Manulife.
This all came to an abrupt end when Manulife checked out some pictures on her Facebook profile which show her at a bar,having fun on her birthday party, and soaking up some sun on Vacation.
I guess Nathalie is not in the habit of posting pictures of her in a dark-room with a shot-gun pointed at her head!
So, basically the insurance company has not disputed her illness but rather they don’t want her having some fun while recovering from depression.
A quote from her lawyer, Tom Lavin: ”I don’t think for judging a mental state that Facebook is a very good tool,” he said.
Who needs psychiatrists when you’ve got Facebook?
This is – sorry to say – lame. It’s perfectly possible to be too depressed to go to work and still be able to go outside and have fun with friends. It may sound difficult to understand but it’s a question of choice and and personal control. I guess she could have tried what we have here in Norway called “partly sick”, where you work as much as you feel you can – like 20% or something. This is to keep in touch with your work, to not lose it completely. Maybe that’s not an option in Canada?
Wake up people…..there are people out there who attempt to bilk the system. Take a look at the photos. Great body, sexy pose, posting photos on Facebook….STUPID. And now she’s whinning because her “benefits” have been cut. I suppose a year and a half of laying low was too much. TOO BAD….NO SYMPATHY HERE!
Yeah, people milk the system, that’s nothing new at all. This is a bit of a stretch though. Depressions doesn’t mean you can’t go out, and it certainly doesn’t keep you from having fun at a bar when you’re drunk. There’s a reason depression drives people to drink. Sitting at home is about the worst thing a depressed person can do.
What did they expect her to do? Post pictures on Facebook of her sitting in a corner crying or cutting her arms or something. No one is going to post pictures of them being depressed on Facebook. That’s like saying the airbrushed photos of models in heavy makeup in a magazine is what those models look like all the time, even when getting right out of bed. It’s the same deal, they’re not going to post ugly pictures of models in magazines anymore than your average Facebook user is going to post pictures of them moping and crying on Facebook.
Maybe she is milking the system, but I think they’re going to need to do a bit more than use a few Facebook pics as proof. Just because she wasn’t depressed in these instances is not proof that she does not face depression. In fact, people with depression actively seek out situations and atmospheres where they can bury it for as long as they can. A trip to the beach could actually be quite therapeutic. It’s a mental condition, you can’t treat it by sitting at home and dwelling on it.