HE "LOOKS" LIKE HE WILL DIE
Dasher
463 Posts
An employee has a severely distended stomach and gaunt looking neck/face, which occurred over the last month or so. Employees are coming to HR requesting that he be approached about his "illness" and if necessary taken to the hospital. I advise them that all employees have privacy rights and the company will not interfere. (His supervisor is concerned, but has told me that his performance is not an issue yet).
How would you handle?
How would you handle?
Comments
>have privacy rights and the company will not interfere".
Unless productivity or performance begin to wane, in my humble opinion, you have already handled this as you should have with your quote above.
Good Luck!
Remember, when an employee reports to work he is essentially saying, "I am able and ready to and alert for work." If after he starts working, if he begins to fail then the sueprvisor should ask why and if he say's I'm not feeling well, then the supervisor says, "then you need to go home and take the rest of the day off as sick time. But as long as you stay here, you are expected to work meeting the demands of the job. (The supervisor should be evaluating ongoing for alertness and ability to complete the duties)." If he can't, in essence, you have someone in the same condition as if he were thought to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. I'm not saying that is what you have, but that is the same impact on the job -- an inability to perform the duties or an unalertness, or sleepiness, or whatever that interferes with his proper functioning at work.
Then the employee is forced either to go home (someone may take him if he is not capable of driving safely) or not be considered working --- let him go sit in the cafeteria without pay, but on sick leave.
>management way to deal with this, after the humane ways have been
>tried, is to have the employee do some work. Set the expectation that
>certain work has to be done by certain time and the superivsor makes
>sure that the work is being done as usual. That may mean some
>monitoring.
"Do some work"? I think it's important to note that the original post told us that there is no performance or productivity issue here, with the caveat 'yet', which is purely speculative. So now we have a productive employee who the crack medical staff, serving there as managers, have diagnosed as ill...and he's been approached with a comment suggesting the company thinks he may have health issues. And he has told 'us' to 'Mind your own business. I am fine!' Now, I fear we will have a formerly productive employee who grows increasingly defensive and perhaps, but hopefully not, combative, and who will probably become less productive and withdrawn.
If these employees are so curious, let them do the asking.