Nobody Sent a Card: Jennifer Merrell and Addison’s Disease
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Jennifer Merrell
We want people to get better soon, to quickly bounce back from a setback or sickness. But what if they don’t? What if the path to recovery is a long one?
Jennifer Merrell had a mysterious illness. She grew sicker and sicker, missing work, functioning in a fog of pain and confusion. In today’s episode, we explore the limitations of FMLA, the challenge to employers, and the painful cost to workplace relationships and ask the question: what should (and should not!) be done in the case of complicated, lingering disruption?
You can find the Handle with Care Podcast on Google Play, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. You can also listen here:
Here are three takeaways that emerge from Jennifer’s story.
Is the right answer, in Jennifer’s words, “to cover your ass” as an employee? I hope not. Yet, her response makes sense, based on her experiences within a company culture. Which comes to my first take-away. Your culture matters! What kind of a culture have you created? Culture has to be purposefully shaped during times of stability so you have something to offer in times of disruption. If not, your employees will be exist in a sort defensive crouch, perpetually covering their collective asses because they don’t believe you have their back. And your business will never ultimately thrive when your employees don’t believe you have their best interests in mind.
FMLA can be hard. It is difficult for an employee to have the resources to take six months off of work while still paying expenses. Some companies have a philanthropic outreach that exists for these situations. What sort of resources, if any, do you have in place to help employees as they face the prospect of being off of work for an extended amount of time?
Disruptive life events are messy. As Jennifer acknowledged, there were mistakes the company made, there were mistakes that she made. Both the company and Jennifer were facing tremendous uncertainty as a result of her illness. But, the company exists as the more powerful partner. And this means that they way the choose to treat someone, regardless of outcome, has an outsized influence. Whether you decide to keep someone or let them go, do you make sure that they are being treated with respect and care?