Most Egregious of 2022: Employer Edition
It’s the end of the year and time for me to do my annual retrospectives. This one is dedicated to the most awful things I’ve heard about employers during this year. Remember, I talk to a LOT of people, so these are from a variety of industries and fields. It would be impossible for me to make this up. I’m just not that creative. Read on:
We had a colleague who suffered a massive heart attack and died on a business trip. When his family came to our office to collect his belongings, HR and building management would not allow them into the office. Instead, they gave them a box with his stuff and sent them on their way. They weren’t interested in stealing any proprietary secrets. They just wanted to see where their loved one spent his day-to-day life.
A colleague had twins who were born prematurely. One of the twins spent months in the NICU and then died. The company did nothing for him. No representative of the company even extended condolences. The rest of the office staff did so on our own, but there was no “official” anything.
A co-worker’s 10-year-old family member went missing. He called out of his shift because he was volunteering with the search effort. Management docked his pay and wrote him up for an unapproved absence.
My aunt died in May. She and I were very close, and her death devastated me. My bereavement leave request was rejected by my manager because “your aunt isn’t immediate family.” I went to HR to complain, and they said it was at the discretion of my manager. It’s not like she paid me out of her own pocket. Why did she care?
My co-worker suffered a massive stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed on his left side. His manager required him to come into the office every day, even though his job could be done remotely. She eventually put him on a PIP and terminated him for poor performance. It was so obvious and disgusting to all of us who witnessed it.
Not this year, but in 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, a manager at my company was complaining about one of his employees who was not performing at her previous level. I pointed out that she had a 3-year-old and that all daycares were closed. He said she should have a contingency plan. For a global pandemic? Our government didn’t have a contingency plan!
I was asked if I could cover someone’s shift. I said that I could not because I had an appointment with a specialist that day, and I had been waiting three months for this appointment. “Do you think you could change it?” No! I can’t change it!!!!
I travel extensively for my role. My company just told us that we can no longer accrue frequent flier miles in our own accounts and that we must turn them over to the company. What? That is one of the few benefits of all this travel!
I contracted COVID on a business trip. HR contacted me and asked if I could send proof of a positive test. This is weird enough, but it gets worse. Two days later, my boss texted me and asked if my computer was broken. I was surprised and said, no, there was nothing wrong with my computer. Then she dug into me and wanted to know why I wasn’t working because when she had COVID, it wasn’t that bad. Not that it matters, but I had a 4-day fever and no voice for a week. I’m now looking for a new job.
I was recently laid off from my role at a tech company. I purchased a non-refundable airline ticket for a business trip that was to take place the following week. I reached out to HR about getting reimbursed. Their first response was to see if the airline could give me a credit. Why would that matter? I purchased it to do YOUR business. Then they asked if I could get a refund. No, it’s a non-refundable ticket. After three weeks and an email to the CEO and CFO, they finally reimbursed me my $600. Meanwhile, the company experienced a 33% increase in revenue this year.
These examples are pretty disgusting. I realize it’s a strong word. Did you read the examples? Where is your humanity? Your empathy? Sometimes your sympathy??
My goodness! How on earth is this behavior acceptable? Employers and managers need to do better. And it wouldn’t even take too much to get there. Approach your employees with empathy and understanding. Don’t nickel and dime them. Your brand is on the line.