In a twist of fate, a Reddit user named Pickyickyicky shared how their boss, who once lacked empathy for a coworker’s dying mother, is now grappling with the same heartbreaking reality.
Distraught by his mother’s impending death, the coworker would occasionally leave work to be with her, according to the Reddit post. Instead of compassion, the boss criticised him for not “being a man,” implying that work and family finances should always come first, even in the face of such a personal loss.
A Boss’s Transformation And The Power of Compassion
The tables turned a year later when the boss faced a personal tragedy similar to his coworker’s. His mother was in hospice care, and had been diagnosed with cancer. The once-stern leader’s emotional state began to deteriorate, leading to outbursts, misplaced blame, and a decline in his leadership skills.
While the author could have easily reminded the boss of his previous lack of empathy, they chose to rise above the situation. Recognising the pain of losing a mother, they focused on their own work and supported their colleagues, even as the boss’s behaviour became increasingly difficult to tolerate.
Reddit user Moleday1023 shared a similar experience, recounting a conversation with a coworker who had gone through a personal loss: “I understand what you are going through. Remember, I went through this a few years ago. I will do what I can to help; I just wish you wouldn’t have treated me like shit when I was going through it.”
Moleday1023 noted that they did not receive an apology, and while they and their coworker continued to work together, the experience had strained their relationship. “Why is acknowledgement of wrongdoing always the hardest for people?” one user asked. “Because they think it’s weakness,” another responded.
As demonstrated by the employee who resigned after their boss threatened termination for not working during approved PTO, working with certain bosses can be incredibly challenging.
Similarly, a company faced criticism for denying sick leave to an employee who lost their home in a fire. However, the Family and Medical Leave Act provides specific guidelines for these situations.
Family And Medical Leave Act
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) grants eligible employees of covered employers the right to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specific family and medical reasons, ensuring that their group health insurance coverage remains uninterrupted.
Eligible employees can take up to twelve weeks of leave in twelve months for the following purposes:
- The birth of a child: Employees can take FMLA leave to care for a newborn child within one year of birth.
- Adoption or foster care: Employees can take FMLA leave to care for a newly placed child within one year of adoption or foster care placement.
- Family member’s serious health condition: Employees can take FMLA leave to care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition.
- Employee’s serious health condition: Employees can take FMLA leave if their serious health condition prevents them from performing their job duties.
- Military exigency: Employees can take FMLA leave due to qualifying exigencies arising from the covered active duty of their spouse, son, daughter, or parent.
Eligible employees can take up to twenty-six weeks of leave within twelve months to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness if they are the service member’s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin.
Leave Options For Bereavement
The US Department of Commerce also said that employees can use leave for bereavement under multiple legal authorities.
“Losing a family member, close friend, or colleague can be challenging. At the Department of Commerce, we understand the importance of supporting our employees during these challenging times,” its website stated.
To help employees navigate bereavement leave, the Office of Human Resource Management outlined the various legal authorities that may apply. It is worth noting that eligibility for certain options may depend on the relationship between the employee and the deceased and other factors.
Family member” or “immediate relative” for the purposes of sick leave includes:
- Spouse and their parents
- Sons and daughters and their spouses
- Parents and their spouses
- Brothers and sisters and their spouses
- Grandparents and grandchildren and their spouses
- Domestic partners and their parents, including domestic partners of individuals listed in points 2 through 5
- Any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is equivalent to a family relationship.
“This final category is broad and may serve as the basis for using sick leave related to the passing of close friends, colleagues/coworkers, mentors, god parents, etc.. Managers should generally accept an employee’s attestation of such a relation without question or need for evidence,” the Office of Human Resource Management notes.
