Recently, I lost someone very dear to me. I had to travel abroad to say goodbye and attend the funeral.
This meant two things:
a) I missed one day of work.
b) I missed an IT tool course scheduled for Monday morning.
Once I returned, an automated message was waiting:
“You’ve been blocked from future courses due to a no-show. As per our fair play rules, a fee applies.”
I sent a short message: “Due to a family bereavement, I was unable to deregister in time.”
At the same time, I asked HR: “Does this count as paid leave?”
Two days later, the responses came in:
IT: “Our heartfelt condolences. Of course, we’ll cancel the fee and you’re welcome to join the next course.”
HR: “Good morning. As per Article XYZ, this is classified as PTO.” No condolences, zero emotion.
A little thought experiment:
If I had asked you which department is more likely to respond with empathy, many would probably have said HR.
And yet – this (unfortunately true) story tells a different tale.
So what now?
Can you even influence anything when you’re “just a simple employee”?
Yes – by speaking up.
– By sharing stories.
– By reflecting out loud.
– By reminding systems that they serve people – not the other way around.
#EmpathyAtWork #OrganisationalCulture #EmployeeVoice #HRProcesses #Leadership #HumanTouch #CorporateSystems
