Better Days

When I woke up this morning I just knew I should have stayed in bed. I woke up at 6:45...an hour too late to make it on time for work. Compound that with snowy roads and an hour+ drive to work - I should have just turned around and went back to bed.

I work in the Health Services department of a large financial organization. That being said, I come into contact with alot of people with health needs and know when something arises with an employee.

Today the bad news came around noon when the Health Clinic learned that a company employee took his own life this morning at his home. Sad sad news...its the second time in 3 weeks that an employee has died.

The day didn't get any better when another employee came into the clinic to see one of the nurses. After stepping into one of the exam rooms, the employee broke down - he yelled and slammed his fist on a counter and threw some papers onto the floor. This out of friction he has encountered with his manager - a problem that apparently has been ongoing for over a year. Being the only male in the health clinic (I'm not a nurse...I just help out with corporate health events and FMLA and DI cases), I was left to guard the door and make sure that nothing happened.

It was sad to see this man so frustrated that he broke down and even cried, but it became very tense after he claimed he should shoot his manager. Things eventually settled down and he was allowed to go home. Employee relations contacted him at home and held a conference call with him to make sure that everything was alright. Sometimes we act irrationally and say things we don't mean, yet people still are responsible for their actions.

After these incidents, the day carried on in a somber manner. Having even one of these events take place is bad enough, two is extreme. Hopefully the day will get better...after all it's the beginning of a New Year, not to mention it's always easy to laugh looking at how some people would like to claim "disability" just to get out of work!!

Happy New Year everybody....