Bulimic employee
Lindsay1
9 Posts
I have a pretty gruesome scenario that I’d like to see how other HR managers would handle. I have an employee, a young woman, who is very thin, actually emaciated looking. Her manager and I have both on separate occasions walked in on her vomiting in the bathroom. I’ve witnessed this twice, and her manager has seen it once. She is a terrible employee, mostly due (I think) to a lack of energy; she's very slow to do anything. Her manager has actually asked her to sit up at her desk, rather than flop down and write at eye level with her paperwork. I believe it’s due to hunger- she simply cannot concentrate. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
She’s receiving a terrible 90 day evaluation with a 30 day extention this week, so I don’t think she’ll be an employee much longer. I guess it’s more of a moral issue. My first instinct is to do nothing, but what would you suggest?
Comments
I am really sorry you have that situation. It is incredibly hard watching someone self-destruct in front of your eyes no matter wht type of employee they may be.
Since you witnessed the purging first-hand, perhaps I would place an EAP pamphlet on her desk, though it seems she may be beyond that. Are you sure she is bulemic and doesn't have something else that could cause her to vomit and lose weight rapidly, like cancer/chemotherapy?
If she is truly bulemic, as with anyone with an addiction/disorder, you cannot force the person with it to do anything about it if they are not ready to do so. We can only hope that she has friends or family that will stage some sort of intervention. Short of her collapsing on the floor of your office and you calling her emergency contact in reponse, I don't think there's a whole lot you can do.
I, too, am sorry that you are dealing with this difficult situation. However, from your standpoint, you need to make sure that the ADA is not implicated here before you terminate--especially since you are not sure if this employee has bulemia or if she has another medical problem. Of course, even if the ADA is a factor, you do not need to keep her on if she cannot perform the essential functions of the job, and it seems as though she is not at this point. But, remember to make sure that all of your evaluations/comments focus on performance and not possible medical issues.