More Than a Heartbeat – Compassion and Empathy

By Kymberly Clay, CLMS, CPDM

Leave Management Administrator
Port of Long Beach

As the Zoom meeting began, I could see that Bob’s eyes were starting to water. Immediately, my heart sank. I told myself that what Bob needed right now was someone to actively listen to him. He needed to see that I really cared about his challenges and emotions. As Bob started to sob, I told him “I am here. I am listening because I want to understand how I can best support you.” For about two minutes, he cried, and then he said, “I don’t want to die. I have a lot to do in my life. I have my children, and they need their father. I am all they have. I love my job, and I want to come back to work. I don’t know if I am going to survive.

Each of us has likely interacted with individuals like Bob in the course of our work. As absence and disability management professionals, we must be skillful at what we do. We must present ourselves as knowledgeable professionals who provide information, guidance, and support at challenging points in our employees’ lives. We must be patient when an employee is confused, scared, or needs help navigating disability laws, regulations, and company policies and programs. And through all of this, we must remember to communicate with compassion.

Our guidance is critical as an employee works toward a successful medical resolution. We must be mindful that we are at the heart of critical moments in the lives of many employees, and they need us. What we provide to those feeling downtrodden or discouraged by their circumstances, is the knowledge, support, and confidence needed to help them successfully stay at work, return to work, or medically separate with dignity and hope.

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