A Story That Shaped Our Mission
A manager at a large hotel once told me about an employee who was living with multiple sclerosis.
As her condition progressed, her movements became slower and increasingly difficult to control. Her coworkers began to struggle with the practical demands of working alongside her. During a visit, the company's CEO noticed her and asked the manager:
“Who is that employee? Why are you still keeping her?”
The manager had considered encouraging her to leave, but he knew about her difficult personal circumstances. He felt compassion for her and decided that he would continue supporting her.
Over time, however, other employees began sending him messages saying that working with her had become increasingly difficult and that the situation was affecting the entire team.
Then the company's restructuring season approached. The manager was told that the employee could potentially be dismissed by using another seemingly legitimate reason, possibly allowing the company to avoid legal responsibility.
He was left with a painful conflict: compassion for one vulnerable employee, responsibility for the rest of the team, and pressure from senior leadership.
There was no easy answer. It was not simply a management problem. It was a conflict between compassion, fairness, workplace safety, dignity, and responsibility.