Millennial Boss Shares ‘The Right Way’ To Prioritize An Employee’s Sick Time
"It doesn't have to be complicated or stressful to take care of people."
Jacob Lund / Shutterstock.com In the workplace, employees tend to put up with a lot — from overwhelming workloads to suffering through under-compensation despite being massively overworked.
One of the leading causes of job dissatisfaction is actually the root cause of this toxic epidemic: bad leadership. When you have a bad boss, it completely changes the work culture.
That’s exactly why Hannah Juhl, a Michigan-based pastry chef and owner of Stella's Coffee House is changing the game, prioritizing her employees and being a great boss.
The millennial boss criticized bosses who shame their employees for using sick time.
In a recent TikTok, Juhl shared the text she received from one of her employees who was calling in sick on “short notice” to the coffee shop. After reading the text, she quickly reminded her viewers that “of course,” she didn’t want anyone sick working.
Regardless of whether or not she was actually sick, Juhl took her employee’s request at face value. Clearly, she needed time off.
Arguing, invalidating, or making her employee “prove” her sickness wouldn’t improve their relationship or work culture and surely wouldn’t change the fact that this employee wasn’t coming in.
“Oh no! Don’t worry, we’ve got it covered,” Juhl responded over text. “Just rest and feel better soon. Text me if you think you might need tomorrow, as well.”
In addition to being supportive of her sick time request, Juhl also took the extra steps to make her life easier for the next day.
In another text to her sick employee, she offered to “give them tomorrow” to rest, as well. Not only did she take it upon herself to find coverage for the next day, ensuring this employee didn’t feel guilty or stressed about their situation, she also offered her support in returning to work.
“If you’re feeling better already then I’ll still plan on you for the morning,” she added, “but I’ve already got a backup plan to have you covered if you need more time.”
People Images Yuri A / Shutterstock.com
Taking away the stress many employees feel even requesting their entitled time, she’s actively cultivating a supportive environment with a healthy leadership relationship that not only boosts productivity, but helps support trust and compassion.
“It literally is that easy most of the time,” she adds. “I think this is how it should pretty much always be handled. It’s not an employee's job to work around their boss — the boss signed up for it, so they should handle it.”
Great bosses prioritize their employees’ wellbeing and personal time by encouraging, rather than shaming, them for using time away.
“I didn’t want anyone else to have to go through what I went through,” Juhl explained in a follow-up post. “It breaks my heart that some of you don’t have the same support system that you should have at your jobs … I wish I could hire all of you.”
Juhl isn't wrong. Simply having respect for employees and showing them trust is paramount to building job satisfaction.
Sandra Sucher, a Harvard Business School professor, told CNBC, “We’re in a crisis of trust in leadership. Leaders of all kinds ... are failing some of the basic expectations that people have for how they should be treated.”
Good bosses give out sick time, but great bosses encourage their employees to use it, knowing that their personal time, identity outside of work, and relaxation are fundamental to crafting a healthy work-life balance.
They prioritize breaks, not for the sake of “recharging” for work, but for them to enjoy their personal lives and support their well-being.
You deserve to be treated with respect and humanity at your job — no matter how high the stakes are, how overwhelming your workload is, or how much sick time you have to use.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories.