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Leave with a Side of Guac
Honestly,
Have you ever thought about what employee leave and guacamole have in common?
Apparently, they can both end up in an HR complaint.
An employee goes on medical leave. A coworker sees a photo of them at dinner, sitting in front of a bowl of chips and guacamole. Suddenly, someone in the office has promoted themselves to Nancy Drew.
“I thought they were supposed to be sick.”
They may be. They’re also allowed to eat guacamole.
I’ve had to coach managers through this more times than you might think. Being unable to work does not automatically mean being unable to leave your house. Not every reason for leave is physical. And even when it is, being able to sit in a restaurant tells you very little about whether someone can perform their job.
If an employee says they’re in a full body cast and then posts a video of themselves skiing, I might have some questions. But dinner is not a medical assessment.
Neither is a Facebook photo. Neither is a coworker’s theory. And no, the fact that your cousin’s sister’s friend twice removed had “the exact same condition” does not make you an expert. Neither does twelve seasons of Grey’s Anatomy.
You don’t know this employee’s condition, limitations, or treatment plan.
And you’re probably not supposed to.
That’s what gets lost when coworkers turn someone’s leave into a group investigation. An employee should not have to stay inside—or look sufficiently miserable when they go out—to convince other people that their leave is legitimate.
Managers, you don’t have to solve this mystery over lunch. If someone brings you a specific, credible concern, send the facts through the proper leave process. Don’t ask coworkers to monitor an employee’s social media. Don’t speculate about a diagnosis. And please don’t turn chips and guacamole into Exhibit A.
A photo can show you where someone was for a moment.
It cannot tell you what they are medically able to do, why they’re on leave, or whether that dinner was the first time they felt well enough to get out of the house all week.
Reflection
If you saw a coworker on leave enjoying dinner, would your first thought be “I’m glad they got out”—or “I should report this”? What information would you actually have?
Toolbox
When a leave concern lands on a manager’s desk:
- Separate the observation from the conclusion. “I saw a dinner photo” does not mean “the leave is fraudulent.”
- Remember that work and dinner require different things. A person’s ability to do one tells you little about their ability to do the other.
- Protect privacy. Don’t invite coworkers to speculate about someone’s health or limitations.
- Use the established leave process. If there is a concrete concern, pass along the facts to the people authorized to review them.
And coworkers? Let the person have the guacamole.
If they want to be a little extra, let them. The guac is extra.
