I’m acting as a team leader at the moment. A person told me before I was in the role that they need major surgery and not to talk to anyone about it.
Now I’m in the role and they are in my team. I was wondering what leave they could take to cover a long period of time. I wasn’t sure so I asked my boss. They told me some bits about the leave policy I didn’t know.
I wrote to the original person advising the leave they could take as I spoke to my boss.
Today the person who is sick emailed me saying I broke her request not to talk about her situation. That I didn’t have her consent to do so. It was a strongly worded email.
I replied apologising and said I wouldn’t do so again.
The bit I’m struggling with is that it is my job to ensure people are okay for these times. Turns out it was already sorted and my boss (who is also acting in her position) knew about it.
Now I’m doubting myself about being in this role. Not as bad as needing major surgery though.
TL:DR broke someone’s consent at work about a personal situation.
Comments
I don’t know. Did you ask your boss ‘hey, what kind of leave would someone need if they would require a long sick leave?’ or ‘hey, X said she needs surgery, what kind of leave covers that?’ That’s a big difference.
Telling your coworker you will need major surgery is not telling your lawyer about crimes you have committed in the past. It’s not privileged information.
You don’t have to give your consent for them to relay that information further, and it’s dumb to expect that standard.
Protip if someone tells you sensitive information in the future. Ask them who else knows about this.
Then ask if you can discuss the situation with other people if necessary. Otherwise keep the info in your head
Hey making mistakes is the way we learn things. It sucks this happened and maybe this person won’t trust you anymore which is a fair consequence to your mistake, but it sounds like you’re new to this so don’t be too harsh on yourself ❤️