Melina Vasques: A Case Study

It is my concern that one of our valued employees, Melina Vasques, has been going through personal issues. Her performance has always been excellent, and recently her performance has declined. It has come to my attention that she has lost her spouse last week in a sudden car crash, which has resulted in her lack of motivation. Although her performance has declined, she has been a valued employee for our company for 5 years. She has denied time off to grieve, but it is important for her and our company to seek help for Melina. Melina should take time off of work to recover. When I discussed this problem with Melina she understood her motivation was declining and was uncertain how to get herself back on track. She has been a loyal employee, and we should allow for a paid …show more content…
The article states, “Bereavement leave is paid leave that allows an employee time off to deal with their personal distress and related practical arrangements, primarily, but not limited to, when a member of their family dies” (acas.org, 2014). This article supports paid leave for bereavement, which supports my decision to allow paid leave for Melina. The authors believe that a person needs time to mourn after a sudden death, similar to Melina. Another website provided information about grief counseling, and how it is beneficial. The authors discussed many different practices the counselor uses to benefit the individual. One benefit in grief counseling they stated was, “focus on grief, rather than broad psychiatric symptoms”(Altmaler, 2011). This is important because grief is a specific issue, and grief counselors only focus on grief. Melina should seek counseling, and more specifically grief counseling. Allowing paid leave for Melina, will most likely motivate her into seeking counseling. Each article believes that it is important for an individual to take time off from work to grieve, and also it is beneficial to seek