Hello!
I'm not sure how to handle this situation. Any advice?
Last Wednesday I requested time off since my depression has been worsening.
I had previously brought the request up to my boss before he went on a 2 week vacation. After he left someone had quit and I was stuck with half of their workload while everyone in the company is already overworked and under paid.With the stressors piling up, my symptoms have worsened. I finally cracked and needed to ask for time off.
In my conversation with HR I requested a modified schedule for the remainder of the week so I can plan my absence. (I am the head of two departments and have 5 soon to be 7 direct reports.)
HR asked my permission to inform the CEO of my request which I agreed to. She explicitly asked to tell the CEO only, no one else.
About an hour later I get a message suggesting that I take the remainder of the week off and come in on Monday to evaluate what I need. I declined this and said I would prefer to work the remainder of the day and half days Thurs and Friday to develop plans for my teams. HR didn't reply. So I assumed I was okay to move forward with my request.
Around 4:50pm, my team starts messaging me stating that the CEO has been pulling them in random meetings due to my absence. At 5pm one of my work friends called concerned, asking if I quit. I laughed it off but then I realized that they assumed their suggestion was the final plan despite a complete lack of communication.
Additionally, I found out today from a few other coworkers that HR disclosed to the entire management team that I suffer from depression.
Is there anything I can do at this point? While I am not ashamed of my condition, I am not okay with I being spread around the company as gossip.
TLDR: asked for time off due to depression. HR took it upon themselves to inform the entire management team of my diagnosis after completely ignoring my actual request.