A few years ago I was working a small corporate job, maybe like 60-ish employees total. Did simple logistical work. I had a major depressive episode occur after three years and got a note from my psych advising a three-week break from work and I hesitated to take it.
When I went to see the HR employee and told her about it, her initial reaction was shock that I was actually hesitating to take it. She said if I have a medical note and my doctor advised me to take it then it shouldn't even be a question and that the company will survive if I took a break and my job would be secure. I took the break and went back and there were never any issues afterwards. I thought that they might let me go due to my depression being perceived as a liability but that never ended up happening. I actually ended up getting a lot of support from the staff.
I always appreciated that response and chalked it up to the fact that it was a smaller company and was thus more “personal”. I know a big talking point here is that HR is always looking out for the interest of the company and not the employee and while that was still most likely true I still thought it was nice that they acted that way. Maybe it was still in the interest of the company because they figured if they didn't give me the break it would affect my performance.
What do you all think? Did I just luck out?