I am employed at a popular fast food chain and my night shift manager came in for her shift. I could immediately tell something was off about her because she had that thousand yard stare. I had asked her what was going on and she had told me her boyfriend had just shot himself in the head.
She said her boyfriend had schizophrenia and he went crazy tonight. He had called her through video chat during one of his episodes and he believed someone was chasing him. After a 15 min video chat conversation of trying to calm her boyfriend down, he had ultimately committed suicide. She witnessed the entire event unfold through video chat including his untimely death. She had no idea where he was at the time, so she called the police to report the incident.
Shortly after she came into work, police arrived to speak with her about what she had witnessed. They explained that she would probably have to go down to the station to speak with detectives. She told them she was the night shift manager and she would have to call the GM because she would have close the store. She calls the GM, and they tell her she needed to find someone to cover for her because they can’t close the store. It’s 3 A.M at this point, nobody is going to pick up the phone, much less come in for the remainder of her shift. It is also one of the least busiest times in our shift. She calls the GM back and was told that she couldn’t close the store and that she would have to reschedule an interview with detectives.
I explained to her that she witnessed one of the most traumatic events in her life. Detective interview or not, she needed to take some time off for herself. She said that if she called out today she could potentially get fired and she needed the job. Needless to say, she stayed for the remainder of the shift.