I’ll preface this by stating I work for a company who has US offices, but is based over the pond. Our mentality is not that of a pure US company you are used to.
I have been diagnosed with ALS. Odds say I have 2-5 years left on this earth. Here’s the bittersweet pill, obviously I’d love to just quit work and travel while I can. That’s not a total reality, but I do have some good options. I work remote so I can technically travel and keep working which is nice. I need my work right now to keep my mind sharp and help with stress (who ever thought I’d say that…. Work to HELP with stress).
My work provides relatively inexpensive healthcare that’s REALLY good. We get unlimited time off. Work remote. Fully covered life insurance, short term disability, and long term disability. My plan is to work as long as I can to help with my mental. I plan on using an eye gaze machine on my PC to work. I’ll eventually lose the ability to move my limbs, speak, swallow, etc. but my eyes will likely remain good.
I had the talk and broke the news to my boss last week. I was insanely nervous. The response was incredible. Before he even got into any work stuff he went into the personal. Asking and offering to come help make my house more accessible. We then talked work. I’ve been given basically any time I need for anything. His one request was if I promise to hit a deadline I either hit it or give it off to another employee if I’ll be out. Otherwise if I need a month here or there take it, fully paid.
He also wants to bring me another employee to shadow me. We’ll work together every day so they can of course learn from me, but also help when communication becomes an issue. I get to hand pick anyone I like, even a friend I know from outside the industry if they want to take the job. Likely they will as they only make $50k right now.
Sorry just a bit of a rant to help process and I just wanted to share that not all companies are horrible and some may surprise you. Keep fighting the good fight!
On the flip side, it’s fair to mention it does suck I can’t just quit work (I mean I could I guess, but that unknown is nerve wracking). Luckily ALS isn’t a very expensive disease. There’s nothing they can do.
There is not a doubt in my mind that my previous two or three companies who are purely American would have essentially fired me upon learning the news or made life miserable to where I would’ve had to quit. It’s nice knowing not everybody is looking to screw you over.