Activity 5 Consider the following scenario: artha is the executive assistant of John, the CEO of NeverSleep Ltd. John used to call Martha his 'right arm lady' and relied heavily on her for the proper fullment of his responsibilities Martha is entled to four weeks' annual leave in erms of her employment contrac . artha had been working for John for four years. Every time that she wanted to take leave, John told her that he had an urgent matter coming up and t at he could not afford being without her. When John took his annual leave, he told artha that she needed to be around to ensure continuity at the office and so tha he could pick up again when he returned, As a result, Martha had not accessed her annual leave since she'd startec working for John. artha has been feeling unwell la ely. Her doctor has advised that she is at risk of a physical and mental breakdown and that she urgently needs to take time off work to focus on her wellbeing. Martha asks John whether she may access personal leave for this purpose. He tells her that mental illness is not a real reason for sick leave and that he cannot afford to be without her. When Martha at'empts to access annual leave, John rejects the electronic request, .ohn has now started referring to artha as 'moaning Martha' when mentioning her to colleagues, Martha overhears him saying 'just schedule a meeting with moaning Martha for next week,' She feels deeply hurt by this, as she has been nothing but loyal to John all these years. The quality of Martha's work has been deteriorating, because she struggles to concentrate and she feels overwhelmed. Jo n calls out her mistakes in front of colleagues and acts demeaning towards Martha. Martha never complains aaout John's conduct. She feels embarrassed about her health and also about the quality of her work, which she has always prided herself on. She also cares deeply about John and his reputation, despite his actions towards her, You are Martha's HR liaison. The executive assistant of the chief financial ofcer of everSleep Ltd, who shares an ofce with Martha and has personally witnessed much of John's behaviour, paid you a visit earlier today. She briey explained what she has observed and tells you that she is worried about Martha. Later today, you received an email from John, telling you that he is not satisfied witi Martha's work anymore and that he wants to advertise for a new executive assistant. Go to the next page to take part in a discussion forum on this scenario. Image from Unsplash 4 Previous Next >