The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave

188 | the essential guide to family and medical leave
Example: Luisa is a salesperson for a company that produces office supplies. She
handles some of the company’s largest accounts. Luisa is planning to take a full 12
weeks of FMLA leave when she has a baby. You meet with her to talk about handling
her workload. You start the conversation like this: “You know, Luisa, our back-toschool
business in August and September is huge, and you’re planning to be out until
September. If you could come back a few weeks early, we wouldn’t have to assign your
accounts to someone else. Of course, you can take a longer leave if you want, but I
can’t guarantee that you’ll get those accounts back if we have to move them.”
Oops! You’ve basically said that you will punish Luisa for taking the full leave to
which she’s entitled. Here’s a better way to start the discussion: “Congratulations,
Luisa! I’m so excited for you. As you know, you’ll be out during the biggest sales
period of the year, so I want to get your ideas about how we should handle your
accounts while you’re gone, especially Office Club and Binders ‘n’ More. I really want
to work with you to figure out how we can keep these customers happy—and keep
our sales high—even though you won’t be here. Do you think it makes sense to hire
a temporary replacement, or can the other salespeople pick up the slack?”
Your conversation with the employee will depend on the facts, including
what the employee does, how long the employee will be out, whether the
employee supervises others, and so on. Here are some pointers that will help
you in your conversation:
• Always start by acknowledging the employee’s situation. Congratulate or
offer sympathy to the employee as appropriate. Rushing straight into a
discussion of work details appears insensitive to the employee’s needs,
and your conversation may be strained as a result.
• Briefly state the facts. Review what you know about the employee’s job
and leave, to make sure you’ve got the details right. For example, you
might say, “I’d like to get your feedback on how to cover your work while
you’re out—and make sure your transition to leave and back to work is a
smooth one. I understand you’ll be out for five weeks and that you have
one major project milestone due during that time. Is that right?”
• Learn the priorities. Ask what the employee has on his or her plate,
focusing particularly on projects, deadlines, meetings, and deliverables
that need to be handled while the employee is out. For example: “What