I had raised my hand several times, asked a question, and commented in chat as they asked participants to do. But none of the facilities picked me, I didn't get to ask my question, my questions in chat went unanswered, and my comments weren't included when a facilitator read comments out loud.
I was feeling ignored and it didn't feel good. Because I felt ignored, I was feeling:
unseen,
unimportant,
shame that being called on was important to me, and
I wondered if I had made a stupid investment in buying this course.
During the last part of day two, while I had all of those feelings, I was slowly disengaging from the event. Then I received this direct message from one of the facilitators. It said, "We see that you have raised your hand several times, but we have not gotten to you yet. We just wanted to let you know we see you and encourage you to keep raising your hand."
I felt seen! I perked up, stopped the pity party, and re-engaged, all because one of the facilitators "saw me."
Your employee with cancer or dealing with a health crisis wants to be acknowledged too!
"Seeing" an employee is employee engagement 101! And yet, it is often overlooked by most HR teams and managers when an employee is dealing with cancer or another health crisis. It's almost like there is a fear of acknowledging the employee because it will show weakness.
If you want to help your valuable employee deal with a health crisis
stay engaged and connected…see them!
How?
Here are two super simple ways to make sure your employee feels seen. (And for heaven's sake, don't limit it to an employee dealing with a health crisis, every employee would love to be appreciated!)
1. Drop Them a Note
Send a message via email, private Slack message, or snail mail acknowledging them. You don't have to talk about what they're going through. Just appreciate the employee. Try, "We are fortunate to have an employee like you. You bring great value to our company! Keep shining on. You matter to us!" Click here for 41 other phrases that show appreciation.
2. Give Them a Jar of Joy
This is a simple and impactful way to support any employee. Have the team or their coworkers fill out little cards sharing what they appreciate about the employee. (See the photo above.) Put all the cards in a ball jar and give the employee the jar. The jar in the photo is from employee appreciation week three years ago. I love it! And when I'm feeling uninspired, I re-read the messages. It's a great reminder that I matter.
Your employee dealing with a health crisis wants to be of value to your organization. They want to feel like they are contributing or have contributed.
Look, we all want to know that we matter to the people we work with. And the best way I know to do that is to show someone else they matter!