I had to leave Nielsen Media because I have MDS, and apparently a life-threatening medical condition still isn’t a good enough reason for basic human decency.
My haemoglobin dropped to 5. I physically couldn’t travel to the office. I submitted all medical certificates, explained the situation, and requested WFH during recovery post-transplant, which doctors say requires about 2 years of rest.
Their response?
“Come to office 5 days a week or take loss of pay.”
No accommodation. No empathy. No attempt to work something out. Just a rigid rule applied to someone dealing with a serious illness.
And when I finally had no choice but to leave because my health literally couldn’t support their demands, they recovered my relocation money because I didn’t complete one year of service — conveniently ignoring that the reason I couldn’t continue was their refusal to provide even basic flexibility during a medical crisis.
But the most shameless part?
They were still sending out “Great Place to Work” surveys while this was happening.
Nothing screams corporate hypocrisy louder than asking employees to rate how great the workplace is while someone is literally being forced out for being sick.
Let’s call this what it is: corporate cruelty hiding behind policy.
Companies love talking about “people first”, “employee wellbeing”, and “inclusive culture.” But the moment someone actually needs support, those values vanish behind HR scripts and attendance policies.
This isn’t about perks.
This is about basic humanity.
No one fighting a serious illness should have to choose between their health and their job.
If companies want strict office policies, fine. Just stop pretending you care about employees while enforcing them without a shred of empathy.
