Sometimes I am amazed employers aren’t a little more sympathetic of personal situations as doing so can result in greater productivity (if that’s all firms care

Sometimes I am amazed employers aren’t a little more sympathetic of personal situations as doing so can result in greater productivity (if that’s all firms care about). My dad was in the hospital this past September-November with complications from pancreatic cancer and passed away late November. My spouse’s father died from complications of multiple-myeloma the November before that. Needless to say this was a lot to process, and I really could have used a week or two off following my father’s death. In December, things start to slow down anyway but I didn’t have the vacation time left to take a break. Instead, I continued working but had a hard time focusing and dealing with the past two years. I’m finally starting to feel myself again in March and am becoming more productive. If I could have had a week or two off, I think I would have been in a much better mental state and it would have been better for me and my employer in the long run. I recently had an ok performance review a few weeks ago, but it was difficult for me to hear some of the negative feedback considering the past year I’ve been dealing with my dad’s situation. That’s not to say the feedback wasn’t all fair, but it wasn’t the best timing when I was trying to get back to normal. My goal was really just to survive last year, not necessarily advance in my career or get a raise.