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“Hey is Dave working today? We were supposed to groom the backlog today.” “Dave is no longer with us” “Oh no! What do we do? Send a condolences card to his pa

“Hey is Dave working today? We were supposed to groom the backlog today.” “Dave is no longer with us” “Oh no! What do we do? Send a condolences card to his partner? Do we have contact information? I worked with Dave for three years” “Oh.. no he just has been let go.” “Okay.. uh. So who will be the scrum master now?” “You will have to take on some extra responsibilities while we transition to the new team structure” “:sadparrot:”

forgotusername6 3y ago
That's at least better than I've experienced: Manager at a standup "got some news. Unfortunately Bob has passed out" Confused looks. "What do you mean passed out?" "Oh I mean he's died" Horror from everyone there. No further information was ever given.
- sokoloff 3y ago
  Personally, I think it’s not the company’s place to give out further information in this case, absent a request from Bob’s family.
  - vaylian 3y ago
    I think the issue is rather that the manager tries to sugarcoat the fact that someone has died by using very abstract language.
    - midasuni 3y ago
      Might have being going for “passed away” Managers are people too and will have their own emotions they are dealing with.
      - tudorw 3y ago
        At least they weren't announced as 'useless', so there is that.
      - loloquwowndueo 3y ago
        As a manager you have a responsibility to communicate this to your team and give them resources to deal with the emotions (you, the manager, being one of the resources). So sure, you have your own stuff to deal with - use the resources you have for that (eg your manager) but when it comes time to face your team, be a professional and don’t shut down in front of them. They need you too. Source: I’ve been in management positions and had to deal with a bunch of layoffs and yes, the occasional outright actual death.
  - weatherlite 3y ago
    So why even say he died? Maybe just say he is not working for the company anymore and let the team figure it out for themselves if they are that curious.
    - samatman 3y ago
      If a colleague of mine died, and management described this as "they are no longer with the company", this would create some huge trust issues if I found out. Which in any place I've ever worked, I would find out. "Passed out" is just a verbal typo for "passed on", an accepted euphemism in English for someone dying. I think that slip is forgivable, clearly not ideal, but human beings make mistakes. I also agree with the parent comment that it isn't management's place to provide details about the death, but IMHO they have a responsibility to say that's what happened.

forgotusername6 3y ago

That's at least better than I've experienced: Manager at a standup "got some news. Unfortunately Bob has passed out" Confused looks. "What do you mean passed out?" "Oh I mean he's died" Horror from everyone there. No further information was ever given.

sokoloff 3y ago
Personally, I think it’s not the company’s place to give out further information in this case, absent a request from Bob’s family.
- vaylian 3y ago
  I think the issue is rather that the manager tries to sugarcoat the fact that someone has died by using very abstract language.
  - midasuni 3y ago
    Might have being going for “passed away” Managers are people too and will have their own emotions they are dealing with.
    - tudorw 3y ago
      At least they weren't announced as 'useless', so there is that.
    - loloquwowndueo 3y ago
      As a manager you have a responsibility to communicate this to your team and give them resources to deal with the emotions (you, the manager, being one of the resources). So sure, you have your own stuff to deal with - use the resources you have for that (eg your manager) but when it comes time to face your team, be a professional and don’t shut down in front of them. They need you too. Source: I’ve been in management positions and had to deal with a bunch of layoffs and yes, the occasional outright actual death.
- weatherlite 3y ago
  So why even say he died? Maybe just say he is not working for the company anymore and let the team figure it out for themselves if they are that curious.
  - samatman 3y ago
    If a colleague of mine died, and management described this as "they are no longer with the company", this would create some huge trust issues if I found out. Which in any place I've ever worked, I would find out. "Passed out" is just a verbal typo for "passed on", an accepted euphemism in English for someone dying. I think that slip is forgivable, clearly not ideal, but human beings make mistakes. I also agree with the parent comment that it isn't management's place to provide details about the death, but IMHO they have a responsibility to say that's what happened.