What Should I Do About My Workaholic Employee?

November 30, 2019

I am on the board of a small nonprofit. We have a part-time director who drives herself relentlessly on behalf of our organization, working perhaps two to three times the hours required of her. I live nearby, and occasionally I have observed her car parked outside the office all night long.

She admits to being exhausted but comes to work clearly ill and sometimes barely able to speak. Though I have told her repeatedly to go home, she laughs me off and says this is her “work style.” Other board members tell me to ignore her workaholism because it is “to our advantage,” but I see it as a form of abuse. If she were abusing another employee instead of herself, would we not intervene? What are my responsibilities here?

Read the Ethicist’s response here.

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