Employee sobbing about late dog in front of office colleagues is taken aback by CEO's sensitive response

In the corporate world, everyone wants to showcase their best professional charisma and stature. They strive to maintain a certain image in the workplace, especially in front of their superiors. In fact, if they had a meeting with a superior, the last thing they would do is frown, let alone cry. However, when an employee, u/teddy_jane, had her very first meeting with the new CEO, she broke down in tears. The woman was sobbing in front of her colleagues, but the CEO offered a compassionate and remarkable response. This encounter serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of being human and showing empathy when in a position of authority.

The employee recalled the CEO and 15 other colleagues at a meet and greet. When the CEO asked the employees, “Do you have an animal/pet?” the woman immediately broke down into tears. “15 colleagues in a circle saw me cry in front of a new executive,” she shared in a post. Revealing the reason for her distress, the employee shared that she was grieving the loss of her pet dog. “It’s been nine months and this topic is still my Achilles heel. The second someone asks... the dam walls break and I’m back there with that searing pain felt on day one,” the woman wrote. She revealed that she had not gotten over the grief of losing her beloved dog and was still processing her emotions. She added that she was not just having a moment. “I’m just still in major pain and all-consuming grief,” she remarked. 

“I had to go by my boy’s ashes tonight and kiss him and had a little laugh at how my new CEO knows of him... only because his mum’s heart is still leaking tears at the drop of a hat because of the immense sadness,” she wrote. The employee likely hadn’t planned to be so open, but her emotions got the best of her, leaving her no choice but to express the “throat-clenching pain.” Her colleague assured her that she was being “real” and her reaction was completely valid. However, the employee was worried she made a fool of herself by expressing her weakness and breaking from a formal demeanor. She feared the CEO would judge her and form a negative opinion. Instead, the CEO offered a heartwarming response.

“I thought I made a real clown of myself, but as I was leaving the meeting, she gave me a gentle squeeze on the arm. Made me feel though she knew the pain,” the employee poignantly recalled. The CEO may have understood the pain or simply knew better and empathized with her emotional expression. Rather than judging her for showing vulnerability, she quietly offered reassurance and comfort. People applauded the CEO for her understanding and warmth, a skill many professionals lack these days. u/zerodaydave said, “CEOs are people too. I’m glad your CEO was empathetic. Sorry for your loss.” u/ConfidentSea8828 wrote, “Your CEO sounds like a wonderful person. In a world full of compassionless monsters like I used to work with, you seem to have some support.”

u/hshmehzk shared “I cried in front of my CFO. I knew I’d be a wreck, so I warned him I was putting my dog down. I started sobbing. He told me he put his dog down last week and he told me what to expect. We do not ever talk about personal things, so it was really unexpected. I don’t cry normally at work and I think people get it. We are only human.”