I heard about this a couple of days ago, and couldn’t see exactly what the ethics issue was. I still can’t, but as with the rotting toe in the plug of tobacco that I have mentioned here prominently, this is an example of res ipsa loquitur. Something’s gone terribly wrong, somewhere. There’s no doubt about that.
Denise Prudhomme, 60, a loyal employee of Wells Fargo checked into her office cubicle in Tempe, Arizona on the morning of Aug. 16, a Friday. Nobody noticed that she never checked out, well, at least of her office: she was found dead there at the end of the work day on August 20, the following Tuesday. On-site security called police: they noticed a funny smell—at least they weren’t used to the odor of dead employees rotting away; that’s something—-and called the police.
The Washington Post reports, “It was not immediately clear how Prudhomme went unnoticed over the four-day period, which included the weekend.” Yeah, I’d say that’s a bit strange. A Wells Fargo spokesperson said she sat in “an underpopulated area of the building.”
Well, its even more unpopulated now!
Wells Fargo said in a statement that the company is “deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague,” (whoever she was).
I was just perusing the Wells Fargo website where it describes its “culture” for potential employees. Among the items I noticed that seem rather inconsistent with a company that wouldn’t notice that a member of its “team” had dropped dead for four days…
- “Contribute to a productive, engaged, and inclusive environment that values and respects differences”
- “Engage with everyone …”
- “Speak up…”
- “Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion…”
- Build relationships with colleagues and customers who are different from you.” (Like, say, if you’re alive and they’re dead)
- “Actively help each other succeed.”
- “Recognize and reward successful performance.”
- “Hold employees and managers accountable for achieving desired outcomes.”
- “Ask others for feedback…”
Reading that “culture” blather from the bank, I couldn’t help but notice all of the familiar DEI mantras. Maybe poor Denise was a DEI staffer. After all, they have nothing to do. (Respect, please: I didn’t make the obvious DIE joke.) Perhaps Wells Fargo should worry less about meeting racial, ethnic and gender quotas and more about maintaining a work environment where it matters whether you’re alive or dead, and where employees actually care about each other.
Ethics Alarms 
Don’t let Scott Adams know about this.
There were literally hundreds of cartoons and memes about skeletons in offices and cubicles before this incident.It’s life…well, death…imitating art.
No one says “good morning” over there? Good grief, I work for a completely virtual company with employees in 11 different states. We would know within a few hours if you weren’t around. It’s not because we have tracking software but because we are in constant communication with each other; for work reasons, yes, but mostly because we care.
I should have stated more clearly that we do NOT have tracking software. It is anathema to who we are as a company.
well, they wont throw you a funeral if you die, but you get a parade if you identify as a speckle-rimmed flamingo.
OK, no one else has so I’ll bite: Talk about a toxic work environment!
But, in fact, I’m with Alicia. No one says good night, I’ll see you tomorrow, or Good morning? I’ll have to admit that we don’t have closed cubicles, but still.
Happens more often than one can imagine. when I rode the ambulance out of Bellevue we had many a call to fetch bodies that had been ripening for days in apaprtments. Just the other day I couple came for pastoral counciling. Her 82 year-old mother had a medical incident and lay on her kitch floor for 4 days, before the son who lived two blocks away noticed he hadn’t seen mom in a while.
Houses and apartments, sure. But in the office????
Anyone heard from Valky recently?
I hope her last paycheck reflects the overtime she put in over the weekend.
knowing Wells Fargo, they were REALLY most concerned with the coroner’s estimated time of death so they knew when to punch her timecard.
Right. If it had been in a law firm, someone would have had to make up her time sheet for all that time.
The crew on The Titanic’s wages ceased once she went down. Crewmembers had to make it back home to Southhampton on their own.
Old Bill,
“Don’t let Scott Adams know about this.”
He knows. He pointed out that Dilbert was born in a cubicle at Wells Fargo, and that an early joke involved a skeleton in a cubicle.
Perfect. As Jack observed, life imitating art.