Ashley sits down at her desk and logs into her laptop. She opens Outlook and sees two new emails, one from the company that bought her employer, the second one from her company’s HR department. She opens the first one. It reads like this;

To: All Innov8tive Solutions employees

From: Kate Benelli, Senior Manager of Human Resources for P.W. Hutchins Corporation

Subject: Welcome to the P.W. Hutchins family!

Greetings Innov8tion Solutions employees,

I would like to welcome all of you to our family of exciting subsidiaries under the umbrella of P.W. Hutchins Corporation. We have been working to expand our portfolio of high performing businesses, and your employer is one of those. For most of you, your day to day work will not change. All of your current clients will still remain, and your sales team will continue to court potential new clients. Your company’s reputation in your region is impeccable, and we have no intention of changing that. We consider your company to be a subsidiary, which means, with the exception of the current owners, who will be retiring, you will continue to operate as you have been. A new president will be hired to lead your office, and will report directly to our senior leadership.

We will be transitioning your current benefits to our benefits package. While your current salary and paid time off shall remain the same, your health insurance, dental and vision, and disability insurance plans will change to our offerings.

We have partnered with our health insurance provider to offer the best coverage possible, for as low a premium for you and the corporation as possible. To that end, to encourage all employees to take charge of their health and lower their risk of preventable illnesses, and to diagnose any potential underlying conditions, all current and potential future employees must undergo a physical examination, which will also include a drug screening. This physical exam and drug screen will be performed by a health care provider we contract with, the results of your physical exam will be shared with your primary care provider, so any conditions that might be identified can be treated by your provider. A physical exam will be required annually thereafter, which can be performed by your provider.

In order to expedite this process, so we may transition you to our health insurance plan as soon as possible, we have aligned your appointment with all the other employees in your department, so each department will have all their employees’ exams occur on the same one or two days. This will help minimize disruptions to team meetings, conference calls, etc. To prevent excessive rescheduling of appointments, all employees are required to arrive at their appointments on time. Only emergency circumstances will be allowed as a reason to miss an appointment. Your exam has been scheduled to avoid any pre-approved time off. Contact your local human resources office immediately if you are unable to make your appointment. Remember, timely completion of this requirement is a condition of your continued employment with us.

Sincerely,Kate Benelli

Ashley is taken aback. On one hand, she is glad to still have a job, with the same pay. On the other, she is unnerved about having to suddenly submit to a physical exam in order to keep her job. When she was hired full time 3 years ago, she only needed to have a drug screening. Now she opens the second email.

To: Ashley Bennett

From: Sarah Stevens, Human Resources, Innov8tive Solutions

Subject: Physical exam appointment

Hello Ashley,

We have scheduled your physical exam and drug screen for this morning, at 10:30 am, at Occupational Health Services, located at 187 North Main Street. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment to allow for checking in and paperwork. We apologize for the short notice, we scheduled your department first since you and none of your team members have any scheduled time off today, or any business travel. Please coordinate with your team and supervisor to reschedule any meetings or conference calls.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in this important matter. Please contact me with any questions.

Respectfully,

Sarah Stevens

Ashley is stunned. She was NOT expecting to have a physical today! It is now 8:30, so she has to be there in less than 2 hours. She is nervous now, she hasn’t had a physical in 4 years. She hates physicals, she has avoided making an appointment, despite reminders from her doctor’s office. At her last physical, which included her first and only Pap test and pelvic exam, her doctor told her she can go 3 years between Pap tests if hers came back negative, which it did. She is now a year past due, and she is afraid that she will have to get one done today as part of her physical!

To be continued…..