The week flew by faster than Pei Yueran anticipated. When by Friday, she and Li Chuanmo had not reached a consensus concerning their assignment, they decided to go and meet the employee in question on Saturday and have a discussion at the office on Sunday.
Employee A's name was Sung Hye Mi. She worked as a real estate agent under the Li Real Estate company, and was an immigrant who later got married to a local. She gave birth five months ago and had since taken two-week leaves on three occasions for different reasons. She was currently on a two-week leave due to health reasons.
When they rang her doorbell on Saturday morning, it was a tired-looking older woman that came to open the door. They greeted her politely and told her their reason for coming. She invited them in warmly.
The house was a modest, well furnished two-bedroom apartment. There was nobody in the living room. A child could be heard crying in one of the rooms.
The older woman, who introduced herself as the husband's mother, offered them seats. She asked what they would like to take and they politely declined. She then excused herself to check up on the baby and mother.
Few seconds later, the cries of the baby subsided. This was followed by some conversation, and Sung Hye Mi came out with her mother-in-law and son.
Pei Yueran and Li Chuanmo stood up as she came in and observed her. Sung Hye Mi was 28 years old according to her file, but she looked 40. She looked liked she was neither eating nor sleeping well, and her eyes showed her lack of interest in her surroundings. They were also swollen, as if she had just cried. Unknown at the time to them, they both gave the same conclusion - depression.
They sat down to discuss. Sung Hye Mi wasn't very responsive, but she gave answers here and there, while her mother-in-law supplied more details.
Afterwards, they stood up to leave, telling them that the company will reach out to them soon.
"So now that we have the whole picture, what do you think?" Pei Yueran asked. They were in the car, heading to the company. She didn't know if it was due to their constant proximity or Li Chuanmo's aura, but she felt comfortable talking to him. He felt more like a normal colleague than the "high and mighty" CEO.
"Well, I see what the Retired Chairman was trying to say. Her Team Manager gave honest performance reviews and scores based on her work performance, which had clearly dwindled. He wasn't wrong. The only thing was that he didn't find out why."
"It makes sense though. I mean, it's not his job to do that. And even if he decided to, he would be unable to do that for each and every employee under his charge. And we don't have an existing policy that helps employees with mental health issues." Pei Yueran analyzed.
They looked at each other and smiled. They had solved their assignment.
The company had great policies in favour of their employees, and that was why thousands of applicants fought every year in order to get jobs at any of the companies under the Li Conglomerate. They even had a provision that paid partly for surgeries and hospital bills for their employees, regardless of whether or not the disease condition was acquired due to their job.
"So in essence, performance records give employees pressure, which is not always a bad thing. In the worst case scenario, it points to an even deeper problem, which we might be able to solve." Li Chuanmo said.
"So obviously, it can't be done away with, but can be used to our advantage."
"Exactly. Will you be coming to the office tomorrow? We could flesh it out more and write the proposal then. I have a meeting to attend this afternoon" Li Chuanmo asked, giving the reason why they couldn't go and do it right away.
"Alright then."
Pei Yueran got down at the parking lot, where Fang Bo was already waiting to take her home.
*****
When Li Chuanmo got home that night, Li Yuchen was waiting for him. As he stepped into the foyer, Li Yuchen brought his home shoes for him to change into, smiling obsequiously.
Li Chuanmo narrowed his eyes, and the back of his head began to ache faintly. This boy must have been up to no good again.
"Welcome Dad. How was work? Was it too tiring? Dinner is ready. Would you like some water first?" Li Yuchen babbled on and on.
After drinking some water, Li Chuanmo put down the glass cup and said, "Now out with it. What did you do this time?"
"Me? I didn't do anything Dad. I was just trying to be nice."
"Really?" Li Chuanmo asked. "How was school?"
"Fine"
"Your holidays have started now, right?"
"Yes"
"You resume in two weeks, right?"
"Yes"
"You didn't do well in your semester exams right?"
"Yes"
"Li Yuchen!!!!"
"Oops, I meant no."
"Come closer"
"Sorry Dad, I'll do better next time", Li Yuchen said, racing away at the speed of light.
Li Chuanmo didn't even know whether to laugh or cry. He wasn't keen on excellent results, and he wouldn't punish him for failing or anything. He knew Li Yuchen was a good student but was also a person who didn't see the big deal in writing exams and getting good grades.
He usually just wrote his exams according to his mood, and his results fluctuated wildly.
For example, in the last exam he wrote before coming home, he was first in his class. Even the continuous assessment tests he had taken since coming back to the country had been excellent. Then there were exams where he sat stably at the bottom of the class. When asked, he would say "I just didn't feel like."
That sentence usually made Li Chuanmo's teeth itch.
He decided to leave him be on that front and instead encourage his other interests. He sighed again. The only interest Li Yuchen had that he knew of was gaming.
Well, unless he wanted to become a game programmer, it was time to dig up new interests.