Supermarket keeps retraining employee with Alzheimer's so she can continue working the job she loves

In a world where skilled performance is expected from employees, there is a thriving need for empathy, kindness and humane understanding, too. A supermarket, Sainsbury, has gone above and beyond for an aged worker with Alzheimer’s. Her son Doran Salomon took to X to gratefully share the store’s empathetic response towards his mother's condition. In a series of posts, the man revealed his mom’s heartbreaking story and how the supermarket came to her aid as a beacon light. “Wouldn't usually do something like this but there is a lot of good out there,” he wrote before explaining. 

Salomon mentioned that his mother had Alzheimer's for the last 10 years when she was in her 50s but it was diagnosed only in 2013. He added that the condition didn’t just affect memory but also social skills, sensory functioning and a lot more. She was working as a bookkeeper at the time, but couldn't keep up with her job efficiently. “Formerly a very organized person who was good with numbers, it became obvious quite quickly she could no longer do her job effectively,” Salomon mentioned. The woman began working with the supermarket in 2012 and was tasked with putting together online orders for delivery. 

“Sainsbury's has seen my mum deteriorate to the point that every day for the last year or so she has gone into the store confused as if she'd never been there before. They have always stood by her, going above and beyond to make sure she's happy and feeling valued,” he wrote in another thread. Apart from the moral support, the store went the extra mile to make provisions and arrangements and ease the woman’s job with her condition. The supermarket regularly retrained the woman to help her recall her duties. They also had meetings with her and her husband and ensured the staff was aware of her condition. 

Additionally, the store reframed a post for her so she could do her best. “They created a role that didn't exist so that there was something in-store she could do despite the fact her job title has never changed from 'picker,’” Salomon explained. The store allotted cleaning of tote boxes as a separate duty just for the woman. Though it was mostly done by other staff, they made accommodations for the woman to be able to work despite her condition. The mom took this job up with pride and was overjoyed to learn that she still contributed to the job significantly. 

“The sense of self-worth and pride has undeniably helped with aspects of her Alzheimer's, such as giving her something to talk about in social situations,” her son added. “Every time my dad was called in for a meeting, fearing the worst, it was because they had noticed a decline, were concerned about her and wanted to know what more they could do to help.” The man was grateful that though the supermarket could have let her go and focused on their profit, they chose empathy and exercised it with the most humane and kind act. The woman's story fetched the supermarket a whole lot of praise from people. @Dochayter wrote, “Thank you for sharing such a powerful story.” @djstockcube added, “More companies/organizations need to do more inclusion, less exclusion.”

This article originally appeared 3 months ago.