Who is your Emergency Contact person? This is important! Who is that person you want someone to call in the event that you have an emergency?
If you’ve ever watched the show, The Big Bang Theory, you know that the relationship between Sheldon and Amy took years to develop. He is fiercely independently dependent upon his best friend Leonard, so committing to Amy as a relationship partner was difficult.
Setting the scene: It’s Valentine’s Day. Sheldon despises all affectionate gestures, and because she loves him, Amy releases Sheldon from all Valentine’s obligations…
Amy: I’m your girlfriend. That’s my job. And I know gift-giving puts a lot of pressure on you, so whatever you got me, you can return.
Sheldon: No. No, after everything you didn’t do for me tonight, I want you to have it.
Amy: What’s this?
Sheldon: Read it.
Amy: Sheldon Cooper, Caltech University employee information?
Sheldon: At the bottom.
Amy: In case of emergency, please contact… Amy Farrah Fowler. And there’s my phone number. This is the most beautiful gift you could’ve ever given me.
Sheldon: Well, I thought, if I have a stroke or a kidney stone, who would I want to share that with?
Amy: And you picked me.
Sheldon: It’s like you said, you’re my girlfriend.
Amy: Oh, Sheldon.
Sheldon: Yeah. Okay. Stop ruining Valentine’s Day and order my pizza.
Throughout life, your emergency contact person will change. As a child and a young adult, my emergency contact was my mother…definitely not my dad. Oh, my dad was great, but if I had an emergency, I would want my mom, and she was always available to pick me up from school when needed.
I remember completing that first employee emergency contact form after I was married. My first emergency contact was my husband… then my mom. Once my kids became adults they became the second emergency contact for me, now that was weird. I have no doubt that someday my granddaughter Emma will become my emergency contact person…for my nursing home registration form!
The emergency contact person is the one person who knows what to do and who to contact if you are incapacitated at work, but what if you are hurt in public?
I was in a rather serious car accident several years ago, but I was able to call my husband directly. He then knew who to contact at the school where I taught. He knew my co-workers, and they knew him. If my husband Tom was ever ill, I knew his coworkers as well. I could give them a call inform them that he would not be at work that day. Still today I know where Tom works. I could call or walk in to let them know that he has had an emergency, and they should not expect him.
What if you are alone when an emergency occurs? Smart phones have apps now in which you can store your “In Case of Emergency” contact information. The app can even show this information on your locked screen so that emergency personnel can have that crucial information and contact your family on your behalf.
The increase of remote work and remote employees has changed many things. One of those is the emergency contact form. During the pandemic, I worked for three different schools remotely by teaching courses on-line. I realized then that if I were to die suddenly, no one in my house would have any idea whom to call to alert my employers that I would not be able to continue to do my job. The schools would have no idea that my classes were not being taught until my conscientious students, alarmed that I hadn’t scored any work recently or made comments on their discussion board posts, contacted the school administrators.
I needed to choose my significant coworkers who would know what to do in the case of my absence for my new Emergency Contact form for my family. If you have a similar situation, you should have clear information for your family so that they can alert your employer; however, you should probably alert these special humans to their inclusion on this list.
I just don’t think you should present that information to them as Valentine’s Day gifts.
