At Vendia, we have a “Kind Humans Only” policy. All employees are required to sign a document acknowledging adherence to it. We share it on our public website so everyone can see what we hold as important. I’m here to say these words are not empty — kindness really matters at Vendia. The way we treat each other — the way we look after each other with kindness – is genuine. I’d like to illustrate this with a story.
My son, Aidan, has a pretty rare genetic disorder called Angelman Syndrome. People who have Angelman Syndrome will oftentimes have scoliosis – an abnormal curvature of the spine. As Aidan grew older, his scoliosis required he wear a back brace. As a parent, it wasn’t great news, but my wife and I understood why he had to wear the brace. If scoliosis becomes severe enough and is left uncorrected it can lead to long-term medical problems. We were doing what we could to avoid those problems without requiring surgery.
Well, fast forward four years and my wife and I found out during a routine doctor’s visit that Aidan’s curvature had gotten bad enough to require the surgery we were hoping to avoid. Over the ensuing months, we had the chance to work with the surgical team and Aidan’s other doctors to develop a plan.
“Mann Tracht, Un Gott Lacht (Man Plans, God Laughs)”
Yiddish proverb
Aidan had his surgery on November 18, 2020. It went smoothly. The surgeon said he was really happy with the correction to his spine, and he would be moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to be more closely monitored while he recovered. Once he was stable enough, he would be moved to a standard pediatric room.
Unfortunately, Aidan’s recovery didn’t go according to our plan. He had a great medical team working to get him healthy and home as soon as possible. Through some ups and downs, Aidan was able to be moved out of the ICU on December 20. My family had the best Christmas present when he was ultimately discharged from the hospital on December 23.
So what does this have to do with Vendia’s Kind Humans Only policy?
Everything.
During the course of Aidan’s hospitalization, Tim, Shruthi, and the rest of my teammates made it abundantly clear that I should keep my eye on what matters most. They picked up my work to ensure our customers were supported and received the attention they needed as they needed it.
Keep in mind that Vendia is not a multinational conglomerate with thousands of people working in dozens of offices spread throughout the world — at least not yet. We’re a startup feverishly working to invent a future where sharing data doesn’t stink. When one person isn’t pulling their weight for whatever reason, someone else who is already pulling hard has to pull even harder.
It’s great to know I have colleagues who will do this without thinking twice. It’s great to have the founders checking in and offering assistance. It’s great to know that I work with Kind Humans.
Would you like to work with kind humans and bring your whole self to (remote) work?
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