Surprise! Interview on employee with anxiety.
Looking for some input from current HR professionals on this situation.
A staff member with a history of significant anxiety (female, 20) has worked hard over several years to build confidence and overcome severe social anxiety. At 14–15 she struggled to leave the house alone, gradually entered employment at 16, and has now built up an excellent 4+ year record with the same employer. The role has clearly been a major confidence-building experience for her. Her anxiety history is well known to both the owners and staff in a workplace of around 20–25 employees.
Recently, she was informally approached and asked to “consider” moving into a more senior role, but nothing was formalised. No role was offered, no expectations clarified, and no training or preparation provided.
Then, on Day X, she was suddenly told, after a major evening event had already begun, that she was now expected to run it. There had been no warning, briefing, preparation, or handover. Other staff were not informed she was supposedly “taking over” responsibility for the event.
Two days later, the business owner approached her and said: “Are you ready for your surprise job interview?” She was not.
Despite this, she was required to sit through a 75-minute “interview” in which the owner dissected the event, expressed disappointment that she had “not taken control the way Brian would have” (name changed - an experienced existing event manager), and highlighted things that had gone wrong during the evening.
During the meeting, when she explained how uncomfortable and distressed she felt, the owner responded that they believed “a surprise interview would be better” so she would not “be anxious beforehand or lose sleep over it.”
The employee’s confidence is now badly shaken. She spent much of that day crying and is genuinely frightened about returning to work.
The owner conducting the interview is supposedly a retired senior HR manager from a multinational company who now runs his own business.
Senior staff are now claiming that the original “take over the event” instruction was “just a joke,” and that the interview style is "simply the way Bob likes to do things.” They appear to see nothing inappropriate in either the approach or the handling of the situation, arguing that “with Bob’s HR experience, he wouldn’t intentionally upset anyone.”
My own unqualified view is that this was, at best, highly unprofessional and, at worst, potentially workplace bullying or psychologically harmful management practice.
I’d be genuinely interested to hear how current HR practitioners would view this situation.