For what it's worth, I had that almost exact conversation, as an engineer at a startup. The only difference from what I wrote and real life was that it wasn't my boss, it was my boss's boss, the VP of Engineering, doing something called "management by wandering around".
That was 30 years ago, but I doubt that today's managers are any different. I did keep my job, but alarm bells were definitely ringing in top management that day.
Successful startups (which ours turned out to be) are often as much about risk management as anything else. Having employees that aren't 100% "fine", for any reason, is a risk. Of course that risk must be weighted against the turnover of replacing that employee.
Having employees that aren't 100% "fine", for any reason, is a risk.
I doubt you have ever worked for a company where most (or any!) of the employees were 100% fine.
The choice is not whether to be fine. The choice is whether to deal with problems as they inevitably arise in all our lives, or to hide them under the rug ... until they erupt.
That was 30 years ago, but I doubt that today's managers are any different. I did keep my job, but alarm bells were definitely ringing in top management that day.
Successful startups (which ours turned out to be) are often as much about risk management as anything else. Having employees that aren't 100% "fine", for any reason, is a risk. Of course that risk must be weighted against the turnover of replacing that employee.