Upon arrival at the scene, officials pronounced Prudhomme dead at 4.55pm, local outlets report, citing Tempe police. 12News reports that Prudhomme’s cubicle was located on the third floor and away from the main aisle.
The employee who spoke to 12News added that multiple people complained of a foul odor but assumed it was due to plumbing problems.
Another employee told the outlet: “It’s really heartbreaking and I’m thinking, ‘What if I were just sitting there? No one would check on me?’” The employee went on to add: “To hear she’s been sitting at the desk like that would make me feel sick … and nobody did anything. That’s how she spent her last moments.”
There should be a service that people can sign up for that would have someone call, text, or email to check in on people with no family or friends. That way if something does happen to them, and they do not respond to repeated attempts at checking in, authorities can be notified sooner than 4 days later.
And I bet someone smarter than myself could figure out a way to have the service subsidized so it is not expensive for people to use; especially older folks who may be on a fixed income.
That’s one of the roles that churches, synagogues, mosques, etc. used to have (and still do). As societies have left behind religious institutions, we still haven’t figured out how to replace the many vital social functions that they used to provide.
It would really cost pennies to implement. A text or email goes out and you have 3 hours to respond before a person is notified. Then a friend could be messaged or an admin could call your phone or your emergency number, like your work etc. they would make sure someone knows that you need to be checked on
Services such as these do exist, but I believe there is a social/mental stigma to them, in addition to any cost barrier. A lot of people think “this will never happen to me” or “maybe I will need this when I’m older, but not now.”
This is one reason why daily stand ups exist in the tech world. For bigger teams it could be split into groups.