Advice - when to interfere in a friend's life?

[catbelly]

OK... here is the situation for all you wise ZeMonkeys.

A friend of mine at work has stopped coming to work and will not answer/return calls from HR or friends. She got a negative performance review on Thurs. Sept. 18, went on vacation for the weekend, and didn't come back to work on Monday the 22nd. She has been MIA ever since and everyone is super worried about her. We know she is alive, but she is avoiding contact with everyone, going as far as not answering her door.

Aside from being worried about her health and safety, from an admin/work/life point of view we need to get her to sign a short-term disability form so that her pay will not be cut off and she will not be fired for abandonment of work. She's worked at my company for 12 years and would be able to negotiate a termination package or retraining, if she would only call our HR person.

So... my question for you is, how far would you go to get in touch with her in this situation? She is a work friend that I would consider close, but we do not see each other outside of work (i.e. we haven't exchanged phone numbers, we haven't been to each other's apartments, etc.). IMO she is probably in a mini-depression and might not be thinking totally rationally.

Would you camp out outside her house? Leave notes on her doorstep? I'm at a loss here, I want to respect her privacy but I also feel that she's in trouble and may not be making rational decisions. I feel really worried that in the throes of this breakdown or depression she is in "fvck you" mode re: my company, and that she is going to lose all of her benefits etc. by not calling the HR rep. She's aboutr 55 y/o and I don't think she can afford to live without her salary.

Aieeeee help meeeee ZeMonkeys!!