In case you have been living under a rock and are unaware, Steve Jobs is struggling with a health issue at the moment that is more complicated than the hormone imbalance that was initially suspected. His health problem, whatever it is, is forcing him to take leave from Apple until June. Six months is a long time, whatever way you look at it, but when you have a CEO as crucial to a company as Jobs has been, it worries people who have a vested interest in keeping him at the helm. He has big shoes to fill and people worry that Apple without Steve Jobs might turn into the Apple during the time without Steve Jobs.

Health problems are a personal matter and not something that we should be compelled to divulge or discuss. Now, there are some exceptions to this, people who hold jobs that place other people’s lives in their hands do have a duty to inform their company if their health is going to affect their ability to perform. You don’t want an airline pilot taking medication that might make them drowsy or otherwise cloud their judgment. These are careers where a certain level of disclosure is necessary, but the disclosure need not be public.

It is true that Jobs is at the helm of a massive company, and that the livelihood of many people may depend upon his ability to perform his job, his health is a matter of concern. However, I do not see why he should be compelled to reveal exactly what is ailing him. He has said he has some complex health issues and that he will need some months to recover. The rest is a private matter for Steve Jobs, his family and those people that he wishes to confide in.

The people who are howling the loudest for Jobs to reveal exactly what is ailing him are those who have probably invested significant funds in Apple. They have no faith that anyone else is able to run the company successfully and want to know if it is a good time to dump their stock. No matter how they try to dress up their “concerns” that is what it boils down to. It is not reasonable to expect any more of Jobs than we would expect of any other chief executive; give him some privacy and let him recover out of the spotlight.

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