Okay, so here’s the problem.
Jason’s supervisor? Agrees with the other employee.
He told Jason, in front of her, that he didn’t think it was fair for him to tell her she could not bring her infant in to work after he had brought his children to work.
Never mind that I was there with them, THE WHOLE TIME.
Never mind that they are almost ten years old and were doing productive work.
Never mind that we sat in the back and did not in any way interact with customers.
Never mind that no one of us got one cent for the work we did. And that we saved her ass from having to DO THAT WORK. (And frankly? Not to be snarky? But if I do work for my own employer I bill them well over $20 an hour. My time is valuable. Not that hers isn’t, but um, hello? I don’t work there. I did it FOR FREE. I came in and helped her ass on my day off FOR FREE and she’s complaining? No)
I am seriously so angry about this. I just cannot fathom how his supervisor feels this is comparable in any way.
There are other issues. Namely that the employee also complained that she has to make more telephone calls than Jason and she doesn’t think that is fair. I told Jason last night that, as evidenced in the employee handbook (which apparently I know more about than the employees of that actual company) one of her PRIMARY responsibilities is to make calls. I’m sure she DOES make more calls than he does. She’s SUPPOSED to.
But does Jason’s supervisor take his side? No. He asks him why he’s not making more calls. Jason says, “I did taxes for ten people. I wrote $X of loans. I did this and this and this and this and this”. Does he listen? No. He tells Jason that if he was doing his job that he would have time for this. In addition to everything else.
How? Honest to God, how? Unless there are like huge chunks of SOMETHING I am missing here, I just don’t see how this is possible.
One day? I went to his office to drop off the file folders that he had left in the trunk of my car. I went in, carried them to the back, left them, and left the office.
HE DID NOT EVEN REALIZE I WAS THERE. He was so engrossed in what he was doing that I, his spouse, did not even register. He called me later and said, “Were you going to drop off those files folders?” He honest to God had no idea I had even been in the room. He is one of those people who completely focus on what they are doing. Unlike me who cannot even focus long enough to watch an entire television show.
This why he married me. This is why I married him. We have to balance one another out.
In case it’s not obvious, I’m angry. I’m offended. I’m offended FOR my husband.
Because really. REALLY. Who does this crap?
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37 comments:
Forgive me but that is such bullshit... And being in HR that was the sloppiest way to handle that situation I've ever encountered.
Complete bullshit.!!!
I offered to go kick crazy lady in the shins, but want me to get th supervisor instead? I know we are all adults now and such, but don't you just wish we could jump up and down, stomp our feet, and yell, "NOT FAIR!"
Seriously? OK, see? The chick should just stay at home with her 6-month-old. She obviously doesn't want to do her job and she obviously wants to be with her child, so instead of being a bitch about this and making your husband miserable, she should quit her job and be a SAHM.
And his supervisor handled the situation horribly. He needs to be fired or reprimanded by his boss.
I think you totally have a right to be angry for your husband, especially if he is the type that does his work and does it well without even a second thought. Some where along the line he gets screwed just for doing his job. Whatever!
That's bullshit. It is a completely different situation. And? I'm sorry, but that supervisor should stop worrying about what that girl says and do his real job. It is sad that in the workplace a woman that DOESN'T DESERVE to have a say does, only because she is a woman. And the women like us? Who DO DESERVE to be listened to because we are smart, wonderful, witty women?
We get ignored.
WTF is this world coming to?
I agree with the supervisor on bringing the baby to work. Jason should definitely allow the woman to bring the baby in with her. Once she realizes what a pain it is to do her job with a baby on her hip, and his boss sees what a pain it is to have a baby in the office, the situation will resolve itself.
Umm..yeah...
I'd go straight over his head, and talk to a higher up about how this was handled. There is no comparison. I called my husband's supervisor and "talked" as nicely as I could for him. That is ridiculous that your husband was basically reprimanded in front of another employee over a situation as stupid as this.
I think we'd all go kick her in her shins if we could.
1. Crazy-like-a-fox lady just ensured herself a permanent position at the company.
2. She IS crazy -- like a Fox! She's doing this on purpose.
3. Jason needs to show her a copy of her job description.
4. Anything -- and I mean ANYthing -- that Jason does that could even remotely be perceived as a negative employment action (i.e. he needs to watch how he talks to her; he needs to NEVER ever be in a room alone with her and always have a witness) she will file a grievance against him for retaliation.
5. Jason needs to document EVERYTHING. Every little tiny thing. Like every time she's 5 minutes late from lunch. Like every time she's insubordinate. Like every thing. Document it in a file; she doesn't need to know). He needs to do this not to harass her, but if the time comes and she has to be fired (because you can bet your booty that she will begin exhibiting poor performance in order to try and get fired) Jason will have documentation up the wazoo. It won't stop her from filing a lawsuit; but it will give him plenty of ammunition.
Believe me, this lady is NOT crazy. She is crafty. She is motivated, and she is just WAITING for Jason to retaliate.
Jason's supervisor? Sucks for saying that in front of anyone else.
And I know it's not fair, and it's not right, but unless they have a written policy saying it's okay to bring kids over the age of 10 but not under 10 into the office, or somesuch? That means that if you do it for one, you have to do it for everyone. This is why every company needs specific, airtight policies that they can point to in situations such as these.
That woman is trouble with a capital T. She knows exactly what she's doing, and now Jason has to watch is Ps and Qs.
*sigh*
Maybe Jason could get another job, too, and you can both have a fresh start.
He just needs to be very, very careful of Ms. Smartass.
That's my two cents worth.
p.s. Jason so rocks :-)
That's ridiculous! I think I'd start looking for more agreeable employment.
Karen above is a very, very wise woman.
p.p.s. You asked Who does this crap? Professional litigious employees. People who go from job to job and try to find things to file lawsuits or worker's comp claims on. Is she one of those? Who knows, but she is trouble. Ok I'll shut up now and take off my HR hat!!
We had an employee just like this -- we've been trying to find a way to get rid of her for a year now without triggering a lawsuit or another worker's comp claim. It may not be possible.
Complete. Bullshit.
I say let the little chickie bring in her 6 month old. Hell, let her even breast-feed the friggin kid. But then when customers start complaining because they can't hear her over the crying or because no one is even answering the phone, it's on her.
Hell, it's hard enough to talk on the phone at my house with a 19 month old. I would love to see this multi-tasking floozy pull this off.
Good Lord, really??
It never fails that the people with the biggest mouths and the worst attitudes always seem to get their way. Frankly, the whole situation bites, and it's ridiculous that Jason's supervisor is so unprofessional.
Hang in there chick, miserable people like that always get theirs in the end....
Um, is the supervisor shagging the customer service rep?
Sounds like some major bias and that has to be motivated by SOMETHING.
This is all such crap!!! Karen from Karen and Bill is very wise but on the other hand...I am with Trish...give me a call, I could be there in a few hours and Trish and I will go and kick some shins...or butts or something else!!
Hells Bells! I was thinking right along the same lines as most other folks. Let the lady bring in her child, 15 minutes of it driving everyone crazy, and that argument will be over.
But Karen and Bill made some serious points, I could not agree more with DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT!!! When I worked for "Large Multinational Chain Bookstore" 8 years ago, they hired the most incompetent employee ever. She never did anything outrageous enough to get fired for, but it was an accumulation of small lame things. However nobody documented. I was visiting the store on my last visit home, and guess who **STILL** works there?! That's right!
Complete craziness. And why DO the hard working people always have to deal with crap like this?
okay...I have to chime in here. I have been a working mom since my daughter was 3 months old. Never would I have considered it a good idea to take my infant to work. I even had an office where she would not have interrupted anyone...except for me and my ability to do my job...professionally! I was in lending, and dealt with most of my clients by phone, email, etc. Still...would not have been easy to do with a 6 mo. old. However, when she was 5, her preschool was closed for Christmas Eve, I had to work that day for four hours with no babysitter available and husband could not take off as well. So, with permission from my Sr. VP, I brought her with me. She sat at the conf. table in my office and colored. At age 5, she was pretty self-sufficient. At lunch, the bank closed and we went home. Totally different than if I'd had an infant there. However, from an HR standpoint, it can be sticky...when truly it is just plain common sense. I would just do as Karen says...tell Jason to document everything just in case...Don't worry. Jason is great at his job. He rocks! His boss...obviously not so much. Crazy like a fox woman...well, just watch out for her.
The answer's pretty simple actually.
Let her bring her child to work. Make sure that Jason has washed his hands of the situation, have him agree with the supervisor and go along with the SUPERVISOR"s recommendation but have it documented that he did not think it was a good idea but is only going along with it because of his supervisor's insistence.
Let her productivity suffer, let others complain that there's a 6 month old child in the building.
Sometimes you've got to let stupid people just play it out so they really realize how stupid they are.
His supervisor sounds like a bit of a moron. That's all I've got to say. If I go on I'll get all huffy about it. The nerve!
Shit sake, are you guys sure she's not banging the boss?
It could be a case of just shutting her up. It sounds like she's quite unprofessional and bitches a lot about whatever she can. So it may be easier to just give her her way and not have to listen to her whining.
Granted, that's a totally umprofessional way of dealing with it, if that is the case. It's gotta be terribly frustrating for your hubby :(
WOW, it amazes me the lengths that lazy people will go to get something they don't deserve. (If they would only use that time and energy in their jobs) Having said that and also having a husband who deals with nutballs every single day at his job, Jason must document, document, document every single detail, what has already happened and what is to come! He needs it for his own protection and must never, ever, allow himself to be in an office or room alone with this horrible woman! He obviously is a good employee, maybe he can find another company that will be worthy of him!
I'm with ya Chick, I'd be flaming mad too. The nerve of some people.
She sounds like a sad woman with no life, and she needs to get one. Because seriously? That is pathetic. Really. Geez.
Has anyone done any research, like CPS, OSHA and health department type research?
'cause if Jason's supervisor allows a 6 month old child to be at the office, the office just becomes a child care facility with all of the laws and regulations relating to infant care in force.
it's one thing for an employee to bring a child (of ay age) as a visit, for even a couple hours, where this is *not* officially sanctioned by the employer before hand. AND a non-employee adult is taking care of and supervising the children the entire time they are present.
It's entirely a different thing for an employee to bring a child into the office as an officially sanctioned activity, no other adult present to provide child supervision/care, etc.
Proper facilities for baby changing, diaper disposal and infant food waste is the least of the hurdles they are setting themselves up for.
Oh.. and the phone thing? Definitely needs to be fully documented in employee job descriptions, and if such descriptions do not exist and are not up to date.. some ought to be created/updated.
I'm just going to say ditto to everyone. I am baffled that Jason's boss thinks this is a comparable situation and that the woman presented it as such. Seriously?
What's his supervisor smoking? Crack?
Seriously, this is ludicrous. The world gone hogsh1t mad.
Jason seriously needs to have a reality talk with his supervisor. No fear. Just lay it on the table (doug's comment is very helpful!) how the two scenarios is like apples and oranges. Obviously the supervisor needs a lesson in basic deductive reasoning skills.
Omg.
*are*
sheesh, I'm tired..it's supposed to be *are*...not *is*.
uhm--- that is not fair. sounds like Jason needs a new job, too.
in a bad way.
Think they (the supervisor and the other employee) have something going on with each other in the "off hours"? :)
Why else would he think so irrationally??
For the love of crap...I hate stupid people.
Want me to go bitch slap the chick AND the supervisor?
What a dumb ass supervisor...let me think about this: an employee letting his wife and a couple of 'older' children come in for a couple of hours to help out vs. an employee bringing their 6 month old in...to do what exactly? Where does the supervisor think this is going to go?
I would (try) not to even stress yourself over the stupidity of the situation.
SUCH crap and more crap! Bring an infant to work because my coworker brought his 10 year olds to work? She must be D U M B as wood! And stupid too.
And all this other stuff? Office politics of the highest caliber. Perception is everything and if her perception is that Jason doesn't make the calls, blah blah blah, you see the point here. It sucks, it is unfair and it is not right.
Oh my, what a wonderful supportive wife you are!
Jason is the boss there for a reason! His boss should back him up.
Blessings to you, Chick.
I am sure that someone else has already said this, but...
Jason's supervisor is probably afraid of a sexual discrimination lawsuit. As well he should be. Nowadays (wow, am I 90), people will sue at the drop of a hat. Employers have to be mindful of that anytime they make any type of decision.
I think that bitch is wrong for what she is doing and I totally side with you and Jason on this.
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