This story was told to me yesterday at the salt mine. It's been condensed and edited for ease of posting.
One of my employee's cousins has been a manager for a local supermarket. He moved up the ladder over the past 22 years.
A newly hired employee was prone to being a no - show or late to work.
Fed up with this the Manager commented something like this to the spud:
"Dude, you can't be doing this. Showing up late, or not at all. Stop playing with yourself
and get here when your shift starts"
Mid to late teen spud goes to HR.
Sexual harassment.
22 year career ends.
YHGTBSM
Spud probably went home and played with his self over that fine accomplishment.
I recently changed jobs to a smaller outfit. The owner will not force any covid BS on anyone. As this situation evolves, I'm surprised by the moves being made by the other side, but not really.
ReplyDeleteYou, me, everyone, has a choice. If nobody stands up and resists, there will be nobresistance. Even a gall danged senator is telling you you're being played... wake the fuck up people.
"No"
Is all it takes
BFYTW
The first mistake was cutting Spud any slack.
ReplyDeleteOne no-show or late: verbal warning.
Two no shows or late: written warning. Go home and miss the rest of your shift, without pay.
Three no-shows or late: You're fired. Don't bother coming back.
All with written scripts, and a witness.
Sexual harassment? WHAT....what part of "show up to work" is sexually harassing someone?!?!?!
ReplyDeleteIt's not. The "quit playing with yourself" comment was the sexual harassment.
DeleteCorporate America has chased all the top performers out with hr bs.
I had a friend that did something similar. He started as a bag boy in high school. Twenty years latter he was a shift manager with a wife and 3 kids. Mix in a 20 year old cashier that had all the right curves. They had an affair and when he broke it off she screamed sexual harassment. She got a settlement from the supermarket and he lost his job, family, and home.
ReplyDeleteI really miss working in the man's world. Today, the field is littered with pansies.
ReplyDeleteI can remember sitting in the breakroom when another tech came in.
"Mornin' douchebag"
"Mornin' fuckface. How's it going?"
6'8"/280 lb boss comes in, gets across the room to the newcomer in 2 steps, looks down while pointing his finger in the dudes face.
"OK YOU LITTLE HOMO, ARE YOU COMING IN ON TIME ANY DAY THIS WEEK?"
It was great, for a time, until they moved the customer service women into the ops area. Then, the banter stopped or moved to the loading dock.
The cuz isn't management material now.
ReplyDeleteIn today's climate, as a manager, he should darn well have know better than to say anything beyond "show up on time", keep records, and follow through. No, his comment wasn't over the line; yes, it was understandable by any rational management (which HR is not); and yes, it was hyperbole. AND...that gets a white male fired every time. ALL of today's 18-40 year olds WILL play the harassment/racism card (some females have always done so). As a line manager, you are always at risk. Behave accordingly. Know your battlefield, don't give the enemy a free shot. ALWAYS remember that HR is NOT on your side as a manager; they work for the company, not you, and especially if you are a white male, you are the easiest target. Don't give them ammunition.
Truly sorry for the cousin, who got railroaded, but in all fairness, he handed HR a loaded gun. Aesop is dead right.
Learn the current rules. Cover your own ass first. Never, never, never trust HR, and never have a conversation with them without a recording or at least post hoc documentation sent to them as a record.
I worked in a grocery store in high school and part of college (late 80s early 90s). One of the Assistant Managers was a bit of a douche but if you didn't take him too seriously and gave it right back then you could get along with him. One day I'm restocking the paper towel aisle, not in a great mood for some reason I forget now. He sees his opportunity and starts in on me. I'm ignoring him and as his parting shot he sticks his hand in his pocket and pulls out a quarter handing it to me and says:
ReplyDelete"Here. Go get laid."
I take the quarter, look at it and reply, "Your wife charges more than this. You got another one?"
His face turned bright red. He wanted me to think it was from anger but I could see his lip quivering trying to stifle his laughter.
Later that evening he pulled me aside and said, "You got me good earlier. No fooling. That was good. But....I'm telling my wife what you said." Then he turned around walked off. Damn.
My employer had a corporate lawyer come in every year and give us the talk, about sexual harassment, and how they would not cut us any slack, at all.
ReplyDeleteFrom no dirty jokes, to no calling someone gay or even implying it, as men can do. No pin up calendar on the wall or even in your locker, hidden away.
This to a bunch of men working making steel in a foundry. No women at all. Just a CYA move, in case a gay person got hired, or a government auditor happened to stop by.
Totally BS, of course, but that is how they roll now.
Me? I'd meet his ass outside after the next shift he bothered showing up for and beat his ass down. Then, should the little bitch of a manlet call a cop on my, I'd bail on outta jail and fucking do it again.
ReplyDeleteThis story comes from the 90s.
ReplyDeleteWhen I worked in offshore oil exploration, we used to have screensavers of nekkid babes draped over cars, bikes, etc.
One day we had a girl assigned to the ship, and she asked us to remove the most blatant examples.
Of course, we refused.
So, she didn't go to HR or make any official fuss.
What she did was find pics of the gayest oiled-up naked men in bondage for her screensaver.
The nekkid babes were gone by morning.