Dear Ms. Corporate Manners,
A salaried employee in my work group comes in late everyday and leaves early everyday. When she finally gets to work, she is on personal cell phones – yes, I said “plural” – talking personal and church business. How do you think the employees who have to punch the time clock feels when nothing is being done about it? And . . .when the boss is out, this abuse is even more obvious. I am a non-salaried employee who works hard all day to get the job done. Obviously, this employee doesn’t have enough to do. I would like to say to this employee, if the shoe fits, I hope you are reading this and start earning your paycheck. I actually spoke with my boss about it “again” and she finally talked to the lady. We’ll see what happens. She’ll straighten up for a while then she’ll be back to her usual abuse. Could you put something in your blog that would shed light on similar actions? How would you handle this?
Signed,
Sick and Tired of It
Dear Sick and Tired,
You do bring up a valid concern. But please consider that you are making an assumption without knowledge of what a salaried employee is doing before or after hours to complete his or her job. Since this is not a time clock violation and you’ve already discussed it with your manager, you either need to talk with human resources or hope that if you’ve noticed that employee’s work ethic, someone in a higher position may have noticed as well.
Sincerely,
Ms. Corporate Manners
Following are two letters from readers who disagreed with Ms. Corporate Manners’ answers to Moody Co-Workers:
Dear Ms. Corporate Manners,
Concerning your answer to “Sick and Tired,” a while back, I worked with someone like that before. But I handled it differently and asked her out of concern if something was wrong. I found out her parents were having health problems, and she was trying to take care of them. She was just quiet because she had a lot on her mind. But she was friendly otherwise to co-workers and customers. So my advice is to be sure you know the reason for this person’s quietness. It may not be sulking – just matters of the heart!
Signed,
Don’t take Things So Personally
Dear Ms. Corporate Manners,
In response to walking on eggshells, what does age have to do with it? That’s a really childish cut. Maybe this person is quiet because of how he or she perceives other people in the department. You see this person, but have you ever tried to look at yourself? The person may not be giving anyone the silent treatment or feel like someone is stepping on her toes. Do you think maybe it is your behavior that causes the situation? Do you think that you yourself may give silent treatments? Some people see other faults but do not see their own. The way it sounds, you the person who wrote in sound to be ones that are cruel and shunning this person. Signed,
Slinging Eggs
Dear Don’t Take Things Personally and Slinging Eggs,
Sometimes the words come out of my lips before I’ve thought them out thoroughly (or in this case, out of my computer’s mouth!) The next time I’ll take more care and compassion with my answers.
Signed,
Ms. Corporate Manners
© Penny Aviotti and Ms.Corporate Manners 2003 – 2013.
