You Forwarded My Email To WHO????

[WillyNilly]

I don't think it was the least bit inappropriate for your email to be forwarded to Stonecold along with your supervisors comments.  I mean... how else were they going to bring up your issues without mentioning you?
I also don't think you wrote anything all that terrible or embarrassing.

I think you should walk with your head held high.  There is no reason to mention anything or bring anything additional up, because you have already brought up your issues.  If you are asked about the email, I think you should reiterate your stance - you don't have forms and its unacceptable and the powers that be need to get on the ball and get some, and that you have outlined duties for your position and it does not include programming and booking, and you are not willing or able to take on those extra responsibilities when there is already someone who's job it is to handle them, without additional training, title change and compensation.

[artk2002]

In situations like this, it's good to remember the First Rule of Holes: If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

In other words, don't try to follow up explaining things. You'll only make it worse.

[bopper]

If Stonecold says anything to you, then just say "That email was sent to a coworker, not management so I am surprise that you ended up with it.  Naturally I would have worded it a bit differently!  However, it does contain some truths.  Management does need to follow up as to where to get the forms that were mentioned and I was quite surprised to find out that I am being referred to for booking.

[NotTheNarcissist]

Drop it. IME work situations like this just go downhill. So sad you are going through that.

[DoubleTrouble]

I vote ignore it, Stonecold probably thought it was a joke so let it fade into the ether.

It seems to me that you do need to talk to stonecold. She is the boss, and she clearly has some expectations that you feel you are unable to meet at this moment. Your team have seperated your tasks, while the boss now clearly states that she requires all staff to be able to do some tasks she considers 'basic'.

I think it would be a good idea to sit down with her and the team and discuss this, let Stonecold know what the current menthod of work is, and what you guys need to be able to work as she wants you to.

It is probably in everyone's best interest if you try to meet the boss' expectations of you.

Sorry, my first response to this was "BWHAHAHAHAHAHA..."(because I thought you were just being funny - really)  But then I realized that you might be new and not be aware of all the stories involving Stonecold.  Those of us who have followed Yarnspinner's "Tales of Insanity", say trust us when we tell you that as nice as your ideas are, they would not work with Stonecold.

POD to wheeitsme, I got a giggle out of it as well until I realized Steve was serious. Steve, I highly recommend you do a search for Stonecold, she's something else to say the least.

And I also thought Yarnspinner was close to retirement, when's the final escape date?

[NyaChan]

I don't think it was the least bit inappropriate for your email to be forwarded to Stonecold along with your supervisors comments.  I mean... how else were they going to bring up your issues without mentioning you?
I also don't think you wrote anything all that terrible or embarrassing.

I think you should walk with your head held high.  There is no reason to mention anything or bring anything additional up, because you have already brought up your issues.  If you are asked about the email, I think you should reiterate your stance - you don't have forms and its unacceptable and the powers that be need to get on the ball and get some, and that you have outlined duties for your position and it does not include programming and booking, and you are not willing or able to take on those extra responsibilities when there is already someone who's job it is to handle them, without additional training, title change and compensation.

You know I'm torn on this -  On one hand, Yarnspinner didn't give any indication that this was a private communication and hey she was using work email so should always be doubly careful.  At the same time, the comment from Helen makes me think that she realized that it wasn't something that Yarnspinner would want Stonecold to see, that Helen wanted to make a point to Stonecold and found a way to do it without having any potential backlash fall on her.  She basically used Yarnspinner and I don't like that.  So I can see feeling miffed that someone would forward this email if they had reason to believe it was private, but at the same time, I can't altogether blame Helen either because that is one of the common dangers of electronic communication.    I too think that Yarnspinner shouldn't bring up the topic, but don't back down if someone else does - be nice about it but state firmly that if you are given additional duties that are in line with a higher pay grade, you feel additional compensation is deserved.

[MamaMootz]

Coming from a person who had a manager just recently with no filter whatsoever, I would be sure to mark any future e-mails to Helen as "private".

If you are using Outlook as your e-mail program, you can do that by changing your settings on that particular e-mail message.  Messages marked "private" and "confidential" in Outlook cannot be forwarded to anyone.

As far as Stoney goes, I POD Art. Don't dig any further.

[JenJay]

DON'T say anything to Stonecold.  For one thing, you do want a raise!  Telling her you don't will only cause trouble down the line, next time raises are being handed out, because "Yarnspinner doesn't care anyway."  (This behavior - apologizing for actually wanting to be paid - has been pointed to many times as one of the reasons women are paid less than men.  Men tend to have no problem asking for a raise and trumpeting their achievements; women tend to apologize and justify and not ask for a raise in the first place.)  So if Stonecold mentions the raise thing sometime later, you can address what you actually meant: "Well of course I want a raise!  I definitely deserve one!  I'm not expecting one any time soon, though.  I was really just trying to highlight how X, Y, and Z were suddenly my job but nobody told me."  For another thing, Stonecold will probably have forgotten the details of the email by tomorrow - if you're lucky, she'll remember "Yarnspinner will actually stand up for herself" and "Wait, was there someone specific I'm supposed to refer the dingbats to, besides Yarnspinner?"

^ yes

[Yarnspinner]

Thanks, guys.  You pretty much echoed what I was thinking.

Two updates:

1) Stonecold is apparently ignoring it or she has already forgotten (given how things usually run around here, I am voting the latter).  We had a short talk today about the need to partner with social workers to help the homeless.  Or something.  As always she wasn't exactly clear on what she was thinking, but she thought I would be interested.  I will get on that right after I finish throwing the book parties and the ball she was talking about....sometimes I wish I could walk around inside her mind.

2) Helen forwarded the email not only to Stonecold, but t several of the upper grade librarians as well.  Several of them sent me notes that ran "What is WRONG with Helen?"  and...if I understood one of my close buds correctly...Helen was chewed out at their managers meeting this week.  She didn't come in today so she may be feeling embarrassed herself.

Regards my retirement:  it was supposed to be this June.  Unfortunately, there have been car issues, several air flights (one of them an emergency) to my family down south, several appliance breakdowns and, oh yeah, the idiot who used to work with me who backed into my car and left and never told me and I am still paying off a mastercard full of my late cat's medical bills and after I figured out pension and the lot, I discovered that my retirement won't even cover my mortgage payments, so I am sticking around at least until next June, possibly next December, while I figure out if I want to move closer to my family or see if there are jobs for librarians on Mars.....

[cheyne]

DON'T say anything to Stonecold.  For one thing, you do want a raise!  Telling her you don't will only cause trouble down the line, next time raises are being handed out, because "Yarnspinner doesn't care anyway."  (This behavior - apologizing for actually wanting to be paid - has been pointed to many times as one of the reasons women are paid less than men.  Men tend to have no problem asking for a raise and trumpeting their achievements; women tend to apologize and justify and not ask for a raise in the first place.)  So if Stonecold mentions the raise thing sometime later, you can address what you actually meant: "Well of course I want a raise!  I definitely deserve one!  I'm not expecting one any time soon, though.  I was really just trying to highlight how X, Y, and Z were suddenly my job but nobody told me."  For another thing, Stonecold will probably have forgotten the details of the email by tomorrow - if you're lucky, she'll remember "Yarnspinner will actually stand up for herself" and "Wait, was there someone specific I'm supposed to refer the dingbats to, besides Yarnspinner?"

This.  I once sat in a meeting with ALL the bigshots and told them in no uncertain terms that I wouldn't be doing the extra duties they wanted me to without a raise.  I got the raise, the extra duties, and their respect (this was a roomful of men-I was the lone woman in the group).  You want a raise, you deserve a raise, why be coy about it?  I saw nothing untoward in your email except the complete unprofessionalism of Helen forwarding it.

[VorFemme]

I'm wondering if Stonecold thinks that she is being sympathetic to the lower level employees by mentioning that "we could all use a raise" - not realizing that her history makes it come off as condescending instead.  I get the idea that she really doesn't understand tone of voice, body language, or the irony of her saying anything about the extra work she puts others through.

Rather comes across like Voldemort mentioning to Harry that he's sorry that he killed Lily and James when he was really only after Harry, himself.  Much eyerolling here.