Professional Darwinism: Update to OP on p.74

[magicdomino]

One of the assistants at the small business I work at has committed full-on PD. She has only been employed for a few weeks, but has done numerous things to get fired:
- Start the gossip/trash talking on her first day
- Make the lower level assistant cry (she's a very sweet girl and did NOTHING to deserve such treatment)
- Show up in a grungy, ancient, cracked applique sweatshirt instead of professional dress then complain she's being singled out because another worker wore an (acceptable) collared shirt over her work shirt. A tidy fleece also would have been acceptable, but this looked more like something I wouldn't go to Walmart in
- Go ballistic when the boss gives a warning to all the new staff that theft will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted and accuse Boss of singling her out. I was at the meeting and NO ONE was singled out. The warning was given due to previous problems.
- Instead of talking to Boss about how she communicates (writes on a board instead of direct...it's obnoxious, but nothing to get that fired up about) rant to every other staff member about how disrespectful it is
- Do her job halfway or not at all. Glare at me when requested she do some regular tasks within her job description.

Methinks the lady doth protest too much.  A guilty conscience, perhaps?

[pierrotlunaire0]

This hit the media last week.  A state employee (not my department, but Human Services) left their work laptop in their car and it was stolen.  The lap top had some fairly high level encryption but the flash drive that was in it was not encrypted AT ALL.  Over 2500 people have had their personal information stolen, including: full legal name, date of birth, social security number, medical history, and income information.

I read the press release and wanted to scream at the person who left the laptop in their car: Duuuuuude!  Lying on the front seat of your car???

The state is trying to figure out all the people potentially affected.  My only hope is that who ever stole it just wanted the laptop, and pitched the flash drive.

[Hillia]

DS shared an example of preemptive PD today.

The company he works for is hiring salespeople.  He saw an email that was sent to the address used for receiving resumes.  Apparently the writer had sent his resume in a few times and had received the 'Thank you for your interest,but no thanks response each time.  After the third rejection, he sent a furious, expletive-filled rant about how wonderful he was and how much they'd regret not hiring him, and how stupid the recruiter was for not realizing it.

[kherbert05]

http://gawker.com/professor-suspended-over-threatening-game-of-thrones-1564357810

Professor posts a picture of his daughter wearing a shirt with a Game of Thrones quote - "I'll take what is mine with fire and blood".

The administration suspended him. They are claiming that he could be threatening to shoot up the school. It had nothing to do with the fact the professor had filed a grievance about being denied a sabbatical.  The faculty had registered a no confidence vote against the University President.


It sounds like the administration might be committing PD.

[AngelicGamer]

http://gawker.com/professor-suspended-over-threatening-game-of-thrones-1564357810

Professor posts a picture of his daughter wearing a shirt with a Game of Thrones quote - "I'll take what is mine with fire and blood".

The administration suspended him. They are claiming that he could be threatening to shoot up the school. It had nothing to do with the fact the professor had filed a grievance about being denied a sabbatical.  The faculty had registered a no confidence vote against the University President.


It sounds like the administration might be committing PD.

I don't think there's any might about it there.  GoT is a popular fandom and it could just be that he's happy that he can share a fandom with his daughter.

[Cherry91]

http://gawker.com/professor-suspended-over-threatening-game-of-thrones-1564357810

Professor posts a picture of his daughter wearing a shirt with a Game of Thrones quote - "I'll take what is mine with fire and blood".

The administration suspended him. They are claiming that he could be threatening to shoot up the school. It had nothing to do with the fact the professor had filed a grievance about being denied a sabbatical.  The faculty had registered a no confidence vote against the University President.


It sounds like the administration might be committing PD.

I don't think there's any might about it there.  GoT is a popular fandom and it could just be that he's happy that he can share a fandom with his daughter.

IIRC, there was a similar incident a few years ago at a university where a professor put a quote from Firefly on his door ("If I ever do kill you, you'll be awake, you'll be standing and you'll be armed" or something along those lines - it's the main character's response when one of the other characters asks what's stopping the MC from killing him in his sleep). The administration told him to take it down because it was "threatening" and when he complained threatened to suspend him.

[wolfie]

http://gawker.com/professor-suspended-over-threatening-game-of-thrones-1564357810

Professor posts a picture of his daughter wearing a shirt with a Game of Thrones quote - "I'll take what is mine with fire and blood".

The administration suspended him. They are claiming that he could be threatening to shoot up the school. It had nothing to do with the fact the professor had filed a grievance about being denied a sabbatical.  The faculty had registered a no confidence vote against the University President.


It sounds like the administration might be committing PD.

I don't think there's any might about it there.  GoT is a popular fandom and it could just be that he's happy that he can share a fandom with his daughter.

IIRC, there was a similar incident a few years ago at a university where a professor put a quote from Firefly on his door ("If I ever do kill you, you'll be awake, you'll be standing and you'll be armed" or something along those lines - it's the main character's response when one of the other characters asks what's stopping the MC from killing him in his sleep). The administration told him to take it down because it was "threatening" and when he complained threatened to suspend him.

He put a quote like that on his office door and was surprised when he was told to take it down? If someone in my office posted that I would definitely take it as a possible threat. That really has no place in a workplace.

[KenveeB]

http://gawker.com/professor-suspended-over-threatening-game-of-thrones-1564357810

Professor posts a picture of his daughter wearing a shirt with a Game of Thrones quote - "I'll take what is mine with fire and blood".

The administration suspended him. They are claiming that he could be threatening to shoot up the school. It had nothing to do with the fact the professor had filed a grievance about being denied a sabbatical.  The faculty had registered a no confidence vote against the University President.


It sounds like the administration might be committing PD.

I don't think there's any might about it there.  GoT is a popular fandom and it could just be that he's happy that he can share a fandom with his daughter.

IIRC, there was a similar incident a few years ago at a university where a professor put a quote from Firefly on his door ("If I ever do kill you, you'll be awake, you'll be standing and you'll be armed" or something along those lines - it's the main character's response when one of the other characters asks what's stopping the MC from killing him in his sleep). The administration told him to take it down because it was "threatening" and when he complained threatened to suspend him.

He put a quote like that on his office door and was surprised when he was told to take it down? If someone in my office posted that I would definitely take it as a possible threat. That really has no place in a workplace.

Yeah, I agree there's a big difference between putting that on your office door and posting a picture of your child who just happens to be wearing a Firefly shirt. One is directly endorsing the statement, the other is not.

[wolfie]

http://gawker.com/professor-suspended-over-threatening-game-of-thrones-1564357810

Professor posts a picture of his daughter wearing a shirt with a Game of Thrones quote - "I'll take what is mine with fire and blood".

The administration suspended him. They are claiming that he could be threatening to shoot up the school. It had nothing to do with the fact the professor had filed a grievance about being denied a sabbatical.  The faculty had registered a no confidence vote against the University President.


It sounds like the administration might be committing PD.

I don't think there's any might about it there.  GoT is a popular fandom and it could just be that he's happy that he can share a fandom with his daughter.

IIRC, there was a similar incident a few years ago at a university where a professor put a quote from Firefly on his door ("If I ever do kill you, you'll be awake, you'll be standing and you'll be armed" or something along those lines - it's the main character's response when one of the other characters asks what's stopping the MC from killing him in his sleep). The administration told him to take it down because it was "threatening" and when he complained threatened to suspend him.

He put a quote like that on his office door and was surprised when he was told to take it down? If someone in my office posted that I would definitely take it as a possible threat. That really has no place in a workplace.

Yeah, I agree there's a big difference between putting that on your office door and posting a picture of your child who just happens to be wearing a Firefly shirt. One is directly endorsing the statement, the other is not.

exactly - and there is another big difference in posting it at work and on your own private account!

[Jocelyn]

This hit the media last week.  A state employee (not my department, but Human Services) left their work laptop in their car and it was stolen.   

All of our state laptops are locked so that if you have not logged into it using a hardwired campus connection before trying to use it away from campus, you cannot log into it at all. Which is a bit of a pain, when one of your colleagues has taken the laptop you usually use, so that you have to take the time to crawl under your desk, disconnect your cable from your tower, and plug it into the laptop... but it does give us a little security so that if your laptop is stolen it will do the thief very little good. I suppose the thief could still eject the flashdrive and put it into another computer, though. But then, I don't carry anything more confidential than student papers on mine. And God knows that NO ONE wants to read those...

[nutraxfornerves]

IIRC, there was a similar incident a few years ago at a university where a professor put a quote from Firefly on his door ("If I ever do kill you, you'll be awake, you'll be standing and you'll be armed" or something along those lines - it's the main character's response when one of the other characters asks what's stopping the MC from killing him in his sleep). The administration told him to take it down because it was "threatening" and when he complained threatened to suspend him.

It wasn't just a quote out of context; it was a poster that showed the quote. A campus police officer saw it & removed it. The professor put up a second poster that said “Warning: Fascism “Fascism can cause blunt head trauma and/or violent death.” This was also removed.

The administration at first defended the action, but after the whole thing caused a huge uproar, even involving the show's actors, the university issued a statement:

It is important to note that the posters were not removed to censor the professor in question. Rather, they were removed out of legitimate concern for the violent messages contained in each poster and the belief that the posters ran counter to our primary mission to provide a campus that is welcoming, safe and secure.

In retrospect, however, it is clear that the removal of the posters – although done with the best intent – did have the effect of casting doubt on [our university's] dedication to the principles embodied in the First Amendment, especially the ability to express oneself freely. As many people have pointed out in the days since this issue surfaced, a public university must take the utmost care to protect this right.

Therefore, [the university] has reconsidered its decision to remove the two posters from outside the professor’s office, meaning he can display them if he so chooses.

Read more here

[AngelicGamer]

http://gawker.com/professor-suspended-over-threatening-game-of-thrones-1564357810

Professor posts a picture of his daughter wearing a shirt with a Game of Thrones quote - "I'll take what is mine with fire and blood".

The administration suspended him. They are claiming that he could be threatening to shoot up the school. It had nothing to do with the fact the professor had filed a grievance about being denied a sabbatical.  The faculty had registered a no confidence vote against the University President.


It sounds like the administration might be committing PD.

I don't think there's any might about it there.  GoT is a popular fandom and it could just be that he's happy that he can share a fandom with his daughter.

IIRC, there was a similar incident a few years ago at a university where a professor put a quote from Firefly on his door ("If I ever do kill you, you'll be awake, you'll be standing and you'll be armed" or something along those lines - it's the main character's response when one of the other characters asks what's stopping the MC from killing him in his sleep). The administration told him to take it down because it was "threatening" and when he complained threatened to suspend him.

He put a quote like that on his office door and was surprised when he was told to take it down? If someone in my office posted that I would definitely take it as a possible threat. That really has no place in a workplace.

Yeah, I agree there's a big difference between putting that on your office door and posting a picture of your child who just happens to be wearing a Firefly shirt. One is directly endorsing the statement, the other is not.

exactly - and there is another big difference in posting it at work and on your own private account!

I do agree with posting at work vs posting on a personal FB account, but I don't agree with just taking down the poster without notifying the owner of said poster.  TY nutraxfornerves for posting the link to the article explaining about the Firefly poster incident.  The second poster was provoking and idiotic though, since it showed a cop beating someone and it was a campus police officer that took down the Firefly one. 

[AtraBecca]

Well, I don't know the details - I wish I did - but basically, my dad is going back to work as a contractor because the guy replacing him had some kind of mental breakdown.  I said to him, so your job drives people crazy? He said it can be a bit stressful during the busy season... 

[iridaceae]

Heh. I should have guessed the one was at a UW school.

[dawbs]

This hit the media last week.  A state employee (not my department, but Human Services) left their work laptop in their car and it was stolen.   

All of our state laptops are locked so that if you have not logged into it using a hardwired campus connection before trying to use it away from campus, you cannot log into it at all. Which is a bit of a pain, when one of your colleagues has taken the laptop you usually use, so that you have to take the time to crawl under your desk, disconnect your cable from your tower, and plug it into the laptop... but it does give us a little security so that if your laptop is stolen it will do the thief very little good. I suppose the thief could still eject the flashdrive and put it into another computer, though. But then, I don't carry anything more confidential than student papers on mine. And God knows that NO ONE wants to read those...

I absolutely shouldn't admit this, but...
One of the first events I coordinated at my current job involved a group of very bright high schoolers from a variety of backgrounds (read that as...at least 50% were from troubled backgrounds, and of those, a good 25% of the troubled ones were in 'alternate' school programs because of problems, many having arrest/gang histories).  The kids were great but something (I have no idea what) came up and I had to have a room to warehouse these kids for 20 minutes while we dealt with the crisis.

I herded them into a room that is similar to a library space--big room, desks, chairs, about 5 computers.  I left a few adults (not as many as I would have liked, but adults) in there with them, they weren't unattended. After the 20 minutes, they headed on their way--no harm no foul

The following week, I got complaints that the computers in the room didn't work. 
The little scamps had, without attracting any attention, cracked the cases, pulled out the component parts that had resale value, and sealed them back up again (at least mostly).

No PD because I could never prove who did it (couldn't even prove it was that group of kids, although we all knew it was likely).  To bad we didn't know who they were, my IT guy said that he was impressed as heck with how much they could do in 20 minutes