Professional Darwinism: Update to OP on p.74

[Piratelvr1121]

I like Herky so much I had a baby on his premises.

Rock on!! My bf has promised me the next time I go out her way for a visit, she's going to take me into the Uof IA hospital so that we can get a really good view of the inside of Kinnick Stadium.  It won't be the right time of the year for a game, as I'm planning on going either in spring or summer, but it'll still be cool!

[AfleetAlex]

Snarky and Evil are really, really upset.  Military spouse and former military - they were really leaning to defenestration when they remembered that submarines don't have windows in "the tower".  Although tossing him out at a quarter of a mile under sea level would qualify for the Darwin Award...they really like to use the word defenestration.

They are still very upset - but are going to get over it by discussing other options.  The penalty in The Man Without A Country also appeals to them - with the more modern option of confining him in a submarine instead of a ship.  They really don't like the guy's attitude.

It is beyond time for me to go home. I first read that as 'deforestation' and couldn't figure out what trees had to do with submarines. 

[ShanghaiJill]

I like Herky so much I had a baby on his premises.

Rock on!! My bf has promised me the next time I go out her way for a visit, she's going to take me into the Uof IA hospital so that we can get a really good view of the inside of Kinnick Stadium.  It won't be the right time of the year for a game, as I'm planning on going either in spring or summer, but it'll still be cool!

Fire up your DVR, all the exerior shots on the TV show Coach, were filmed around the U of I.

When I cleaned out my late stepfather's house last summer, I found the 1982 Rosebowl commemorative hat I gave him.  He kept it all these years.  It's mine now.

[MissRose]

I just had a case of professional darwinism from a coworker I actually liked.  She IS very young, but that doesn't excuse the stupidity, unless she was trying to get fired.  That is a possibility as she has been more and more dissatisfied with her job, so she may have been trying to get fired so she could get unemployment while looking for a new job and not having to work this one... but otherwise, way too stupid.

I work at a call center, and we handle confidential information.  Not everything we handle is, and very, very little is financial, but we have security rules.  One of those is no phones/devices out on the call floor.  Especially NO pictures at all.  Well, this girl took a picture with her phone, and then posted it on Facebook.  By the way, she has coworkers as friends on Facebook.  Taking pictures is an automatic firing, no warning.  We'd loose our contract for the call center if it wasn't.  So... Facebook strikes again.

I work in a call center also but the rules on cell phones are simple: volume kept to minimum or vibrate, if you wanna text or play games etc - not to do so while doing a contact of any kind, and no talking on the phone on the floor.  If you must make a call, step into a conference room or other place outside the floor.  Weekends are bit more relaxed on the rules as most bosses aren't around, and most people know not to disturb other near them with their phones.

There are a few people that break one of the rules.  Unfortunately, their bosses do not think much of what they do or they would been out a long time ago.

[RoseRose]

I just had a case of professional darwinism from a coworker I actually liked.  She IS very young, but that doesn't excuse the stupidity, unless she was trying to get fired.  That is a possibility as she has been more and more dissatisfied with her job, so she may have been trying to get fired so she could get unemployment while looking for a new job and not having to work this one... but otherwise, way too stupid.

I work at a call center, and we handle confidential information.  Not everything we handle is, and very, very little is financial, but we have security rules.  One of those is no phones/devices out on the call floor.  Especially NO pictures at all.  Well, this girl took a picture with her phone, and then posted it on Facebook.  By the way, she has coworkers as friends on Facebook.  Taking pictures is an automatic firing, no warning.  We'd loose our contract for the call center if it wasn't.  So... Facebook strikes again.

I work in a call center also but the rules on cell phones are simple: volume kept to minimum or vibrate, if you wanna text or play games etc - not to do so while doing a contact of any kind, and no talking on the phone on the floor.  If you must make a call, step into a conference room or other place outside the floor.  Weekends are bit more relaxed on the rules as most bosses aren't around, and most people know not to disturb other near them with their phones.

There are a few people that break one of the rules.  Unfortunately, their bosses do not think much of what they do or they would been out a long time ago.

Here they're a lot more strict- rule is NO phones out on the call floor- technically a firing offense, but unless a big boss catches you, it's more likely to be a warning.  You do see phones out all the time.  Firings only happen if the use is egregious- such as taking a picture.  Call centers with this client have lost the entire contract due to information leaks, which is why we are so strict on phones.  If the client is around, well, we could be in SERIOUS trouble for having the phones out.  (We're a third party call center- basically we work for a company that has a contract with a company and we take calls like we're employees of the company that my employer contracts with, but we get our paychecks from the employer.  This is fairly common in the call center world.

[snowflake]

And many of the men in this age bracket that hit on me...and if they're a baby boomer, I am definitely young enough to be their daughter or possibly even their granddaughter!

Reminds me of another thing.  I once had a job where I had to visit different sites around town to fix computers.  Some of the men at the sites were inappropriate.  This was when I was 21 and not very confidant so at first I laughed and said that they were so silly.  I thought maybe not taking it seriously would make me look like less of a whiner and get the message across.  It didn't.

Finally I realized that I was probably obligated to report it or something so I mentioned to my boss (who owned the company) that it was happening.  His response was to tell me that I should be thankful that any man was showing interest in me and I should go out with them. 

I said (and I agree this is slightly thoughtless): "I'm creeped out by a 40 year old who would want to date someone my age."

Well, true.  But the boss was 38!  He immediately ripped me up and down telling me that 40 wasn't old, and he hoped I'd know what it was like to be 40 some day and have all these young people who wouldn't give me the time of day.  (I left the company mostly because of this.)

The company went under due to an owner who didn't take management seriously.  Granted, it wasn't all because many people left due to hostile work conditions but that was a factor.  (Besides saying demeaning things to women, they routinely picked on men who they thought weren't manly enough.)

For the record, I am now 38 and I am still creeped out by someone my age who would see a 21 year old as a target.  EEEEWWWWW!  Yuck! 

[ShanghaiJill]

I just had a case of professional darwinism from a coworker I actually liked.  She IS very young, but that doesn't excuse the stupidity, unless she was trying to get fired.  That is a possibility as she has been more and more dissatisfied with her job, so she may have been trying to get fired so she could get unemployment while looking for a new job and not having to work this one... but otherwise, way too stupid.

I work at a call center, and we handle confidential information.  Not everything we handle is, and very, very little is financial, but we have security rules.  One of those is no phones/devices out on the call floor.  Especially NO pictures at all.  Well, this girl took a picture with her phone, and then posted it on Facebook.  By the way, she has coworkers as friends on Facebook.  Taking pictures is an automatic firing, no warning.  We'd loose our contract for the call center if it wasn't.  So... Facebook strikes again.

I work in a call center also but the rules on cell phones are simple: volume kept to minimum or vibrate, if you wanna text or play games etc - not to do so while doing a contact of any kind, and no talking on the phone on the floor.  If you must make a call, step into a conference room or other place outside the floor.  Weekends are bit more relaxed on the rules as most bosses aren't around, and most people know not to disturb other near them with their phones.

There are a few people that break one of the rules.  Unfortunately, their bosses do not think much of what they do or they would been out a long time ago.

I was shopping at a big box office supply store.  The sales clerk who helped me told me (without being asked, thank you) that he was going to the local college in hope of being a police officer.  He then proceeded to show me his cell phone and tell me, that phones weren't allowed on the sales floor, but he had his set to vibrate.

That was when cell phones were still a novelty and I'd bet he did not become a police officer.

He had no regard for rules.

[MyFamily]

I was shopping at a big box office supply store.  The sales clerk who helped me told me (without being asked, thank you) that he was going to the local college in hope of being a police officer.  He then proceeded to show me his cell phone and tell me, that phones weren't allowed on the sales floor, but he had his set to vibrate.

That was when cell phones were still a novelty and I'd bet he did not become a police officer.

He had no regard for rules.

A disregard for the rules doesn't stop people from becoming police officers.  I recently had jury duty and was at the courthouse over 2 days.  Per county law, all exits of county buildings are non-smoking within 30 feet of the exit.  I saw staff members, including members of the sheriff's department, stand right by that door and light up.  The complete and total disregard of this rule by people whose job involves enforcing the rules was really shocking to me.  I have begun a letter to our county exec sharing my thoughts - dont know if it will change anything, but if the rule says no smoking within 30 feet of a door, you shouldn't smoke within 30 feet of a door.

[ShanghaiJill]

My Dad watched some professional Darwinism over his career. He and his coworkers had great careers and received salaries that were not stingy. But yet, some people would risk getting fired to file fraudulent expense reports... for $20. And some people were warned the first time, tried again, then got fired! Why!?

I feel like sometimes people feel like they are entitled to that money, and will flagrantly break rules to get what they feel they deserve. But I just don't get it.

My boss who stole the rolls of tickets from the fairgrounds used to pad his expense accounts like crazy.   The office refrigerator was stocked with soda for the staff courtesy of his mileage accounts. (I didn't drink any)

I think that's why they canned him.

[Hillia]

The tales of account-padding bosses reminds me of a former boss of mine who was just the opposite.  We worked for a state agency, and he often said, 'do you think the taxpayers want to pay for that?'.  The two occasions I remember best were a debate over whether the office should supply kleenex, and a comment when he and I went to a professional meeting for other state university employees, and several had purchased sweatshirts with their school's logo out of their petty cash.

[Thena]

Here's a good one from my college days.

When I was 19, I got a job working at the deli department of a large supermarket. They hired an older divorced woman at the same time, and we used to work together on the same shifts. This woman would constantly badmouth the supermarket and would even point out to customers that she did all of her personal shopping at Rival Supermarket "because their store is so much cleaner than ours."

Management eventually transferred her to the fish department because it involved less interaction with customers. But every night when she took her (paid) 15-minute break, she would come to the deli and start eating right out of the deli case while we were waiting on customers. After a few days of this, she was fired.

They also picked up another employee who transferred from a different location across town. Her reason for requesting a transfer? Her driver's license was revoked and she could no longer drive to that location, but our store was within walking distance. During her first week at our store, she went to take her 15-minute break. She didn't come back for an hour. We were left short-handed and were so busy that the store manager had to hop behind the deli counter and start waiting on customers.

Eventually, this girl returned. She couldn't understand why all the managers were so upset with her. She said that she had been on her way to the break room when she saw that the meat department had a really good sale, so she decided to stock up. And of course she doesn't have a car, so she had to take her purchase and walk back to her apartment to re-stock her freezer. She thought that the store should be happy with her because she just made such a big purchase!

[Amara]

I had forgotten this until now.

I began at the community college where I now work as an "hourly" in 2000. (Hourlies are temps who can work only 19.5 hours a week for no more than 175 days in a row.) I had been hired for four months to work with the housing department. I kept up the very basic listings online plus the bulletin board, and talked with students and potential students and their families plus any local housing places I could find. I enjoy it.

In the office was my supervisor, Ann. Under her but in a permanent position was the secretary, "Joan." Joan was older than me and had a husband and a daughter in her early or mid-twenties who lived at home. I have no idea how long this had been going on but from the beginning it was obvious it had been a problem for some time. Joan used to offer to let students of all kinds stay with her (without checking with her family). She'd just pop up and say, "You can stay with me!" I was beyond stunned the first time I heard this--who says this to literally anyone who walks in the door with a problem; has she no sense of either propriety or safety? Ann scolds the heck out of her, saying, "Joan, we have talked about this ..." I scoot the heck out of there and go check out the bulletin board in the hallway.

Ann couldn't let her go because of the union but this happened perhaps a dozen times in the four months I was there (and I was only there half time). I was astounded at Joan's behavior, which obviously made Ann very mad every time it happened. It was so inappropriate too.
 

[Pippen]

I'm not sure if this is professional darwinsim, special snowflake or brain hurty or a bit of all three, but it sure seemed like a fine way to get your kids killed in relation to your work.

I used to work in expatriation policy. I have no idea why this role was offered up in the first place as it was non essential and could easily have been filled by a local hire but it was for an HR manager in one of the most dangerous, war torn countries in the world. At the time it ranked highest on our hardship ratings was generally considered a seething pit of misery and despair which no one in their right mind would want to move to. The woman who applied for it was a single mother in lower middle management with 3 kids aged 7, 4 and 6 months.

Her reasoning for wanting to go was she would make around another 20,000 GPB a year due to the hardship allowance. I flat out told her NO. The company will not let you take your 3 young children to a country in which they have a very very high chance of getting murdered. They are an easy target, there is no suitable education or healthcare for them there. You will live in a compound surrounded by armed guards and razor wire. You will travel in armoured vehicles with more armed guards. The only dependent in the whole country was the VP's wife and she had to undertake hostage training, combat training and safety courses with former SAS soldiers before she was allowed to go.

She was hell bent on going purely for the money and no thought to her children's welfare. She thought we were discriminating against her. No you silly woman we are trying to keep you alive!

She escalated it so far up the food chain everyone who heard about it thought she was truly deranged and her credibility got shot to pieces.

[Twik]

Was reading an article today, and came across this winner. I've hidden stuff that might be upsetting, so read at your own risk.

A worker, for a $100 bet, offered to use a staple gun to affix his, er, most sensitive appendage to a wooden plank. He performed this in his company's lunchroom. As the report said, "through the miracle of modern technology, this was recorded." The resulting video was then posted for public viewing on a website. Worker was shocked and appalled when his company then discharged him for unsafe behaviour in the workplace.

At least he only hurt himself. Another worker, in the same article, believed his nail gun wasn't working, and to prove it pressed it against the stomach of a co-worker and pulled the trigger. Unfortunately for the co-worker, it was working after all.

[Dazi]

Well, this one is not so bad compared to some other stories on here, but strange none the less.

Years ago, while working at a grocery store, I had a rather strange run in with the janitor, Stan.  The security monitors to the whole store, parking area and loading where located in my office.  Prior to getting the position I was in, I had mentioned several times to the other managers that Stan would just disappear during his shift.  He could be paged and paged and paged with no response.

Well, a few days after I had started new position, in new office, with shiny security cameras, I noticed Stan sneaking out the back loading bay on just the edge of the camera view.  I popped out of my and to the back of the store, where employees are not allowed to park and watch Stan drive off.

45 minutes later, I watch him come back in.  I check the time clock to make sure he didn't clock out.  Called a more senior manger over, showed him the video and have a chat with Stan.

Manager thinks he must have had some emergency.  He tells us he went home to use the restroom.  He does it everyday because he doesn't like using public restrooms...not just once, which would be bad enough, but at least three times a shift...everyday, for the last ten years...45 minutes a trip.

So I estimate he got paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $60,000 so he could go do his business in the comfort of his own home instead of using the restrooms in the store.  He couldn't figure out why he got fired either....