Professional Darwinism: Update to OP on p.74

[Winterlight]

After 9/11 my law firm office was brainstorming ways to prepare in case our highrise was attacked (downtown in major US city, though not MAJOR city and not one attacked).  An all employee meeting was held, and our office manager demonstrated for us a method of sawing through the window and parachuting out to safety (which is absurd for a variety of reasons) and then one of the named parthers explained that "each lawyer would get a parachute."  Apparently we were supposed to just hold on to our support staff or go tandem or something? 

We didn't end up going with the parachute plan.

Wow, that sounds like a horrible, horrible idea. BASE jumping is not for novices, and from what I can tell this would not have worked on 9/11 anyway, between the smoke, turbulence and wind shear. Not to mention the explosions.

[exitzero]

After 9/11 my law firm office was brainstorming ways to prepare in case our highrise was attacked (downtown in major US city, though not MAJOR city and not one attacked).  An all employee meeting was held, and our office manager demonstrated for us a method of sawing through the window and parachuting out to safety (which is absurd for a variety of reasons) and then one of the named parthers explained that "each lawyer would get a parachute."  Apparently we were supposed to just hold on to our support staff or go tandem or something? 

We didn't end up going with the parachute plan.

Our office disaster plan was to have all of management stay home, and the support staff come in and make sure everyone was notified and everything was set up to run with remote staff. The uppers were SHOCKED when it was pointed out by the support staff that if a disaster was bad enough to keep management home, they weren't coming in either! It never occurred to them.

[Jocelyn]

Reminds me of a former boss. One year for Secretary's Day, he gave the secretaries- and all the non-clinical staff- a nice package of gifts that would be valued at over $100 apiece. The clinical staff got nothing, because 'there's no Clinician's Day'.  He just couldn't see how it would affect morale among the clinicians not to get anything while the non-clinical staff were running around excited with their gift bags.

I don't get bosses like this.  I'm guessing the clinical staff also helped keep things running smoothly, etc. and to leave them out like that is just wrong.  my former employer, a law firm used to give all employees a gift on Secretary's Day, not just the admin staff. Everyone from the attorneys down to the mailroom staff.  Nothing fancy; one year it was a pair of movie tickets, and another, a small box of gourmet muffins, but at least they treated everyone the same, and the card that went out to each employee said as much.

Who got paid more?   

One of the reasons for Administrative Professionals Day is for employers to show appreciation to their support staff who are usually not paid as well, but work just as hard to keep the company going.

I am not saying the boss was right - in fact, I think it was downright rude to leave the clinicians out.   It should have been everybody or nobody.

I have been an adminstrative professional all my career.  I received exactly one house plant over all 35+ years in celebration of the day.   So, maybe I am a tad cynical about the whole thing.  In fact, I am one of those who believe in only 3 holidays - Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  All the others are Hallmark (or insert your choice of company) Holidays and exist only to profit others.

Yes, we were paid more- but then, we were not eligible for overtime. So we could be required to work a 10
 hour day, then get called out during the night for 4-6 hours, and then have to report to work for another 10 hour day the next day. We got paid for weekend call- $1 an hour.  The clinicians had had to obtain higher education, and most of us were paying off student loans. We had to pay for our own licenses, and for most of the continuing education that was required to maintain the license (including travel, hotels and meals out when we went to a workshop).  So while we got paid more, most of that money went for expenses associated with the job.
But I really don't see how it's a matter of etiquette or good business sense to justify thanking some employees for their services, and telling others that they won't be thanked because there's not a Hallmark holiday for their job classification.

[nutraxfornerves]

I was always an early-bird. On the first day after my promotion to a management job, I arrived at 7:30 AM to find that the building was closed due to a burst pipe. Staff was being told to "contact your manager" for information. Swell. I'm a manger and I have no idea what to do. Nor did any of the other managers hanging around.

Fortunately, the guy turning away employees knew me. I talked him into letting me into the building so I could retrieve my employee contact list. There was about a foot of water (35 cm) on the floor and it was actually raining in the offices. I got my list and retreated. I found out later how lucky I was--some high voltage lines had gotten loose and were discharging into the water.

I was able to get to an annex building where I commandeered a phone and tried to reach as many people as possible to say "don't come in" because that was all I could do.

I never forgot "contact your manager," as if managers were supposed to have actually been trained in Plans A, B, and C.

[iridaceae]

I have worked a lot of graveyard shifts and I can tell you that they tend to be ignored. At one job Employee of the Month didn't have a graveyard winner for 5 years. Management neither noticed or cared. And they wondered why morale was terrible for graveyard workers. [For those wondering why the workers never complained: they stopped after repeatedly being blown off.]

[Elfmama]

After 9/11 my law firm office was brainstorming ways to prepare in case our highrise was attacked (downtown in major US city, though not MAJOR city and not one attacked).  An all employee meeting was held, and our office manager demonstrated for us a method of sawing through the window and parachuting out to safety (which is absurd for a variety of reasons) and then one of the named parthers explained that "each lawyer would get a parachute."  Apparently we were supposed to just hold on to our support staff or go tandem or something? 

We didn't end up going with the parachute plan.

Our office disaster plan was to have all of management stay home, and the support staff come in and make sure everyone was notified and everything was set up to run with remote staff. The uppers were SHOCKED when it was pointed out by the support staff that if a disaster was bad enough to keep management home, they weren't coming in either! It never occurred to them.

They're in good company.  If the US came under nuclear attack, the population of affected cities was supposed to evacuate to certain areas  pre-selected by Congressional committee.  The area where you were to evacuate would be sent to you by US mail after the attack happened. 

[Zenith]

After 9/11 my law firm office was brainstorming ways to prepare in case our highrise was attacked (downtown in major US city, though not MAJOR city and not one attacked).  An all employee meeting was held, and our office manager demonstrated for us a method of sawing through the window and parachuting out to safety (which is absurd for a variety of reasons) and then one of the named parthers explained that "each lawyer would get a parachute."  Apparently we were supposed to just hold on to our support staff or go tandem or something? 

We didn't end up going with the parachute plan.

Guess they didn't want to end up as a Darwin Award eh? I would have lost it laughing in the meeting.

[Sirius]

At least the school district Mr. Sirius works for has a system where school closures, etc. are announced on the radio, and if the entire district is closed the drivers don't have to report.  There was one year when the roads got extremely icy, and rather than call school out for the day or even do a late start a supervisor who had never been a bus driver herself (so how she ended up supervising bus drivers is anyone's guess) insisted that the bus drivers come in and have business as usual.  One of the earlier buses, which had to go to a high elevation, slid into a ditch (no students on board).  She was all set to go out and chew the driver out, and as she drove up she also slid into the ditch.  The school district was closed for the day, and that supervisor was soon transferred.  Now the supervisors are all former drivers who have the drivers' and the students' welfare in mind first and foremost.

Although Mr. Sirius told me this morning that a trip he'd taken to pick up a preschooler could have gotten quite interesting, as the directions he'd been given called for him to take an off-ramp off the freeway that didn't actually exist yet (under construction).

[HorseFreak]

When I was in college the dean decided if campus was open or not during bad weather. We were in Northern New England so we could handle a lot, but ice storms are bad no matter where you live.

One winter we got a particularly nasty one and the roads were just sheets of perfect ice. The dean looked outside her window and declared that classes were on despite many objecting. A lot of students (including myself) didn't risk the commute that day and I doubt any were counted against in grades considering a professor was killed in a car accident due to the awful conditions. 

The next time we had a light dusting of snow class was cancelled. 

[Jocelyn]

I used to work on a campus where they had decided not to cancel classes early, and before they did, the storm moved in fast. They had to send campus police and maintenance workers out into the parking lots to go car to car, to make sure no one was stuck in their car. The next year, I was working in my office, and hadn't looked out in awhile, and got an email that campus was closing because of snow. I jumped up and looked out...the sidewalks weren't even white! It seems universities excel at going from one extreme to another.

[PeterM]

One of the earlier buses, which had to go to a high elevation, slid into a ditch (no students on board).

My dad drives a school bus and managed to get it into a ditch during a snowstorm. With a few kids on board, but no one was hurt. The kids apparently enjoyed the whole experience. My father fully expects to never hear the end of it from his fellow drivers, of course.

Although Mr. Sirius told me this morning that a trip he'd taken to pick up a preschooler could have gotten quite interesting, as the directions he'd been given called for him to take an off-ramp off the freeway that didn't actually exist yet (under construction).

I would hope that the movie "Speed" is required viewing for all bus drivers, and it gives excellent advice on how to handle that sort of situation. Just floor it and hold on tight, and of course hope that the construction workers manage to actually finish the road/bridge in time for the people in the special effects department to make it appear missing via CGI. Truly, Hollywood once again gives us lessons applicable in the real world.

[Seraphia]

When I was in college the dean decided if campus was open or not during bad weather. We were in Northern New England so we could handle a lot, but ice storms are bad no matter where you live.

One winter we got a particularly nasty one and the roads were just sheets of perfect ice. The dean looked outside her window and declared that classes were on despite many objecting. A lot of students (including myself) didn't risk the commute that day and I doubt any were counted against in grades considering a professor was killed in a car accident due to the awful conditions. 

The next time we had a light dusting of snow class was cancelled. 

This happened to me in High School. We had nasty, rainy-slushy weather all weekend, and Monday rolled around with freezing temps. There was ice everywhere, broken branches on the lawns, and the salt trucks and plows were trying to clear the highways first. Did the Super cancel school? Nooooo. Because, you see, he was in Hawaii, and it was nice *there,* so how bad could it be in Michigan in March? 

I came very close to having my first car accident when I slid through a stale red light with my foot pumping the brakes. We made it to school safely, but a lot of people just stayed home. Amusingly, about two weeks later, we had more snow on the weekend, and school was called delayed at 5 AM, then cancelled an hour later. At that point, the sun rose, the 1/8 inch of snow turned to fog for an hour, and then it was a gorgeous, sunshiny spring day. Bro and I decided it was a makeup call.

[Hazmat]

You can't make this stuff up:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2211990/Oops-New-Orleans-prosecutor-drops-JOINT-court--police-officers.html?openGraphAuthor=%2Fhome%2Fsearch.html%3Fs%3D%26authornamef%3DSnejana%2BFarberov

[PastryGoddess]

*snicker*

[Pippen]

Border line PD and a good example of people who should stick to their knitting and not get involved in things beyond the scope of their role.

There is a big bruhahah here in NZ at the moment about Mike Tyson being granted a visitors visa which technically he is not allowed due to the length of his conviction. A special dispensation was made by our now very embarrassed Minister of Immigration and yesterday it was revoked after a public outcry.

Apparently he was coming here to undertake appearances for a charity for the Life Education Trust which runs a scheme in schools for disadvantaged kids. The Life Education Trust however knew nothing about it. Some branch member with no authority what so ever decided to do it under his own steam without consulting anyone. He just thought it would be a good idea. A teacher in one of the schools he was going to visit saw the flyer that was made up and thought 'What the heck?! and had to inform the trust this guy was using their name and branding for this unauthorized activity.