Its Not Your Party But You Can Still Cry If You Want To

Last week, P came home from work very upset and crying. My initial thought was that the neighbor's had been more overt pricks but no, it was work related. Apparently her company was going to have a party the next day, an all company party for everyone that works at her company only she wasn't able to go because it was during work hours and someone had to answer the phones. And yes, that's her job but they could have very, very easily brought in a temp for the last hour of the day, they could have made arrangements to rotate someone in so that she could take part in the event with her company.

As it was, they generated nothing but hurt feelings and ill will. Her attitude about her company went from one of really loving her job and the people there to one of considering looking for work elsewhere. What would you think if your company had a party and everyone BUT you could go? I'd be pissed off and would consider myself not a part of the company. It just makes sense to me. And yeah, I am adjusting my reaction to her being upset to account for being 7 1/2 months pregnant and maybe just a little emotionally unstable from time to time.

So she went in the next day and talked with her boss about it to let her know how her being excluded made her feel. Her boss, to her credit, made an effort to make sure that she could take part and that went a very long way to smoothing over any of her ruffled feathers. I hope her company learns from the bump in the road that this was, I hope that they realize that all employee events should really include all employees, not just the ones who can make it. They could have shut down the phone center early, they could have brought in a temp, they could have assigned someone to rotate in and out with her, they could have scheduled the party for after hours when there would be no need to answer the phones.

And P recognized that the party was just the straw that busted the camel's back really. She was more upset about an Excel training course that she'd wanted to get into but the only person who could cover the desk while she'd be in the class was already taking the class as well. So she felt like she was sort of being unfairly stuck in her position with out the means to improve her skillset to progress into more interesting and rewarding positions within the company.

I think things are okay now but we've made our own plans to get her a training course that she can do at home for Excel so that, when she returns from maternity leave, she'll be more able to move upward into the company.

Totally Unrelated Rule of Thumb
If a movie has one of the Carradine's in it, then it is bound to suck.