When to Keep my Mouth Shut

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I got a "stern talking to" (a lecture short of a write up) today at work for "not being a team player." Actually, what happened had nothing to do with playing for the team (and I will discuss the idiocy of such euphimisms later), and everything to do with me apparently being "smart" with my manager...well, assistant manager since the store manager and I are on relatively good terms (mostly because he seems to understand me better than anyone else at the store.)

Basically, because I work in retail (a blessing and a curse, let me tell you) there are no hours because no one is shopping for paint and other hardware/DIY projects since it's SNOWING outside, so they've been cutting people down to 32 hours/week. I am supposed to be guaranteed 40 hours/week as a full time employee. However, my HR manager is a complete imbecile and has hired three BRAND NEW FULL TIME EMPLOYEES, one of which is in my department, none of which is in any department that can afford them right now. This struck me as completely illogical, and when I was called back to the office where I was told, in no uncertain terms, that I was going home two hours early whether I liked it or not because that's the way it is, and didn't I want to do something for the team so no one had to get RIFFED (i.e. FIRED?)

This is where my wiring has me at a disadvantage compared to the rest of my coworkers. I didn't see anything wrong with explaining why I didn't really want to do something for the team, since I didn't think the captain of the team was doing his job correctly or intelligently, so why should I pay for her complete ineptness at managing? I went through my reasoning very calmly, succinctly, and logically. I pointed out what should have been done, what ought to be done, and then asked why I needed to cut my hours when 18 of the hours needing to be cut were going to someone hired two weeks ago.

Needless to say I went home early, and I think the only reason I WASN'T fired right on the spot was because this happend behind closed doors, my store manager "had my back," and they knew I was not one to start an employee uprising. But seriously, it doesn't take too much effort to see that when a store is over 135 hours a week, it is NOT wise to hire new employees, let alone 3 full time employees. It just shouldn't be done.


My question is how I can tell when it is okay to say what needs to be said and when to keep my mouth shut. I would never have dreamed of getting irritated if someone pointed out something like that (mostly because I like to think I would never do anything stupid enough to warrant a speech), but apparently I "ruffled some feathers." (That means causing someone to lose his cool.)

Wow, that sucks. Good luck though.

From what you said....It sounds to me like you Did things exactly right. I commend you on your controll and your logical thought. Most Employee's would fly off the handle and go yelling to the Manager, and they would also be sure to air their"Dirty Laundry" out for all to see and hear. The things that I personally think kept you from getting fired are the facts that you 1) Did this behind closed doors......This was not something appropriate for a "All Hands" meeting....2) you kept your Opinions logical and to the point....You made a very good point about cutting hours and then turning around and hiring New people, and you stuck to that point. So many times a person will want to fly off on so many differnt tangents and angles and truly muddle the problem with a bunch of stuff that does not even relate top the issue at hand 3) You remained civil, and calm, and when you still ended up losing, you went home.....Too many times Employees throw fits and do not handle things correctly, and then when they are still on the losing end of the issue, they then go into "tantrum mode" or the thweir fit becomes even worse......

I commend you on the way you handled this and Keep up the Good Work .....

Good Luck to you....Bill

Does anybody know if it's legal to send someone home without pay when they're guaranteed 40 hours? I'd check on that if I were you. And I would have been pissed too. I probably would have done the same thing in your shoes and couldn't tell you what would have been another way to handle it.

What do you think of my situation? (Please see the EEOC thread in this forum)

I got a call about fifteen minutes ago from my boss. I am not going to have to cut hours any more, and he offered to let me use my accrued sick pay to make up the difference from yesterday. (I asked him if I could use 32 hours worth in the next few weeks to take a break, and he agreed to that, too. AWESOME!) I do not know what caused the change, but I am glad.

I also realized that in my earlier post I didn't define my pronouns before I used them. That drives me insane. I was talking about my store manager, a man, and my HR mis-manager, a woman.

Fabulous! So maybe you did the right thing, after all!

Absolutely!

It looks like you did "ruffle some feathers," but I'd say that on this occasion, they needed ruffling. Well done for explaining things clearly and calmly. A lot of people would have got upset and angry, and I think your maturity in this situation is what made them listen - even if the HR manager did not admit it at the time. I'm glad it's worked out well for you.

I thought I would give my opinion on the subject, as an NT.

Bosses (or bad/insecure bosses anyway) don't like being told they're wrong. I myself used to tell my ex-boss the things I felt he was doing wrong, decisions he was taking that I thought were bad for a project. He would not get mad at me, but you could see his eyes glazing: he would just nod and stare into space, not really listening, just waiting for me to finish and ignore me.

The only reason he didn't get mad at me is, because I did it in private, and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, because I never, ever, phrased it in a way that would suggest that he was being an idiot or sucked at his job. I always tried to phrase as delicately as possible: "I think it would be better if we did instead of that", "It may be a mistake to go in this direction because of such and such reason."

dex,

Your post reeks of worplace bullying. I'm under the impression that you are above-average for smarts, your management know it, and they are insecure about it.

Considering what you're up against, it looks like you handles things smoothly and it probably saved you from getting fired.

I don't know what solution to offer but I would be seriously reconsidering all of my future plans if there is that kind of thinking in the work place.

Whatever you decide as your next step, good luck.

It does have a "good ol' boy" attitude about it, just like high school, actually. I have no future plans whatsoever with this company. I am working there to get enough money so I can attend school without working, as well as buy a really nice computer and, hopefully, find an apartment with my own room but with some roommates.

I have five months left, plus some vacation time that I may use or might just cash out. August 16th is my last day, and I have been working on my Two Weeks Notice for about a month now. It will be a work worthy of publishing, if I do say so myself. It is almost like a Declaration of Independence.

My solution is to continue doing what I do, which is ignoring stupid orders from people not in the position to issue them...and avoid management all together whenever possible.