CAN YOU SEE

The smoke coming out of my ears? I am so angry about something that happened at work that I actually dented my car! Yea, yea...I know it's my fault, but I was so distracted by my anger that I wasn't paying attention and ran into the barrer protecting the pumps at the gas station.

We had a regular meeting in which we received kuddos for a job well done and then received a verbal spanking. A rudely worded, hostilely delivered verbal spanking.

A little back-ground.

We have been swamped and have been adding new people on a regular basis. Management has also decided to re-arrange some personnel responsibilities. One co-worker who had not been there for long was told her job had been terminated. She worked for two weeks after she was notified. A new employee started one week before she was advised of her upcoming termination. I don't pretend to know the whys and wherefores of this decision. As long as it doesn't effect me or my ability to perform my job, I don't care.

The lady who was dismissed was a smoker and had bonded with the other smokers. I think this may be important. Again, not sure.

The new employee did not seem to be a good fit. She exuded superiority and self-importance. She refused certain training. Her previous positions had been in human resources and she had never worked in a call center environment. She came to work last Friday, quit, and went home.

She made the following complaints:
1. She felt hostility being directed toward her because of the (involuntary) departure of the smoker.
2. She felt that she did not receive the respect she deserved in the workplace.
3. She felt she was never accepted as "part of the team".

My response to this:
1. Wha...Huh?!
2. Uhhh, I always thought respect is something you earned.
3. Again, WTF?

In a meeting today we were told that our department leaders determined who stayed and who went by performance and by observation and we had no right to question those decisions. (Huh????) We were told that we were responsible for our fellow employee's recent departure because we never treated her fairly. And we were told that there plenty of people out there willing to jump at the oportunity of filling our positions and that if we did not straighten up, we would be reprimanded, financially punished, and/or let go.

That's right. That speech was delivered immediately after being congratulated for performing above expectations.

This kind of thing should have been addressed individually and in private. I dont' feel that I did anything wrong. I treated D the same way I treat all of my co-workers. I joked with her, asked about her health, and asked if I could be of any assistance. She never got the jokes and would respond when questioned but never initiated a conversation. Did my co-workers behave badly? Possibly, but this is something that I never witnessed.

The more I think about this, the more it seems to me that this person knew the buzz words to use (as an HR professional) and I expect that she is either expecting a financial settlement or unemployment. The point is, we are a group of people all between the ages of 30 and 60 and should never be spoken to like errant children!

I feel like filing a complaint myself.