Windy Sydney

I have used this cartoon before, but it fits the subject... don't you think?

I have mentioned before that roomie and I work at the same place.  It was pretty convenient because we could car pool and save money on gas (that and I don't have my own car...).  For the record, I have never mentioned where we work, and I don't plan to.  Just in case anyone ever wants to track me down like a psycho.

Yesterday, something really messed up happened at work... at least, I think so...

To explain what happened, I will give out a name that is a complete alias to the person's actual name to hide the identity of the person and help with the location of work.  Maybe I am being a little paranoid, but I think it's important.  We will call the other employee Mark.

Mark came up to roomie last week and asked if he could work some of roomie's shift.  Mark needed the money for something, and roomie has been burned out at work and felt he could use the time off.  They filled out the paperwork to switch the shift around, it was signed by a supervisor and changed on the master schedule.  Roomie was to work the first two hours of the shift, and Mark would come in a work the remaining 6.

Well, Mark called in sick, and roomie got screwed.  When word reached people that Mark called in, a couple of our superiors came over to tell him that it wasn't his responsibility to finish the shift, and that he had nothing to worry about.  20 minutes later they changed their mind.  He had to stay even though the paperwork was filed, and it was approved.

Roomie and I had plans to take the kittens to the vet, and it's not like we could just cancel the appointment because there was a 24 hour cancelation policy... we would be charged for the 3 cat visit whether we were there or not.  It was a  horrible position to be in, and we were both pretty pissed off about it.

We felt that the managers involved were not showing respect for our time.  I understand that they needed people to work, but that shouldn't be on roomie's shoulders... it should be on theirs.  It wasn't his fault, and he did everything that was asked of him.

Well, roomie told the manager that we had to take the cats to the vet, and that it would take a while.  The manager told him to be back at a certain time, and with the length of the vet visit that timeline was impossible.  No matter what we did, we were screwed.  Roomie and I left work and took care of the vet visit.  By the time we were done, roomie was stewing over the events at work, and became so mad that he decided not to go back.  Some might think that was a wrong decision to make, but he felt he should make a stand.  I agreed with him.  

This morning he was still fuming and he quit.  

I know, I know... quitting wasn't really a smart thing... but it was kind of the last straw for him. There were other things that occurred in the past that were in play as well.    He was mad as hell and he wasn't going to take it anymore.

I went back to work like normal, and people were asking me what happened to make him quit.  I thought it was perfectly obvious what made him quit, but I decided to stay out of it completely because it might put me in a bad light for the people I work for.  I have to say I am pretty disappointed that it happened.  If it happened to him, it could happen to anyone... right?

It makes me wonder what would happen if someone called in sick during the time I requested off for the ExMormon conference next weekend.  Would they call me up and tell me to come into work or else?

They also have a habit of telling people they can't call in sick.  If you are sick, you are sick.  I have no idea if there is a law about this sort of thing, but when someone says they CAN'T come into work, they should respect it.  Shit happens.  We all have to deal with it.

What would you guys do in this situation?  

Don't worry, we will be fine.  Roomie has money is savings to cover his half of rent, so we should be okay... it's just the principal.  Ya know?

Andee