What's Wrong With These People????

[genghis]

This from our organization's newsletter under "Special Recognition":

"XXXX XXXXX is recognized for his willingness to go “Above and Beyond the Call of Duty” with his attendance at the XXXXX Virtual Team Meeting. What was so special about XXXX’s participation? It conflicted with a very important personal commitment – his honeymoon."

I predict his career will last longer than his marriage.....

 

[Texas Proud]

There are idiots born every day....

 

[cube_rat]

There should be a "special" recognition award for the most idiotic memo distributed by management.

 

[bssc]

Maybe it was a veiled warning never to work with this guy.

 

[sgeeeee]

Maybe it was a veiled warning never to work with this guy.

-- thinly veiled at that.

 

[bssc]

No, that was the woman he left just after the ceremony.

 

[Craig]

Well ... notice it was a "virtual" team meeting. i.e., he logged on, perhaps from the jacuzzi ... dumb all around. :

 

[dex]

Good management would have told this guy - a good employee has a balanced life and to go on his honeymoon.

My lesson from work is listen to what management says but follow what they do.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

One has to question the whole organization when this sort of thing can be considered to be a prize winning situation.

 

[Nords]

One has to question the whole organization when this sort of thing can be considered to be a prize winning situation.

Now that the priorities have been unambiguously set forth, I'm sure that his spouse has a few emergent questions of her own to think through...

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Like "What the #$%^ did I get myself into?" followed by "Now whats that cute Best Man's number again?"

 

[terminator]

Virtual Team Meeting? Was this just an Internet meeting? If so, not a big deal if he just checked in one day. If he skipped his honeymoon for work it's a different deal.

 

[W2R]

Virtual Team Meeting? Was this just an Internet meeting? If so, not a big deal if he just checked in one day. If he skipped his honeymoon for work it's a different deal.

No. No checking in or internet meetings on a honeymoon. Either you are on your honeymoon, or you are not! At least, in my opinion that should be the one week of a person's life when they can completely focus on something other than work.

 

[Texas Proud]

Virtual Team Meeting? Was this just an Internet meeting? If so, not a big deal if he just checked in one day. If he skipped his honeymoon for work it's a different deal.

WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG.....

The guy was on his HONEYMOON... nothing in work should be more important... it is the people who think that even one day or one hour on a 'meeting' is OK...

Just my opinion...

 

[justin]

This might need to be a poll, but I guess I don't see a problem with spending an hour on a conference call/videoconference during your honeymoon. I wouldn't care if DW had to do it, and I don't think she would care if I did it.

Of course, we aren't tied down to our jobs, and our time in the evenings and weekends is 95% "our time". I could see a demanding DW (not my DW though!) being adamant about no work calls/emails during the 1 week honeymoon so it is "special", assuming the rest of the husband's life is run by work.

Just make sure she's prepaid at the spa for a massage and manicure when I'm on the conference call!

 

[JohnEyles]

The scary thing is, although we are all almost universally horrified at this,
we are somewhat of a select group. That is, by definition (FIRE) we are
people who perhaps have a healthier perspective on the whole work-life
balance thing than do many people. Now of course many people simply
do not have the luxury of considering RE, but there are also a great many
other people for whom "their work is their life" and who cannot find
real meaning without work. Pity.

 

[MasterBlaster]

"their work is their life"

You got that allright.

I am not my job, it's just what I do
I am not my car, it's just what I drive
I am not my house, it's just where I live

- Work to live, not the other way around

 

[Texas Proud]

The scary thing is, although we are all almost universally horrified at this,
we are somewhat of a select group. That is, by definition (FIRE) we are
people who perhaps have a healthier perspective on the whole work-life
balance thing than do many people. Now of course many people simply
do not have the luxury of considering RE, but there are also a great many
other people for whom "their work is their life" and who cannot find
real meaning without work. Pity.

The difference is in the attitude of the various parties....

there is the boss who expects these kinds of things and will punish you if you did not attend even if you were on your honeymoon and even if you are a good employee...

there are the people who think that they can get ahead by 'kissing a$$' and think this will show they are a company guy...

there are the people who think they would get fired if they did not show up...

For me, I would not want a boss that would punish me for missing a meeting.. I don't deal with work when I am on vacation, don't even call to see if there are messages, no email etc... and I have not had any boss want to get rid of me for doing so... it is the employee that does these things to themselves...

 

[Empty Pockets]

Try being a self employed small business owner. I was asked a business question by a client at my own wedding reception. I've been asked business questions twice at relatives funerals while standing at a loved one's grave.

Calling in once or twice on a week long Honeymoon is nothing.

 

[Sarah in SC]

You got that allright.

I am not my job, it's just what I do
I am not my car, it's just what I drive
I am not my house, it's just where I live

- Work to live, not the other way around

Adding this to my list of greatest quotes from the forum that I'm finally putting together! Thanks! If anyone had wanted my mostly drunken contributions to a meeting held during our honeymoon 14 years ago, they certainly didn't think to ask!

Sarah

 

[Martha]

Managers have to carefully watch their words. You are like the king saying "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" and suddenly Thomas Becket is dead.

I remember once at my firm a paralegal was in the hospital in labor. I casually mentioned to another paralegal that I wondered if she had entered her time (billable hours) before she left. Well the paralegal at work called the hospital and had the paralegal in labor dictate her time entries. I really felt bad about that.

 

[Nords]

Just make sure she's prepaid at the spa for a massage and manicure when I'm on the conference call!

Are you really sure you want your spouse having her personal needs taken care of by contractors while you're on your honeymoon just because you're temporarily unavailable? To me it seems like the beginning of a very slippery slope...

Well the paralegal at work called the hospital and had the paralegal in labor dictate her time entries. I really felt bad about that.

I inadvertently precipitated a similar situation with one of my shipmates over a decade ago and I'm still apologizing to him for it. As for your paralegal, if someone had tracked me down and tricked me into answering the phone for that sort of question, I would've booked the time spent in the other kind of labor, too!

 

[SteveR]

This from our organization's newsletter under "Special Recognition":

"XXXX XXXXX is recognized for his willingness to go “Above and Beyond the Call of Duty” with his attendance at the XXXXX Virtual Team Meeting. What was so special about XXXX’s participation? It conflicted with a very important personal commitment – his honeymoon."

I predict his career will last longer than his marriage.....

Looks to me like the employee is the problem here. Had he not been so dedicated to his job his boss would not have made such a big deal out of it. I have seen this before where employees "think" they are going to be rewarded for going all out and giving up important family events to get a job done. In some cases this may in fact be true but my experience is that management feels like they have to make a big deal about it to "reward" the employee's sacrifice; thus perpetuating the cycle.

Pogo was right.

 

[Caroline]

I've gotta go along with the "no" crowd.

If this is how he starts off, how many times is he going to be working or on the cell phone while his kids are in little league / soccer / band / etc. etc.?

This bodes ill.

 

[Sam]

What was so special about XXXX’s participation? It conflicted with a very important personal commitment – his honeymoon."[/i]

I did not read all the replies. But is it possible that this guy is not interested in the honeymoon? After all, he already made a mistake, why suffer more?