Written warning at work

[pringles 0]

You are allowed Multiple Answers also.

I know its a little lengthy but you might get a laugh out of this story. Keep in mind that Human resources didn't want to hear my side. They just slapped this letter in front of me and made me sign it.

So here is the story. I work in a machine shop on 3rd shift. I have two other employees on the machine that I work on. So recently we have had some problems with how our machine has been running. So the second shift employee and myself communicate these issues to the first shift employee. We hope that he will take the time to have maintenance come down and basically give the machine a tune up.

Long story short the first shift employee never gets things taken care of. What he does do though is bitch about little things like pens that are missing from our work bench. I am getting tired of him pestering me and being very pro-active when it comes to lame bull shit. How about getting the machine fixed and focus some energy in that direction.

I would guess that once or twice a week I forget to leave my pen at the work bench. This guy is constantly bothering me about it. Down in the tool room we have a cabinet full of pens. These pens are cheapos to. I would guess that we get a bulk rate of like $0.10 per pen. Point being we have no shortage of pens.

So the other day this guy leaves me a note saying "Please return the contents of this container (pens)." So at the bottom of his note I wrote "Here is a spoon. Eat my ASS!" Then I wrote "Dave's spoon" on a plastic spoon and proped it against the note.

So when Dave got his note he took it to human resources and cried like a little girl. The way I look at it is that we work in a machine shop for God's sake. Everyone talks like a bunch of sailors. Human resources didn't approve so they wrote me up.

I understand that I should not have left the note. However I think things have been taken to a level that should have never been reached. Just a little background before you pass judgment. I have never had any fights or problems with this person. We have agreed to disagree. I have worked for this company for around 5yrs and have never been to human resources for something of this nature.

Here is what was said in my written warning.

Matt,
On 11/4/04 Dave Johnson left a note on the work bench that read "Please return the contents of this container (pens)." On 11/5/04 you added to Dave's note the response "Here is a spoon. Eat my ASS!" along with a spoon from the cafeteria with the writing "Dave's Spoon" on it.

Matt, This is not acceptable behavior and the use of hostile and/or intimidating language will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Your reply note, regardless of your intent, was perceived to be hostile and was very disturbing.

You are expected to demonstrate proper conduct and behavior at all times while at work. Failure to do so, will subject your to further disciplinary action up to and including termination. If you take any retaliatory action against any employee as a result of the incident mentioned above, you will be subject you to further disciplinary action up to and including termination.

If you have any questions please let me know for clarification on any of these concerns.

Are you kidding me. Hostile and very disturbing. I look at it as another way of saying Kiss my ass. They are treating this as if I threatened this poor guy with his life. Like I say though I shouldn't have left the note. But get a grip.

Matt Davies

[kinney29 0]

Ha Ha!

Good work, I like. Your point was made now take it like a man.

Ha Ha Ha!

[yoink 321]

lmao...

I can promise you that the people in HR were laughing at it as well, but unfortunately as soon as a complaint is made, in this case against you, they have a procedure to follow.
It is perfectly plausible that if this guy thought your behaviour was 'threatening', or perhaps more likely, told HR that it was threatening just to get even, that HR must skip the 'verbal warning' stage and give you a written one straight off the bat.

Bottom line? Everyone has a giggle but you're on thinner ice now... don't do it again or your co-worker can fuck you up.


nice reply though....

[f1shlips 2]

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So the other day this guy leaves me a note saying "Please return the contents of this container (pens)." So at the bottom of his note I wrote "Here is a spoon. Eat my ASS!" Then I wrote "Dave's spoon" on a plastic spoon and proped it against the note.

Seriously, are you stupid? Write somebody elses name on the spoon next time.

--
drop zone (drop'zone) n. An incestuous sesspool of broken people. -- Attributed to a whuffo girlfriend.

[BillyVance 34]

When it comes to situations at work, you have to be very careful and always stay one step ahead of everyone else, or never give anyone a reason to go rat you out. Unless you want to keep the job, take it like a man and get back to work. If anything else comes up from that whiny prick, document it. Cover your tracks.

Unfortunately not everyone is like that. My wife has a co-worker in a state agency that misses work half the time because she's a single mom with sick kids, and is always whining, and is very manipulative. My wife can't understand why this whiney bitch is still employed... Still, it's only a matter of time before the bitch is gone... just have to be patient.

Document everything the co-worker is doing that he/she should not be doing, just for your own protection.

Me, I've gotten written up, for being late to work. I have a long drive, some 43 miles each way. Sometimes traffic can be horrible, or there's a wreck that backs us up for miles, and I end up late. My boss is a nit-picking prick sometimes. So one day I come in 1 minute late and he's standing nearby. Later that day he calls me into his office and has me read a written warning and sign it. Everybody I told about this thought he was a prick. Nobody likes him anyway, but I refused to let him know that he gets on my nerves. We've had some co-workers quit because of him. He's not really breaking any rules, but the nitpicking can drive people up a wall. To me, he's just some dandruff I can brush off my shoulders... He stopped nitpicking on me not long after because he couldn't get a rise out of me.

I make really good money at this job, and I'm damned if I'm gonna let a prick ruin my working experience. I'm lucky though, 60 people in my department and they all hate the boss.

Blue Skies
Billy

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[towerrat 0]

hahahahahahah
I just quit my job last night because of a little bitch like that... He started a bunch of shit with me and then couldn't handle the consequences. The supervisors swept it all under the rug and then wrote me up for " not following proper protocol/chain of command" I've never been written up for anything before, and they wrote it as a final warning. I told my immediate supervisor he is a weasel and I left. I'm a grown man, I don't have time for BS like this.

I was already thinking seriously about doing sub-contract work for the local cable company, this just prompted my decision. Night shift sucks anyways

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

[mx757 4]

sucks doesn't it? some co-workers just can't take a joke.
I'm in a Union job.. and Union would have that taken care of and removed from your file. either that or the crew would ban together and do a work slow down..they'll get message. our crew sticks together. too bad you don't have a Union job.

[PhillyKev 0]

That's a pretty good story, but if I were you, I'd start job hunting. There's only one reason for an HR dept. to give you a written warning about something. That's to create a paper trail to cover their asses when they fire you for cause. I know people who have been fired for less reasons than that note.

[tigra 0]

If I were allowed 2 votes, vote #1 is take it like a man because no matter how justifed, that's just not acceptable behavior- sorry! You screwed up! HR had no choice once the note was brought to them. They could have easily fired you. Which brings me to vote #2- the guy's a whiny byotch! But the whiny byotch could sue the company for creating a hostile work environment, and your note/ behavior is going to make it pretty tough for HR to fire the guy!

Good luck! Sounds like you made a bad situation much worse!

[Granimal 0]

Next time put some whipped cream on the spoon, with a cherry too maybe.

I hate little bitches!

[dtpilot 0]

id bring the issue up to your super about the lack of work being done on the machine. If they really care about the comany and its money making they will do something about the guy who doesnt give a shit about their machines.

If he cares so much about pens put him in a damn office.

"Believe me! The secret of reaping the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment from life is to live dangerously!"
-- Friedrich Nietzsche

[mr2mk1g 10]

Buy similar pens and pot to work then glue pens into pot and leave on desk.

He'll get in a strop with you but you've not done anything to company property... course they may not see the funny side...

[catfishhunter 2]

WTF was you thinking??? I would have wrote you up regardless if the dude really needed to eat your ass or not. You wrote it. Why would you leave behind evidence???? I fired a Kid that was a good worker because he left a nasty reply in the log book for the other person who worked at the same building as him. The night person was a whiner but you don't call them a little bitch in writing. You gave HR NO CHOICE! You did that all by yourself. This is completly your fault period no one eles's.

Next time leave the pens

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

[RevJim 0]

Suck it up, you have no real choice, besides the uneployent lines, and those aren't really that great for funding our altitude addiction.

He likes pens, huh? Toss 5 or 10 a day into his car/locker/bag/whatever. In a couple weeks, report hi to HR for theft of company property.

It's your life, live it!
Karma
RB#684 "Corcho", ASK#60, Muff#3520, NCB#398, NHDZ#4, C-33989, DG#1

[flyhi 24]

Next time leave a spork. Even HR should know you can't eat anything with a spork.

Shit happens. And it usually happens because of physics.

[pleifer 0]

Ha ha... sounds like something we'd do at my last job... except we knew who we could do it to and not... we were a bunch of pranksters so it all worked out...

At a different job though, When I worked for a GP sawmill, one employee told the boss to kiss his ass... So, the boss writes him up. HR suspends him for 5 days, and puts all sorts of shit in his personal file
So he files a grievance (yup union) and upon taking it to arbitration, the arbitrator (who just happened to also be a judge) said that, in this case being a sawmill, the language was normal for this type of industry and was just ment to show displeasure, and in no way was the context meant to be intimidating

we all were laughing our asses off for months after that. We always greeted each other saying "hey kiss my ass" The boss quit not too long after that... and we got a cool boss.

_________________________________________
The Angel of Duh has spoke

[quade 4]

This is, unlike the internet, the way real companies work.

If you got a written reprimand for this then you should either change your ways at work or be prepared to find a new job.

At work, you do NOT have freedom of speech. They freekin' own your ass.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[airtwardo 7]

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WTF was you thinking???

Quote

Ditto!

It's your JOB...
don't take the chicken shit stuff personally!

Go there, put in your time...do the best you can and leave.

Catfish is right, I would have written you up too...

I was a production control supervisor in an aerospace plant,
if you we're transfered to me...you were on your way out!
I was an expert at the paper trail needed to facilitate the exit.

If your place is anything like mine...be forewarned you
are on borrowed time.

Clean up you attitude, play by the rules...
and you can prevail in situations like that.

Start keeping a personal notebook with a record of
names and dates regarding interaction with everyone.

Trust me...they are already doing it toward you.

When the shit hits the fan...
you have a record of how many times,
to whom and when you reported needed maintenance
on your machine...etc.

Write down the conditions of the work area when you
arrive and when you leave. The progress you made on a particular part in comparison to the other shifts...
EVERYTHING!

I would also pen a written apology to the dipshit on first,
and see that a copy is placed in your file along with the
write up.

Time to eat crow...or find a job that you feel better fitted for.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[akarunway 1]

At work, you do NOT have freedom of speech. They freekin' own your ass. ---------------------------------------------------------I am in the union. Nobody owns ME. There are plenty jobs out there. Fuck that MF.and HR. Catch him alone and beat the fuck outta him. Just make sure there are no witnesses

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[Nightingale 0]

in that kind of situation, the company has little choice but to write you up. Otherwise, the other employee could sue them for permitting harassment to go on in the workplace. It's not the HR guy's fault.

[Falko 0]

Quote

So the other day this guy leaves me a note saying "Please return the contents of this container (pens)." So at the bottom of his note I wrote "Here is a spoon. Eat my ASS!" Then I wrote "Dave's spoon" on a plastic spoon and proped it against the note.

Bwahahaa!!!
That must have felt gooooooood.

Anyhow, it wasn't very smart. (But I can relate to your feelings, believe me!)

I'd second Airtwardo on the "write everything down" stuff! That's smart and will have you prevail over the whiny bitch in the end. And that will be a much better feeling than writing that note. You already paid a high price for that, as of now it's "1:0" for the bitch.

Maybe next time leave him a note saying where he can find new pens, and add a 50c coin to it with a "PS: In case there are no more pens left in the tool room, there's a shop down the road."

They cannot get you on that one.

edit: I voted #2 and #4

Ich betrachte die Religion als Krankheit, als Quelle unnennbaren Elends für die menschliche Rasse.
(Bertrand Russell, engl. Philosoph, 1872-1970)

[airtwardo 7]

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I am in the union. Nobody owns ME.

Quote

Oh yeah..?!


Stop paying your union dues for 6 months....

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[tigra 0]

Yeah, do whatever you want at the work place! As long as you don't want or need to keep your job, anyway! That's a luxury many of us would love to have.

[AndyMan 7]

You're lucky you only got written up. Had I been that HR person, you probably wouldn't have a job anymore.

Funny? Yah. Appropriate? definately not. Suck it up, take it like a man, and don't do it again.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[QuickDraw 0]

Tell HR he's stalking you with a spoon.


What goes around comes around mate, do your time & let his own stupidity get the better of him.

-- Hope you don't die. --

I'm fucking winning