Workplace Hazard.
I wasn't sure if I was going to blog about this, but my feelings on it have changed so I've decided I will.
When I first started working at the theatre supervisors did not have to wear hats behind the bar. That was one of the things I was most excited for when I was promoted 9 months into my job. However, about 2 years ago they changed that rule. I was so upset about it because lets face it--I look horrible in a ball cap. Needless to say, I wore that damn hat every shift, and only took it off when I was cleaning at the end of the night. To this day, if I work a supervisor shift I still wear the hat (and they've changed it from navy blue to canary yellow!).
Sunday I was the opening manager and Krystyna was the supervisor for the day. Over the past few weeks she's been seeing how long she can go without wearing her hat. But she's always put it on when I asked her. Well on Sunday she didn't seem to want to wear it. I had asked her at LEAST 3 times to put on her hat and finally at 3:30 I looked over to find her still hatless. Not only was she disobeying the uniform requirements, she was disregarding my orders. As my friend has said, your boss is your boss. When they say go, you go. So I did what I would do if any other employee was failing to listen to me--I wrote her up.
She was livid with me and a few hours later I got a slew of txt messages from her, via a coworkers phone, cursing me out about how I knew our manager was already angry with her. She also brought up a situation from almost 4 months ago. I wrote her back asking what she meant, when she clarified what she was talking about I told her that situation had nothing to do with work. She claimed that back then things weren't good between my manager and I, and I had taken off one week. I told her that I had asked for fewer shifts because I was house sitting, which I would have done regardless because with a class until 4:20 it was too hard to get home and feed the dog, let him out, and make it to Sackville for 5:30. I told her that situation was totally unrelated and that she was just pissed off and being petty. She told me that petty was writing up your "best friend" for not wearing a hat and that it was clear who mattered more to me (implying I was sucking up to our manager). I told her that I wasn't going to have this conversation over a coworkers phone and we left it at that.
At first I was a little angry that she was so mad because I was her manager that day and she was disobeying me. I had every right to write her up. And where I can understand why she'd be mad, she chose to not wear her hat. I figured she'd just get over it. I wasn't changing how I felt about the situation. To me it seemed like she thought because we were friends she could just get away with stuff. I didn't want her taking advantage of our friendship in the work environment. My actions had nothing to do with our manager, it was about an employee showing me disrespect.
Now, Krystyna is so hard headed and so stubborn to believe she is right that there is no trying to talk to her about this. Really, when she thinks she is right, that's it. There's nothing anyone else can say to change her mind and if you fight with her about it, she just gets angry and shuts you out. So tonight, when I was in concessions doing lifts she was standing beside me refilling her bar display and I casually asked her "Are you still pissed off at me?" She didn't answer me, so I said "Well I guess I'll take that as a yes then, okay!" And went about my business.
Now, I'm just feeling angry and upset. There is this big night planned with a bunch of the staff on Wednesday. We're all meeting for dinner at The Lower Deck, going to the casino, and then hitting up the Dome. I had planned since the day this was planned to go. I don't do a lot with the gang outside of work because the majority of the time it's playing grounders on a school playground until 4am which just doesn't interest me. This event, however, I was really excited for. But, now I'm pretty sure that I'm not going because of all the people who I'd really want to go? Yeah. That's Krystyna. And since she's not talking to me, being both out but having her ignore me would be worse than my being there and her not.
I'm really upset that she's so angry with me, and won't even talk to me about it. Like I said I can understand why she's upset with me, but that doesn't mean I regret doing my JOB. She's not even hesitating about Wednesday night either, which is equally upsetting. I overheard her talking about it to a few of the staff tonight, like it didn't phase her at all. Maybe she thinks I'm a horrible friend for writing her up, but she's not exactly going to get the friend of the year award by acting so coldly to me, when in all honesty, I didn't do anything wrong.
When I first started working at the theatre supervisors did not have to wear hats behind the bar. That was one of the things I was most excited for when I was promoted 9 months into my job. However, about 2 years ago they changed that rule. I was so upset about it because lets face it--I look horrible in a ball cap. Needless to say, I wore that damn hat every shift, and only took it off when I was cleaning at the end of the night. To this day, if I work a supervisor shift I still wear the hat (and they've changed it from navy blue to canary yellow!).
Sunday I was the opening manager and Krystyna was the supervisor for the day. Over the past few weeks she's been seeing how long she can go without wearing her hat. But she's always put it on when I asked her. Well on Sunday she didn't seem to want to wear it. I had asked her at LEAST 3 times to put on her hat and finally at 3:30 I looked over to find her still hatless. Not only was she disobeying the uniform requirements, she was disregarding my orders. As my friend has said, your boss is your boss. When they say go, you go. So I did what I would do if any other employee was failing to listen to me--I wrote her up.
She was livid with me and a few hours later I got a slew of txt messages from her, via a coworkers phone, cursing me out about how I knew our manager was already angry with her. She also brought up a situation from almost 4 months ago. I wrote her back asking what she meant, when she clarified what she was talking about I told her that situation had nothing to do with work. She claimed that back then things weren't good between my manager and I, and I had taken off one week. I told her that I had asked for fewer shifts because I was house sitting, which I would have done regardless because with a class until 4:20 it was too hard to get home and feed the dog, let him out, and make it to Sackville for 5:30. I told her that situation was totally unrelated and that she was just pissed off and being petty. She told me that petty was writing up your "best friend" for not wearing a hat and that it was clear who mattered more to me (implying I was sucking up to our manager). I told her that I wasn't going to have this conversation over a coworkers phone and we left it at that.
At first I was a little angry that she was so mad because I was her manager that day and she was disobeying me. I had every right to write her up. And where I can understand why she'd be mad, she chose to not wear her hat. I figured she'd just get over it. I wasn't changing how I felt about the situation. To me it seemed like she thought because we were friends she could just get away with stuff. I didn't want her taking advantage of our friendship in the work environment. My actions had nothing to do with our manager, it was about an employee showing me disrespect.
Now, Krystyna is so hard headed and so stubborn to believe she is right that there is no trying to talk to her about this. Really, when she thinks she is right, that's it. There's nothing anyone else can say to change her mind and if you fight with her about it, she just gets angry and shuts you out. So tonight, when I was in concessions doing lifts she was standing beside me refilling her bar display and I casually asked her "Are you still pissed off at me?" She didn't answer me, so I said "Well I guess I'll take that as a yes then, okay!" And went about my business.
Now, I'm just feeling angry and upset. There is this big night planned with a bunch of the staff on Wednesday. We're all meeting for dinner at The Lower Deck, going to the casino, and then hitting up the Dome. I had planned since the day this was planned to go. I don't do a lot with the gang outside of work because the majority of the time it's playing grounders on a school playground until 4am which just doesn't interest me. This event, however, I was really excited for. But, now I'm pretty sure that I'm not going because of all the people who I'd really want to go? Yeah. That's Krystyna. And since she's not talking to me, being both out but having her ignore me would be worse than my being there and her not.
I'm really upset that she's so angry with me, and won't even talk to me about it. Like I said I can understand why she's upset with me, but that doesn't mean I regret doing my JOB. She's not even hesitating about Wednesday night either, which is equally upsetting. I overheard her talking about it to a few of the staff tonight, like it didn't phase her at all. Maybe she thinks I'm a horrible friend for writing her up, but she's not exactly going to get the friend of the year award by acting so coldly to me, when in all honesty, I didn't do anything wrong.
posted by Fern Wimpley @ 1:06 AM
3 Comments:
At 10:27 AM,
Thegirl said…
Big hug
At 5:47 AM,
Jody said…
Its so hard when one friend has to supervise another. You are right about not giving her special treatment because she is your friend, how would that make all the other people feel that you have to supervise.
But maybe less on the 'obey' talk ;)
She might get over this, she might not - I hope she does.
I know how you feel though, and it sucks. Big love to you. xoxo
At 8:44 PM,
Anonymous said…
You are so right, she is being completely petty about the whole thing. Since all the other supervisors have to wear a hat behind the bar and she is a supervisor now...she is still required to follow the rules. I cannot believe that she is expecting you to bend the rules just for her. You would not have done that for any of the other employees, best friend or not. Stand your ground, eventually she'll let it go ...hopefully sooner rather than later for your sake.
I'm sorry this is causing you so much grief! *hug*
Post a Comment
<< Home