Incident at work, views please

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markowitzman said:
is chatting at the photocopier part of your job description?
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While I agree the whole incident is not a major one, I would have to question the ablities of a manager who would infer that having a chat at the photocopier/coffee station/desk would need to be in ones contract to be acceptable. Who do you have working for you?
Do you actually manage people or a rack of Sun computers?
 
Moesha,
Perhaps if you didnt mention that you are a civil servant you might have got more sympaty and more constructive views. If this is a once of incident i wouldn't worry about it.
 
I'd say this is a one off incident, but may be no harm in noting this in a dairy. Was it once off? Bullying follows a pattern and someone snapping with you once off, within reason, does not constitute bullying. I worked in a semi-state agency where bullying was rife, and I can tell you you'll know when it hits you - very unpleasant experience.
 
I do not work in the public service and over my years of employment there have been a few "incidents" like this happen to myself or to colleagues and they tend to be forgotten about quickly. I've snapped at others in the past (and been snapped at myself) and, instead of mediation meetings, have always found that offering to make a cup of tea works wonders! As others have said, people do have bad days and it is not worth stressing about. In my opinion a mediation meeting for something like this is a step too far. A quiet word with your employer the day after the incident (when tensions have eased) should have sufficed - yes, she was unprofessional but if it was a one off and not a pattern of behaviour then maybe it's best forgotten.
 
Only one person can use a photocopier at a time! If two of us were standing chatting at the copier or chatting throughout the day I can assure you that we would be pulled up on it. 5 mins here and there is ok but not throughout the day.
As for when OP went in to his/her manager she did say she was busy at that time and didn't have time to discuss it there and then but Op pushed for a time etc which would have heightened the situation and gotten the managers back up.

And to then say "please do not speak to me like im a child in a classroom, especially when we weren't the only people talking"! Dear God, this woman is your boss! She is perfectly entitled to tell you to stop chatting and do sme work. If she had said it in front of a customer or something I would agree. I'd much prefer to get a "unofficial" telling off than be called into the office for a "chat".
Get over it!
 
I agree with Quinno in that although you may have felt very annoyed by the incident unless it was a regular thing i would not constitute it as bullying and i feel anyone who has suffered serious bullying would agree. I do think your reaction may have been a bit over sensitive. Perhaps your manager was a bit hacked off that two people appeared to be chatting at the copier while another two were chatting on personal calls. This more than you saying you were a civil servant may account for the lack of sympathy and also the fact that most people who work in the private sector would have to take a different attitude or they would lose their job.

Regarding your boss's reply - (while not trying to excuse his/her behaviour) it sounds to me that you were actually quite pushy in demanding an appointment. I think possible you could have handled it a little better if perhaps you had left it a little while so that you were both less emotional, had time to calm down and then talked to your boss. I do feel you seem to be demanding a certain level of behaviour from you boss which is right but you have to consider your own as well.
 
MrMan said:
there were two photocopiers perhaps?
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As per OP "A new employee and I were talking , general chat while tooing and frowing to the photocopier, between calls etc. Still getting the work done but we were talking"

No mention of 2. Regardless anyway. There are 4 people in our office and yes, sometimes we chat. But usually when we are back and forth between the copier or between calls there are other things we can be doing and we do them instead of talking to each other about our personal lives. And if we did use this opportunity to chat instead of working then we would fall behind. It is a fact that people can not be as productive if talking and working. An occasional 1 or 2 minute conversation is fine but any longer than this and I could see our manager (who is lovely) telling us to get back to work. Just because you reach your targets doesn't mean you stop working for the rest of the month.
And if you get a telling off when you admit yourself that you have been chatting all morning then the right thing to do is realise you probably overdid it, put the head down and work and all will be well in the morning!
 
Havana said:
Without meaning to cause offense to anyone, I have to say I find some peoples attitudes on here incredible and sometimes I wouldn't be surprised if people decide to never post again.
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Who are you referring to and why would they do that? It's a discussion forum and the original poster asked for opinions which they are receiving. If you have a problem with specific posts and think that they are in breach of the posting guidelines then use the Report Post facility. Otherwise if you don't like what you see then avert your eyes perhaps?
 
It's a bad idea to criticize in public but it's no big deal. Move on, it's a non issue.
The idea that this required a mediation meeting is incredible.
 
It is obvious that there is more here than meets the eye. I think we should set up a tribunal to investigate. A few years of trips to Dublin Castle should get to the bottom of it.

Seriously though, it was poor management by the person involved and was probably rude but I wouldn't make a big deal out of it.
 
I have read the original post a few times, to try and and suss out why a reprimand by management has upset the OP so much. There are two possibilities, 1. There is a history of bad feelings between the OP and the manager or 2.the OP is annoyed because they were reprimanded adn not the new colleague or the other 2 who were on "personal calls".

This is a minor incident, with the manager possibly laying down the marker for the new employee. They wer well withing their rights to tell people to get on with their work. If the OP feels hard done by, bring it up at the next Performance Management appraisal meeting.
 
Moesha, I think your manager was very rude and abrupt. Surely if you share an office you are allowed to talk with your colleagues. Once the work is being done what's the problem. You're obviously a very conscientious worker if you meet all your targets. Also I think it's admirable that you were friendly towards the new employee in turn making her feel welcome.I think your manager should apologise. I remember a good few years back I worked in a grocery shop part-time. I was training in a new employee therefore we had to talk i.e. communicate. The boss came up to me and said stop chatting in front of customers please. I was fuming considering I was going out of my way to help him by training in the new girl. The next day I went to his office and had a word. I explained the situation and told him that I felt very annoyed. He immediately apologised and said that he misunderstood what was happening. There was no more about it. He was very approachable and it was all sorted out. Your manager seems totally unapproachable, I would demand an apology. Why single you out of four people.I completely understand where your coming from and I think if people think that it's a non issue or if they want to pass a smart comment then they shouldn't comment at all. Moesha looked for opinions not a firing squad.
 
If there is a lot of chatting, it can be very disruptive for other people including the manager. So it was quite appropriate for the manager to ask you nicely to stop chatting which she did.

You were unhappy with the way she spoke to you and you asked for a word. That is fine. She should have used the opportunity to explain to you why she asked you to stop chatting. If she was too busy, then she should have agreed to meet you later.

You should speak to her today and ask to discuss it. But speak nicely. Little incidents like this can lead to World War 3. It is a problem for you. It is a problem for your manager. You need to sort it out.

Brendan
 
Margie said:
Also I think it's admirable that you were friendly towards the new employee in turn making her feel welcome.I think your manager should apologise. I remember a good few years back I worked in a grocery shop part-time. I was training in a new employee therefore we had to talk i.e. communicate. The boss came up to me and said stop chatting in front of customers please.
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There is a big difference between training someone in/making them feel welcome and discussing people you know, the area you're from etc aka gossip!
 
If this was a once off, then it's likely your boss was having a bad day. She's only human even if on €110k and we all have them. However, she should not have spoke to you in front of other colleagues the way she did and more than likely knew straight away, she was wrong. She more than likely thought straight away "what have I done" and if not a bully didn't know how to deal with the repercussions and needed time to think and didn't know best how to deal with you and keep her superiority when you came to her door.

I think it was just bad management. However, there is no need for you to be on the receiving end.

You say you can bear to look or speak to her at the moment. Well if that's the case, at this stage you have both most likely cooled. So might I suggest an e-mail to her, that's calm, understanding and logical stating your grievance and that you'd like to talk about it. Chances are it will all be ok, even if things are a bit frosty for a few days. But it's better to get it sorted now.
 
I don't agree with the managers actions you mentioned Mediation so I take it that you have already gone down the formal route.

If she wanted to set standards for the new employee she should have done this when she was inducting the new staff. A new member of staff is a great oppurtunity to re-issue the standards.

Once a year I issue an up to date list of duties/standards such as policy on personal calls and of course all the policies.
 
I cant believe most people´s replys to this post.

The poster is adult, responsible and getting her work done. So, during the working day she passes some time chatting to a colleague - big deal!!
Do the people who replied never acknowlege or talk to their colleagues? We´re human, not machines, and it leads to a better work athmosphere if we get on with our colleagues.
Her manager has a cheek telling her to go back to work like a bold child - maybe the OP works late some evenings to get jobs completed, or works through lunchtime if needed. There needs to be give and take.

The manager sounds like an inexperienced manager who subscribes to the Theory X style of management which presumes that workers are inherently lazy and will avoid work if possible, and who need to be closely managed.
In a professional situation, it would be much more empowering and motivating to this employee if the manager subscribed to Theory Y management.
 
Let's look at it this way:

"I'm a manager supervising an office of 4 people and I have a fairly stressful job. Although my staff meet their targets, they do spend what I consider to be an unreasonable amount of time chatting to each other or on the phone.

A new employee started recently and I had hoped to instill a new work ethic within my group. However, last week when I arrived back in the office, I found 2 employees holding personal conversations on the phone, and two others - including the new girl - constantly chatting about friends from home. Despite my best efforts, this seems to have become a common occurrence.

Not wanting to cause a fuss, but still feeling that I had to say something, I asked the two girls not on the phone to get back to their jobs, before going into my office. A few moments later, there was a knock on the door, and one of the women that I had spoken to asked if I had time to talk to her. I have a very busy job, and I told her that I did not have the time. She then asked me when we could talk, and I replied that i would have to check and get back to her. She was obviously furious, and I felt that a conversation at this time would only escalate into an argument, not helping either of us. However, almost yelling, she told me in no uncertain terms that she would not accept being spoken to like a child. I had to demand that she leave my office!

Now, I don't mind a certain level of chit-chat, but I feel that it has now gotten to be too much. Add this to the fact that I am now challenged by members of staff who barge into my office because I dared to suggest that they stop talking and do some work! I'm at my wits end! Any advice please...."
 
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