Comments | elfgrove: RANT: The "I Quit"s Heard 'Round the World

elfgrove

RANT: The "I Quit"s Heard 'Round the World

Aug 12, 2010 15:50

Hey guys. We're going to have a My 2 Cents post here.
Consider yourselves fairly warned warned for some ranting.

( Read more... )

rant, news

Comments 10

(The comment has been removed)

elfgrove August 16 2010, 17:06:06 UTC

Thanks.

Damn skippy. Now we just need to convince Wil that D*Con is cooler than PAX and he should at least try us for one year.

artikgato August 13 2010, 02:29:12 UTC

I hadn't heard about the Steven Slater story (I don't follow news at all any more, xD), but my jaw literally dropped when I read about how he quit. Seriously? Wow. I could have understood swearing at the man to his face or something, but all the crap that he did? And in an economy like today where most people are even lucky to have a minimum wage job? Holy crap. oO

elfgrove August 16 2010, 17:15:46 UTC

Yeah. And now he's saying he'd like his job back, pretty please. Pfft. You dug your grave, go lie in it.

asatira August 13 2010, 03:46:42 UTC

Yeah. Somehow I missed the Jenny Whiteboard thing, but only caught it when it was revealed to be a hoax. I have caught the Steven Slater story. Yeah, a part of me applauded the act because, as you said, who wouldn't want to act out like that. That said, I do agree that he over reacted, did more harm than good, and deserves the charges against him. The worst part, they're STILL talking about him! Gods, he's not that newsworthy. It is not that slow a news week.

"Don't be a dick!" seconded, or thirded.

elfgrove August 16 2010, 17:17:00 UTC

Well, the major news stations get bored I guess.

The entire thing irritates me because people are treating this like it was a good way to react.

alchemi August 13 2010, 04:20:11 UTC

Slater is an asshole who risked lives.

But I will defend (fictional) Jenny. First, unlike Slater, the boss was the one with the power. He was also the one abusing his position. On top of that, Jenny's (fictional) actions did not pose any real risk of unjustified harm (no 3rd parties were placed at risk).

While I agree it would be best policy for an abused worker to calmly and professionally respond to the boss and go up the chain, I also think that (a) abusers rely on silence, (b) the person without the power deserves the benefit of the doubt and the sympathy, (c) the asshole abuser shouldn't be able to rely on the abused being the mature, responsible one.

So I agree with you 100% with regard to Slater, and disagree about 95% re "Jenny".

haleysings August 14 2010, 00:48:45 UTC

This is pretty much how I feel. I think Slater's sort of sympathetic because I can understand needing to just RUN AWAY in a situation like that (and I'd be much more sympathetic if running didn't require risking injury or death or costing the company a ton of money), but I do think in the end he overreacted and was a jerk. Jenny, though? I don't really see what's wrong with what she (supposedly) did, except for maybe revealing that her boss was wasting time on a facebook game. (And even then...don't waste time on a facebook game.)

I can say I wouldn't quit how Jenny did unless I planned to go into business for myself or was going to earn money in entertainment or something, though.

elfgrove August 16 2010, 17:13:55 UTC

I'd be a lot more sympathetic to Slater if he had just walked off the job, not have a meltdown that included theft and endangering others.

On Jenny, read my response to alchemi.

elfgrove August 16 2010, 17:12:01 UTC

Yes. (And now he wants his job back. HAH.)

I get that the boss was abusing power, but that's why we have HR departments. If you feel you can't go to your boss, you go straight to HR. At least try to work it out in a mature professional manner first. (The hoax quit was supposedly the very next day from the overheard phone call.) If going through the proper channels got her blown off, then you can fairly escalate it outside the workplace.
She may not like him, but publicly slamming him to the entire office and the internet is super unprofessional, and if it turned out to be her blowing things out of scale (i.e. HPOA can also be Highly Paid Office Assistant), his[fictional boss] reputation and hire-ability is just as damaged as hers is.

pyro_ike August 19 2010, 05:35:14 UTC

Sounds like some interesting stories, but not exactly heroism material. Or maybe the crappy jobs I've worked haven't been that crappy after all?

The whole emergency-slide-out-of-the-plane-you-quit thing is pretty childish, and I guess it's deserving of the 5 criminal charges.. But on the bright side, it brings up this great mental image of the dude sliding out of the plane, a beer in each hand, with a face that says only one thing: "Haters gonna hate."