So, I'm in something of a battle with HR (well, they're the face of the company's policies, so...). I have a new employee that has been with us for nine weeks. Within that nine weeks he has only had two weeks where he worked a full 40-hour workweek. And I'm not saying that for the other seven weeks, he missed an hour or so, here or there. No, this clown has missed one hundred and eleven hours...111 hours...since his hire date nine weeks ago. And guess what? I can't even fire the guy! HR says he needs at least three more unexcused absences before I can even begin considering making anything stick. Mind you, I wrote him up (Written Warning) two weeks ago, and within the week, he missed another ten hours. I told HR that he obviously has no regard for his job, and that I cannot rely on him in any form of fashion. She said "I would caution you against making assumptions like that", to which I replied "How in the hell can you in any way defend this guy?" Then she actually said to me "Just because someone doesn't share the same work ethic as you, you cannot just make assumptions on why he misses time." Really? For the last two days, he missed time because his knee hurt. I told this to HR, and then told her that if I stayed home every time I had pain in my knees, then we never would have met, because my knees hurt 24/7. It's not like he has cancer, for crying out loud! He misses time because his girlfriend is having a bad day, and it would "upset her" if he left her home to go to work...
I told the HR gal (whose pronouns are "she/her", she proudly proclaims) that "I'm not going to miss this nonsense. Not one bit." Then I walked out the door. I had planned on working until June 30th, just to pull in a little extra cash. I discussed it with my wife, and I'm now looking at May 1st. She's 100% onboard with whatever I decide. Hell, she said she wouldn't blame me if I went in the next day and told them it was my last. But for me, May 1st is looking really good, right now. It'll impact my finances a bit, but nothing I can't handle. The stress of this kind of bullshit will likely kill me before I can make it to June 30th...
Rant over.
Just saw this.... I'm in a management position over 23 now.... It's maddening how HR people have been created (I say created because no one comes that way). I came back after I went "consultant" during the great mandate on a 4 year term with an employment contract. I have the ability to pull the rip-cord and take a little with me when I go... just can't call my clients for a year or two. I can afford to go at any time. If I didn't have that in my hip pocket there are days that probably lose it at the lack of respect for the ones that work hard and add value. Meritocracy is a dirty word... yet the only thing that keeps us from the abyss. 5 do the work of 8 or 9 in my profession to make up for the 5 that do the work of 2 these days.
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