THE VIEW FROM THE BOSS'S OFFICE
From the
manager’s point of view, Jeanne has a chance to make
a better life for her children by earning a living. Jeanne
is a smart person and her boss hopes she works out.
However, her co-workers don’t care if Jeanne pouts,
stomps her foot or shows she is hurt or angry. If anything,
they think it is childish and wastes their time. They
don’t understand why she expects special treatment.
They all get their children to school and get to work on
time and they don’t understand why she
shouldn’t be able to do the same.
It never occurred to the boss that telling someone they are
expected to be at work on time would hurt her feelings.
From Sandi's view, it is a manager's job to see that people
get their work done and everyone gets paid. She has two
young sons at home and is a mother to them. She doesn't
expect to be a mother to her employees as well.
Who is wrong in this situation? We think they both are
missing the complete picture.
The boss needs to realize that the work experience is new
to Jeanne. She has worked before but only part-time in the
office at her high school, where the hours and rules were
very casual. As her boss pointed out, Jeanne is a smart
person and they would like to keep her as an employee. Her
boss needs to start caring about Jeanne's feelings because
an unhappy employee is not going to do as good a job. One
mistake the boss made was not to recognize the fact that
Jeanne worked all day and did a very good job. For someone
who has had no real work experience, role models of workers
or support from family and friends to go out and get a job,
that says something very positive about Jeanne. If her boss
doesn't notice and appreciate this effort, who will?
Click here for suggestions for change.