Was I in the wrong at work?

[Conners]

Hi Everyone,

Never thought I'd post in this part of the forum! I apologise if this is long but you need all the facts to determine whether I was indeed in the wrong or right.

 

I have a casual job at a high end accounting firm in the city as an office assistant. Basically my job is just to maintain an electronic database and get through all the paper work for it. It's a temp job while I'm at school for a girl on maternity leave.

 

When I started my boss said I can work around my uni hours, just as long as I averaged between 20-30 hours a week. The girl on maternity leave worked everyday from 9-4 pm totalling 30 hours a week. When I started she had literally had just gone on maternity leave a couple of days earlier and there was ALOT of paper work. They told me I probably would never be completely up to date with it all but to do my best. I managed to smash out all the work within a month and I started to have nothing to do at work so I cut down my hours from 3 days a week (8.30-5pm) to 2 days a week. This was fine for me because I was struggling with full time uni and needed all the extra time for it. My boss was pretty amazed at how I finished all the work so quickly, considering I worked 10 hours less per week than the girl on leave.

 

Anyway last week the receptionist was on leave and she is full time so they asked me to help out and come in the 3 days a week to cover her role. I had to call in sick on Thursday as I got a 24 hour virus where I was throwing up and I also had tonsillitis so my throat was killing me! I went to the doctor to get a sick note for the thursday and friday. Friday I was feeling a lot better besides my throat being extremely sore. I normally don't work on Fridays anyway but I went in because I felt bad for the day before.

 

When I got there one of the older office assistants who had been there for a while (who is technically suppose to cover reception when needed) said I should probably catch up on my own work since I hadn't done it all week. I smashed out my own work before 1pm and moved onto reception work. I didn't have my one hour lunch break that day since I still felt sick.

 

This is what got me. The older office assistant requested I still answer the phones all day, even after I told her my throat was very sore and hard to speak. Meh whatever, I did it anyway. Her and 4 other ladies in the office went out for a TWO AND A HALF hour lunch break at a restaurant as my boss wasn't in that day. I worked through my lunch break and told her I was going to leave at 4 instead of 5. I felt pretty sick still and just wanted to get home to bed. About 3.45pm she asks me to go to the post office and bank for her (Receptions job) which is about a 20 min walk. It's getting cold here in Australia and I was a little bit annoyed but did it anyway thinking I would leave when I got back to the office. When I got back she said "before you go, you need to put these 80 invoices in separate envelopes and send them out". I thought about it for a second and I kind of snapped. It would of taken me another hour or more.

 

I said no, sorry I don't think so. I've been doing reception the days ive been here, and I still managed to finish my own work in half a day today. I worked through my lunch break so I could leave earlier. Besides that fact, you and the other girls went out for two and a half hours for lunch. If it was that urgent, you should of been here to do it. She said "whoa you have a lot of attitude" I calmly said well no it's not attitude.. its not fair. I've been answering the phones all day with a sore throat when you could of easily have done it so i'm going home now. She gave me the dirtiest look and I just left the office to go home.

 

I know shes going to tell my boss on Monday that I "bailed". Worst part is the 3 other ladies in the office will probably back her up. I am the youngest there, I'm 22 and they are late 20s and early 30s. I messaged the receptionist who is actually my friend and explained what happened and she agrees that I didn't do anything wrong.

 

My mum said I wasn't in the wrong but need to keep my attitude under control if I want to keep a job. My boyfriend thinks i'm right but he could be biased.

Thoughts?

Thankyou

[MidwestUSA]

Eh, I agree with your mom. I definitely think you were right in bailing, just based on the fact that you were that sick. However, you should have held your tongue.

 

But, there's a part of me that says the hell with it, you told the old bag off, LOL. As long as it's not a position that can influence your future, what the heck. The old goat may even admire you for it, after she's had the weekend to digest her big ol' lunch!

 

 

Look at me, calling late 20s - early 30s bags and goats! I guess I see a bit of myself in you. Anyway, hope you still have a job Monday!

[Conners]

I just think it's wrong to palm work she should be doing off onto me because i'm efficient at what I do. If she wants to take an extra hour and a half for lunch.. she should stay back and do the work.

 

And making me answer the phone when I could hardly talk is just cruel. I'm just one of those people who don't let others push me around.

 

Thanks for your response!

[Tayla]

Love the line- "Guess you got an attitude! " Seriously, who doesnt have an attitude, be it perceived cheerful or a bit unnerved. Its human nature to fluctuate when circumstances arise. You were by no means in the wrong for standing up for yourself. If there was any miscommunication it came from the over-the-top- request to detain you after you completed many tasks. Enjoy life,and if you are approached by upper management, with a smilefull face tell them you are quite pleased with all you achieved in one day!

[Conners]

Love the line- "Guess you got an attitude! " Seriously, who doesnt have an attitude, be it perceived cheerful or a bit unnerved. Its human nature to fluctuate when circumstances arise. You were by no means in the wrong for standing up for yourself. If there was any miscommunication it came from the over-the-top- request to detain you after you completed many tasks. Enjoy life,and if you are approached by upper management, with a smilefull face tell them you are quite pleased with all you achieved in one day!

 

Thanks Tayla . I'm aware I have an attitude problem and it indeed gets me in trouble but I would rather get in trouble for being pushed around than get walked all over! This job is handy while I'm at school but I won't stress too much if I lose it.

[pink_sugar]

You didn't do anything wrong, but I agree you should have spoken up before reaching your breaking point. You should have brought it up to her before lunch and said "sorry, I am really sick today and almost stayed home, I would appreciate if you could help me with xyz so I can leave a little earlier today." And if she kept on you to do xyz, just keep firm but hold yourself together. I would explain it to your boss first thing Monday if you can.

[ChatroomHero]

Honestly you have to stick up for yourself at work in situations like these, especially considering it is not your dream job. What you did was command respect, there is nothing wrong with that.

 

 

If the lady complains to your boss or gives you a hard time, command the same respect. Should the boss call you in his office and tells you the other people are backing the lady, a power move is to ask the boss to bring her into the discussion so you can defend her accusations directly. If he brings her in look her dead in the eye and ask her in front of the boss how she had time for a 2.5 hour lunch but needed you to stay late to send out the 80 envelopes.

 

 

Make sure you remind your boss how quickly you finished all the paperwork and how he was surprised you got caught up, a concrete example of your work ethic.

 

 

He may or may not back you and the lady will already be p*ssed no doubt so there is no going back, but in my opinion you stood up for yourself and that's a great quality to have, a quality many people WISH they were capable of doing.

[smackie9]

I agree with everyone that you do need to stand up for yourself BUT you should have done it on a more professional level. There are better ways to get your point across rather than lashing back making petty comments about the 2.5 hour lunch she had. You could have said, "I have completed all what was required of my duties, plus more. I'm sure these can be handled by one of the two that are also sharing the receptionists responsibilities". "I regret that I must excuse myself from work, for I am still feeling quite ill." This would have earned you respect, and wouldn't have given her any reason to complain to her boss about. She would know complaining wouldn't have been in her best interest because you have something on her and her fellow co-workers. I have a feeling this bitch was trying to get you fired because you are showing your boss that you are more productive, and it's showing that the rest of his staff that they have been slacking, and taking their job for granted.

[ChatroomHero]

"I have completed all what was required of my duties, plus more. I'm sure these can be handled by one of the two that are also sharing the receptionists responsibilities". "I regret that I must excuse myself from work, for I am still feeling quite ill." This would have earned you respect, and wouldn't have given her any reason to complain to her boss about.

 

 

I get what you are saying but unfortunately in reality the lady would have said the same thing and still complained to her boss. Her only options would be to p*ss the lady off or do what she said. There isn't usually middle ground with someone like that as the lady clearly showed a lack of respect for the OP.

 

 

Someone who takes a 2.5 hour lunch because the boss is out will not be professional and someone that has the attitude of the lady as the OP portrayed likely was complaining about her before this happened. If you think OP could smile and say, "No thanks" and the lady would not have taken issue anyway, based on experience I whole heartedly disagree.

 

 

OP will have to eat enough crow as she gets older, a job where the office employees sneak 2.5 hour lunches and then try to unload their work to a sick co-worker is not one to value and sticking up for herself will pay dividends as she enters a career.

[Conners]

I get what you are saying but unfortunately in reality the lady would have said the same thing and still complained to her boss. Her only options would be to p*ss the lady off or do what she said. There isn't usually middle ground with someone like that as the lady clearly showed a lack of respect for the OP.

 

 

Someone who takes a 2.5 hour lunch because the boss is out will not be professional and someone that has the attitude of the lady as the OP portrayed likely was complaining about her before this happened. If you think OP could smile and say, "No thanks" and the lady would not have taken issue anyway, based on experience I whole heartedly disagree.

 

 

OP will have to eat enough crow as she gets older, a job where the office employees sneak 2.5 hour lunches and then try to unload their work to a sick co-worker is not one to value and sticking up for herself will pay dividends as she enters a career.

 

Thanks for your feedback guys - it has made me feel a lot better about going into work tomorrow

 

Just a question, what does "eat enough crow" mean exactly?

[Smilecharmer]

No, eating enough crow means paying your dues by taking enough knocks while you are a junior person. I don't really buy into that unless you are a slacker and aren't contributing. You did nothing wrong and if she does tell your boss, feel free to tell him how these women act and their long breaks. Do so in a calm and professional way and don't get upset. They aren't important and most men normally don't like women's theatrics so he may not even approach you about it.

[smackie9]

I get what you are saying but unfortunately in reality the lady would have said the same thing and still complained to her boss. Her only options would be to p*ss the lady off or do what she said. There isn't usually middle ground with someone like that as the lady clearly showed a lack of respect for the OP.

 

 

Someone who takes a 2.5 hour lunch because the boss is out will not be professional and someone that has the attitude of the lady as the OP portrayed likely was complaining about her before this happened. If you think OP could smile and say, "No thanks" and the lady would not have taken issue anyway, based on experience I whole heartedly disagree.

 

 

OP will have to eat enough crow as she gets older, a job where the office employees sneak 2.5 hour lunches and then try to unload their work to a sick co-worker is not one to value and sticking up for herself will pay dividends as she enters a career.

 

I've been working in the same office for the last 24 years, and have seen my fair share of bull. I have been faced with many challenges, different personalities, and bad attitudes. With my years of experience, to deal with any negative situation it is key to be as professional as possible. It DOES play in your favor to keep your cool, and express your defense in a tactful way. To cop an attitude, even tho the bitch deserves it, you are just stooping to her unprofessional level. If the bitch complains, it would be a marvelous opportunity to express the unprofessionalizm going on in the office, such as the 2 and a half hour lunch, the unfair treatment of junior staff, and the staff being unfit to complete their own tasks. I assue you, as a boss myself, it would be in his best interest to look further into the goings on in the office while they were gone.

 

I am definitely not against sticking up for yourself, I had to many times. But being a dic k about it gets you into more trouble than it's worth.

[smackie9]

Thanks for your feedback guys - it has made me feel a lot better about going into work tomorrow

 

Just a question, what does "eat enough crow" mean exactly?

 

Eating crow is an American colloquial idiom, meaning humiliation by admitting

wrongness or having been proved wrong after taking a strong position.

[Conners]

well I'm at work at the moment. the receptionist is back luckily and I get along with her just fine and she said that the older office assistant hadn't said anything about it. I haven't made direct contact with her yet but her buddy she sits next to completely ignored me this morning (ohhh I care sooo much ) another one of the girls who works near me that was out on the long lunch who's an accountant was pleasant to me but she seemed a bit worried about asking me to do something again because she had made a mistake on a document. She probably thought I was going to skitz at her or something because she also said I looked pretty today. :/

 

my boss is always nice and he had the usual chat about the weekend blah blah blah so I don't think he has any clue to what happened. I don't know if I should have a talk to him about it or just leave it be. thoughts ?

[preraph]

Email the boss with your side of what happened and tell them she said you had attitude but you are just sick -- and don't come in the next time you're sick.

[pink_sugar]

Email the boss with your side of what happened and tell them she said you had attitude but you are just sick -- and don't come in the next time you're sick.

 

I agree. Best to just stay home next time if you are unable to give your all to work. Otherwise, others might assume if you came to work, you're well enough to stay your full shift and handle all your duties.

[Conners]

The receptionist just told me that she did tell him about it and she was having a b**ch about what I did to her.

 

Wow a 30 year old woman going around the office telling people i'm childish. What a hypocrite! Apparently she told my boss I acted childish and she was telling the receptionist "ohh she went on about how I had a 2hr lunch, I don't have to report to her'

 

I am not at work today or tomorrow but I am fuming. I was going to let it go and not talk to my boss about it but she has actually fired me up now. I'm also applying for more jobs today. If I get another one I'll quit on the spot.

[CC12]

I think you were in the wrong because of the way you handled it. You should have just said, "No, sorry, I can't do the extra work. I worked through lunch so that I could go home early because I'm still feeling sick. See you next week."

 

I don't think your coworker really did anything wrong, except for maybe her long lunch, but that's not your business. You were doing receptionist work, and she was asking you to do things that normally fall under the receptionist's duties, like answering the phone and going to the post office. You can't expect others to keep in mind your physical ailments and only assign you work that is comfortable for you to do.

 

You were out of line snapping at her and calling her out on her long lunch. You are a temp, and I'm not saying that means you have to take a whole bunch of ****, but you certainly shouldn't be dishing it out.

 

This is probably the last thing you want to hear, but I think you should consider apologizing to her for your outburst. It was unprofessional (childish, even) and it shouldn't have happened. It's almost fortunate that you were sick at the time, because you can sort of explain away your behavior with that - "I'm sorry for how I acted. I was sick and not at my best. It won't happen again." That sort of thing.

[Conners]

I think you were in the wrong because of the way you handled it. You should have just said, "No, sorry, I can't do the extra work. I worked through lunch so that I could go home early because I'm still feeling sick. See you next week."

 

I don't think your coworker really did anything wrong, except for maybe her long lunch, but that's not your business. You were doing receptionist work, and she was asking you to do things that normally fall under the receptionist's duties, like answering the phone and going to the post office. You can't expect others to keep in mind your physical ailments and only assign you work that is comfortable for you to do.

 

You were out of line snapping at her and calling her out on her long lunch. You are a temp, and I'm not saying that means you have to take a whole bunch of ****, but you certainly shouldn't be dishing it out.

 

This is probably the last thing you want to hear, but I think you should consider apologizing to her for your outburst. It was unprofessional (childish, even) and it shouldn't have happened. It's almost fortunate that you were sick at the time, because you can sort of explain away your behavior with that - "I'm sorry for how I acted. I was sick and not at my best. It won't happen again." That sort of thing.

 

I definitely will not be apologising to her. And what you told me to say is basically what I told her and when she said I had attitude I did call her out on the long lunch. She's the one being rude and lazy by expecting me to answer phones (by the way it is not my duty, I am helping out and doing them a favour) while I had tonsillitis!? So I'll pass on your advice.

[CC12]

I definitely will not be apologising to her. And what you told me to say is basically what I told her and when she said I had attitude I did call her out on the long lunch. She's the one being rude and lazy by expecting me to answer phones (by the way it is not my duty, I am helping out and doing them a favour) while I had tonsillitis!? So I'll pass on your advice.

 

Okay, sweetheart. Good luck with everything.

[Conners]

Okay, sweetheart. Good luck with everything.

 

Cheers mate. Love me a bit of sarcasm.

[MidwestUSA]

Slow down, for all you know, the boss is laughing at her behind her back. Bosses HATE this type of women drama! Let her do all the talking and she'll make herself look like the crazy one. Go in and defend yourself (calmly) if he says something, but don't be the one to bring it up. Treat the topic as if it's dead and buried, because that's where he would like it to be. He'll respect you for that.

[ChatroomHero]

I definitely will not be apologising to her. And what you told me to say is basically what I told her and when she said I had attitude I did call her out on the long lunch. She's the one being rude and lazy by expecting me to answer phones (by the way it is not my duty, I am helping out and doing them a favour) while I had tonsillitis!? So I'll pass on your advice.

 

 

You handled it fine, no need to apologize. What people are choosing to ignore is that no matter what you did this woman would be jealous or threatened by you. Your only REAL world choices were to speak up or do what she said and you stuck up for yourself.

 

 

You don't need to quit on the spot or anything like that, but explain to the boss what happened and then decide. There is a chance your boss will laugh and say, "yeah, I know how she is".

 

 

If you want a little payback you can mention to the boss that she was complaining to other people in the office and as a grown woman should have the professionalism to keep it between you, her and the boss. That's not a conversation she would want to have with the boss, about why she is discussing matters like that with the office staff. The "proof" of her doing this is if you bring it up with your boss first because how else would you know she talked to him unless someone else told you.

[Conners]

So I'm still at this job, things blew over and she no longer asks me to do her work for her. I know for a fact she bitches behind my back but I don't really care to be honest.

She's started dobbing on tiny little errors she can possibly find. She always writes and email and CCs my boss so he knows what irrelevant insignificant error I've made. it's only happened a few times but today I overheard her telling one of the girls to send me an email about an error that was picked up from my first week (in feb) and to cc the boss so hopefully he will fire me. the email was very blunt and told me to just fix it, which takes about 10 seconds.

 

I walked away and laughed to myself because I know he won't fire me and is over the drama. I bit back however because I always find little mistakes she makes but I just fix them quietly because it doesn't take long. After that email was sent to me I found two errors on her behalf so I took a screen shot and sent her an email and ccd my boss pointing it out and for her to fix it. she replied with "it would of taken you less time to fix it yourself rather than write this email"

 

OMG what a hypocrite. I can't wait for my student allowance to be approved so I can leave this job!

[letmoc]

Stuff like this happens in offices all of the time. Fifty percent of succeeding is knowing office dynamics. Both of you are acting immature and if I was your boss you would both be put on notice.