In case you think I'm wonderful, there are those who disagree. Our recently fired paralegal has posted her thoughts on us on her MySpace blog (link no longer good). I'm the "asshole" in the story, by the way.
Let's just say that I don't quite agree with everything she wrote, and in particular I didn't know a workplace was supposed to have a specific rule about being on time for work. My general sense is that when you start a new job, you should probably show up early for the first month, and maybe the first year. And you probably shouldn't ask if you can leave early on a repeated basis in that first month. And you probably shouldn't ask for days off in that first month. And you probably shouldn't ... well, you get the idea.
Seriously though, this was a difficult experience for me (I'm sure it was worse for her). Firing someone is not easy. I was thinking about waiting until after Christmas on some notion that it's cruel to fire someone so close to Christmas. It turns out that before Christmas is a good time to find a job, and after Christmas may not be such a good time.
It's also hard to tell someone directly to their face why you're firing them. Somehow it's easier to cross-examine a cop in a courtroom.
Then there's the process of making sure they get all of their stuff and get out, because you just don't want someone who's been fired hanging around or showing up again. So when I found her sweater in the kitchen after she had just left, I figured it was better to get them to her while she was still in the neighborhood than have her come back in later that day or another day.
There's also that question about how much one should blog about one's life on the web. Our former paralegal also posted about her previous job on her blog, where she mentioned she doesn't like doing personal injury work (funny, that's what we do too). You don't really want to have to explain to your new boss why you posted that you didn't like doing the same kind of work for your old boss. So inviting your new boss to be your friend on MySpace, which leads him directly to your blog, might not be the best idea.
Despite all that, I wish her well on her new job and in her life. Seems like a decent person, but just not right for our office. Hopefully she learned from this experience ... and doesn't invite her new boss to be her MySpace friend so he/she can read her blog too.
3 comments:
You see...that is what you get for hiring a new paralegal before I finished all my classes. ;)
I don't think you need to "make up rules" for a paralegal. For the size of your office, she should have been self managed. Think of it this way...If she'd post about the bad day when she got fired, she would have posted about a bad day with a client and included just enough detail to cause you problems.
But why are you linking to her rant? Why are you giving it any credibility? Do you mean to tell us you have poor hiring skills? Look at her communication skills. How does adding this to your blog make you look? Oh...maybe petty, defensive, a tad unprofessional. IMO there shouldn't be any room in your blog for comments about employees. Past...present...or future.
Your ideas regarding time off are complete typical BS from an employer. LIFE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WORK. I some how doubt you will ever be happy. Stop taking your so called legal occupation (something the world could do with it just fine) so seriously! You make no real contribution to society. You might as well be a stock broker or a politician (aka useless people in the same category as sales people). I hope you realize the error of your ways and find a way to make a true contribution to society.
Thanks to the above commenter for giving me a good laugh.
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