Supervisor Walked Off Job

LindaS

Something happened yesterday that I find just amazing and had to share...

We hired an employee in October and shortly after found that he failed to provide some information on his application. This information would probably have made a difference in the decision to hire him but we allowed him to continue working anyway. During his intro. period he had several safety violations as well as a very arrogant attitude regarding his ability to perform his job. In addition we found out that he completely misled us during the interview process. Plus he went to the union regarding some issues the union had not sayso in and got people riled. We are an at will state and made the decision to fire him in late December. The day we were planning on terminating him his supervisor, who had only been on the job for three days, convinced the production manager to give him one last chance.

We decided to to this with the understanding that ANY infractions or issues would result in the employee's termination. We extended his intro. period until the end of January. As we thought, the employee had several more issues so we decided to terminate him yesterday.

Prior to doing the termination the production manager called the supervisor into his office to inform him of the decision. The supervisor's response was "if he goes, I go".

Well as you can guess we terminated the employee anyway. The supervisor then proceeded to say "goodbye" to some of the people who worked for him and simply left the building WITHOUT NOTIFYING ANYONE!!!

I don't know about any of you but I have never had this happen with a supervisor.

Just had to share.

Parabeagle

I've never had it happen with a supervisory employee but I have had it happen with a new employee in whom we had invested a LOT of time and money. This was several years ago and I was recruiting for an executive secretary for our engineering division. At that time, clerical candidates took a typing test (using paper and an actual typewriter!), a pencil and paper, grammar/basic arithmetic and spelling test, then interviewed with me. If they made the cut, they interviewed with their soon-to-be immediate supervisor, his supervisor, and our industrial psychologist. Everyone agrees, an offer is extended.

Shows up bright and early on the first day, I go through the new employee paperwork with her, take her to her workstation, introduce her around and go back to my office happy as a clam. Two o'clock that afternoon, I get a phone call in which her new boss informs me that she didn't come back from lunch and did I know where she was? I told him no, but I'd try to find out.

Phone rings again. It's the new employee. Decided she didn't like the workstation or her coworkers so she wouldn't be coming back to work.

Her final check (for 3.5 hours work) came back to us and we never did find out where to send it!

TALLEY

We had a new employee (not a supervisor) begin his first day on the evening shift because it would be quieter and allow for training on the switchboard. After a couple of hours, he informed his co-worker that he thought he might have left his dome light on in his car and wanted to go to the parking lot and check. Guess what - never saw or heard from him again.

That's now the catch phrase around here. When you've had enough, we threaten to go check our dome light.

Parabeagle

Excuse me. I need to go check my dome light. :-)

sonny

I, too, experienced the first day employee who went to lunch and never came back, but the dome light. . that is classic. Loved it.

franfields

I had one who left without a word after a few days and we found out later it was because she didn't realize that a receptionist had to stay behind a reception desk all day. I guess she thought we had hired her as a roving receptionist.#-o

Don D

Had a new security guard once whom we found sound asleep inside a huge concrete culvert pipe out on the far back of the property. Pulled his time card. Never heard from him again. Reckon he might still be asleep? Hope the city didn't connect up that section of storm pipe with him inside it.

Sally

franfields--
Your "roving receptionist" -- I think she used to work for me. The concept of sitting at the reception desk to answer phones and greet customers (not to mention do some other actual work on a computer)was something she just could not grasp!

sonny

Perhaps it was a security guard as opposed to the manatee that caused our problem last year?

HS

Never had a supervisor walk off the job, but have had employees do so in my years here. Most went to lunch and never came back...no word to anyone, no call to HR, nothing!

Gillian

My record is one hour of work - he caught sight of the truck he was supposed to unload and disappeared. Even had a plant tour ahead of time, but a truck wasn't backing up at that particular moment.