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Trainee filed complaint with management. Made up story about me creating 'hostile work environment.' People asking for a condensed thread title. Le (1 Viewer)

ren hoek

Footballguy
This woman was hired on to work a technical position.  Former hairdresser.  I'd been tasked with training her for it.  She's wildly unprofessional, can't take criticism and has been a complete liability from the second the manager hired her without our input, and I'm the one getting #### on for it, but other than that she's an ok person.  Today she forgot to enter in a patient history on the computer and asked me 'well why wasn't there a patient history?'  I said, "because you didn't put one there."  That's when she stormed out saying 'I'm gonna talk to personnel,' muttered something about 'gonna snap.'  Here's a brief rundown and statement I'm thinking about turning in tomorrow.  

I'd really rather not give up too much about personal details and line of work.  So there's some redacted stuff here.  But really appreciate the advice (or failing that, piping hot takes).

Hello,

Just wanted to type a statement in the event there was any confusion. The assistant manager informed me the employee was complaining of a “hostile work environment,” and that I'd asked her “if she wanted to be a 41-year old flipping burgers.” She informed me of this in front of my coworker K_____. The look she gave indicated this was a serious issue that was actually happening and that I was guilty of something. I don't know this person's name and have rarely spoken with her beyond the time she helped with reimbursement for my practical exam.

J______ had been struggling to learn how to do the things required of the position, and would complain about having to work with children and how she wasn't sure if she liked the position. She'd mentioned in the first couple days how one of her first orders of business was to get some sort of gastrointestinal surgery once she got insurance, and then foot surgery after that. She talked about Donald Trump and her distaste for him on her first day, and in lieu of making things awkward I just kind of shrugged and said “yeah I know what you mean.” It's not typical that political opinions come up but I thought better of keeping things lighthearted as best I could.  

She struggles with basic functions of the position. For example, the _____ machine. She was very afraid of hurting people with it and so I made it a point to hold off on having her use the machine in earnest until the last week of her training. We'd basically figured it's about a month-long learning curve and it would just have to wait until the last week. I'd also printed out some sample tabs of a blank record and highlighted different sections for data entry, because the program and forms are very confusing when you're trying to learn what goes where. I tried my best to teach her the different aspects of the job, recommending adjustments as gently and helpfully as I could, giving her praise when she did things right. I confess to not being as understanding when I have to tell someone how to do something a 5th, 6th or 7th time, but it certainly wasn't for lack of trying.

Like I said, she had a lot of reservations about whether she wanted to pursue and apply herself to the position. I thought it'd make the job seem relatively more likable in the grand scheme of things if I related a story to her about how I used to work at McDonald's. I'm not the best at having a precise recollection of words that were said, but we were having a conversation about whether or not she likes this line of work. I said 'I remember working at McDonald's cleaning ketchup stains off the wall. I remember one time how these high school kids in a sports car came through the drive thru and looked at me like I was nothing. It was so humiliating. And so this is a pretty good job by comparison I think.' And that was that. I had hoped that by regaling a deprecating story about myself that it'd put the position in a better light for her. I am saddened and regretful that she took it the way she did. While the tasks of the position itself seemed to dismay and build anxiety for her, I've never once heard a complaint from a coworker, patient, doctor or manager about my treatment of her. I'd even asked my coworkers at one point after she'd left the office, 'do you guys think I'm being too hard on her?' After all, it's tough to get from novice to competence as a technician. To say it requires some level of criticism and correction is a massive understatement. They shook their heads 'no,' and Dr. ____ told me he was glad to have someone like me training her back there. I have trained many people dating back to my years at ______ for this exact line of work and things were always amicable and respectful. I would never in a million years bring up a person's age, outlook or otherwise unprofessional remarks to make them feel uncomfortable or ostracize them in any way. I invite you to speak with anyone I've worked with here if you have reservations about character.

I hope this clears things up. I wish J______ well and think it's unfortunate things didn't work out the way they probably should have.

Thanks,

-xxxxxx
I'm a total poopyhead on here of course, but I'm generally pretty easy in real life.  What do I do going forward?

 
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I will let one of the good writers here help you with this.  Long story short it should be 3-4 sentences and honestly i would not send anything at all.  I would request a quick meeting with HR to discuss, not in written form, any potential problems.  I would also start to document her employee file with any shortcomings she has at her job functions.  Once again, involve HR and her superior if you think that she should be "written up".  Further, I would probably talk to your boss about your desire to stop training her for fear of repercussions from her allegations.  If he/she completely has your back, document it and carry on.  

 
I'm an HR person in Healthcare and I wouldn't submit anything until I was asked to.  I cant tell you how many times I've had to explain to people that "just because you didn't appreciate the tone of voice that your supervisor used, that doesn't constitute a hostile work environment".

 
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I will let one of the good writers here help you with this.  Long story short it should be 3-4 sentences and honestly i would not send anything at all.  I would request a quick meeting with HR to discuss, not in written form, any potential problems.  I would also start to document her employee file with any shortcomings she has at her job functions.  Once again, involve HR and her superior if you think that she should be "written up".  Further, I would probably talk to your boss about your desire to stop training her for fear of repercussions from her allegations.  If he/she completely has your back, document it and carry on.  
this.

 
Yeah, you're probably right. Do I just let it play out or what?  
I'd wait until HR/management asks you about it. 

"I was relating a previous job from my own personal experience to provide some perspective. I did not intend to imply that she consider employment in the fast food industry. But from what I've seen, it's a bit presumptuous of her to assume she'd be starting out on the grill."  :mellow:

 
My work career ended because i got 'counselled' for being so much better at meetings than my counterpart (the dayshift poker supervisor) that she felt intimidated. A perfectly lovely woman who'd been a fine dealer and a thoroughly competent supervisor, but one who was not as good @ English as at her primary language, for whom this was her first mgmt job and who had the Poker Director around to help her w personnel sitches on days. Even with the recent poker boom (this was '08) our dept was still a red-headed stepchild in the hierarchy and i was fervently trying to get the casino to buy www.albuquerque.com as a promotional arm (so we could use the limited virtuality software of the time to showcase our store and teach our games online), so being spectacular at inter-departmental meetings was not only natural for me as the Wrath of God visited upon this Earth, but necessary for the well-being of my customers, employees, department, company and the world at-large. I also took the lead in the catwrangle that is pokerdealer staff meetings because my counterpart couldnt publicspeak without notes. But it huwt hew widdew feewings for me to outshine her, so she filed an ethnic & sexual insensitivity complaint with HR. It was batted down like a child's jumpshot @ Nerlens Noel Basketball Camp because she couldn't cite anything more brutal than the glare of my excellence as the intimidating factor, but my boss was forced to counsel me for associate overshadowing.

"Life's too short", i thought and i was only a casino suit cuz a back prob had knocked me out of dealing - where the real dough was - and i was pretty disgusted with the tribal operators' shortsightedness anyway, so i tendered a week later. Recession murdered the casino biz that fall, making mgr openings more rare than coalmining jobs, so i stretched my crash-decimated savings to make it to hook up the five or so years to SocSec and now i'll be pretty much broke the rest of my life, so i'm feelin ya, brother.

 
Yes. It's good to write it out so the details are as clear as possible in your mind, but I would not submit that to the company.

You should give your immediate superior a heads up...not a written document and no long-winded story. If he/she thinks HR should be informed, do that. Document problems you detect during training. That's all you need to do.

 
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You really need to edit that.  I was about to take out some stuff, but other people said it better.  Don't send anything.  If the boss thinks it's serious, s/he will come to you anyway.  Keep your resume polished, as always.

 
My work career ended because i got 'counselled' for being so much better at meetings than my counterpart (the dayshift poker supervisor) that she felt intimidated. A perfectly lovely woman who'd been a fine dealer and a thoroughly competent supervisor, but one who was not as good @ English as at her primary language, for whom this was her first mgmt job and who had the Poker Director around to help her w personnel sitches on days. Even with the recent poker boom (this was '08) our dept was still a red-headed stepchild in the hierarchy and i was fervently trying to get the casino to buy www.albuquerque.com as a promotional arm (so we could use the limited virtuality software of the time to showcase our store and teach our games online), so being spectacular at inter-departmental meetings was not only natural for me as the Wrath of God visited upon this Earth, but necessary for the well-being of my customers, employees, department, company and the world at-large. I also took the lead in the catwrangle that is pokerdealer staff meetings because my counterpart couldnt publicspeak without notes. But it huwt hew widdew feewings for me to outshine her, so she filed an ethnic & sexual insensitivity complaint with HR. It was batted down like a child's jumpshot @ Nerlens Noel Basketball Camp because she couldn't cite anything more brutal than the glare of my excellence as the intimidating factor, but my boss was forced to counsel me for associate overshadowing.

"Life's too short", i thought and i was only a casino suit cuz a back prob had knocked me out of dealing - where the real dough was - and i was pretty disgusted with the tribal operators' shortsightedness anyway, so i tendered a week later. Recession murdered the casino biz that fall, making mgr openings more rare than coalmining jobs, so i stretched my crash-decimated savings to make it to hook up the five or so years to SocSec and now i'll be pretty much broke the rest of my life, so i'm feelin ya, brother.
That was one hell of a story.

 
My work career ended because i got 'counselled' for being so much better at meetings than my counterpart (the dayshift poker supervisor) that she felt intimidated. A perfectly lovely woman who'd been a fine dealer and a thoroughly competent supervisor, but one who was not as good @ English as at her primary language, for whom this was her first mgmt job and who had the Poker Director around to help her w personnel sitches on days. Even with the recent poker boom (this was '08) our dept was still a red-headed stepchild in the hierarchy and i was fervently trying to get the casino to buy www.albuquerque.com as a promotional arm (so we could use the limited virtuality software of the time to showcase our store and teach our games online), so being spectacular at inter-departmental meetings was not only natural for me as the Wrath of God visited upon this Earth, but necessary for the well-being of my customers, employees, department, company and the world at-large. I also took the lead in the catwrangle that is pokerdealer staff meetings because my counterpart couldnt publicspeak without notes. But it huwt hew widdew feewings for me to outshine her, so she filed an ethnic & sexual insensitivity complaint with HR. It was batted down like a child's jumpshot @ Nerlens Noel Basketball Camp because she couldn't cite anything more brutal than the glare of my excellence as the intimidating factor, but my boss was forced to counsel me for associate overshadowing.

"Life's too short", i thought and i was only a casino suit cuz a back prob had knocked me out of dealing - where the real dough was - and i was pretty disgusted with the tribal operators' shortsightedness anyway, so i tendered a week later. Recession murdered the casino biz that fall, making mgr openings more rare than coalmining jobs, so i stretched my crash-decimated savings to make it to hook up the five or so years to SocSec and now i'll be pretty much broke the rest of my life, so i'm feelin ya, brother.
Thanks wp.  Funny story, I was at a poker table and the dealer kept asking why the cards were wet.  "Who keeps getting these cards wet!"  It was because my hands were sweaty and I didn't know what I was doing, but I was too embarrassed to tell him in front of the table.  

It seems like I always end up in these horrible situations.  I don't mean to sound conceited but I am so tired of these bitter losers that are just consumed with hatred.  This isn't the first time a girl pulled some cloak and dagger shenanigans to get me in trouble with management.  Her problem wasn't lack of training or a hostile environment.  Her problem is she straightup sucks at the job and didn't get it.  At all.  

To make matters worse, she took a spill a couple weeks ago, had a 'mini-stroke' and was hobbling around on a walker for a few days.  She's a lawsuit waiting to happen.  The worst part of it all is she was hired on the strength of being a warm body after the manager interviewed 2 people.  I asked him specifically, "did she seem pretty sharp to you?"  "I'll be honest with you ren, she wasn't, but we really need somebody back there."  It was a terrible hire that neither of the doctor or staff had any say in.  Basically I was left to polish a turd into a diamond, invest time/energy/resources into training, now I'm getting blamed because she dreamt up some fairy tale about a hostile work environment.  

https://youtu.be/wX4kPe-94lg

 
Yes. It's good to write it out so the details are as clear as possible in your mind, but I would not submit that to the company.

You should give your immediate superior a heads up...not a written document and no long-winded story. If he/she thinks HR should be informed, do that. Document problems you detect during training. That's all you need to do.
When I wrote that, I thought he meant I gave up too many details about my employer.  But realizing what he meant later, yeah I agree.  I'm not going to turn anything in unless they ask me.  

 
Yeah, when you brought up Donald Trump I immediately wondered why it was mentioned.

You hadn't really started establishing your point and that derailed it a little bit for me.
Really just to paint a picture of how unprofessional she is.  After working with him for 4 months doctor told me he likes Hillary and thinks he's a socialist. Doesn't much matter to me what people are politically.  I just think it's really unbecoming to talk about that stuff at work before you really know someone.  

If she's complained on me 5/6 times I think it's fair to bring up my experience with her in a work sense.  That's what I was getting at but I agree it was misguided.  

 
1.  You don't write well.  Have someone clean up whatever you submit.

2.  Based on what you wrote, I assume you're in the wrong without even hearing her side.  Don't ever let that or any version of that see the light of day.

 
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1.  You don't write well.  Have someone clean up whatever you submit.

2.  Based on what you wrote, I assume you're in the wrong without even hearing her side.  Don't ever let that or any version of that see the light of day.
Yup. Her complaint is that you were harassing her by being demeaning and criticizing her. That written response basically plays right into that by spending the majority of the time criticizing her work.

If you're talked to about it, keep it simple and only address the specific allegation. If you're asked about the burger flipping thing, tell them that you don't remember the exact words said, but that it was in the context of her talking about not being sure if this was the job for her and you relaying your horror story of being a fast food employee to demonstrate that this job was worth investing in for her.

Don't offer your opinion of her work unless they specifically ask. If they do, just tell them that you're still not sure that she wants to do this type of work, that the training is taking longer than you had hoped and expected, and that she doesn't seem to be a team player. Don't get into specifics and don't criticize her work if at all possible.

 
That was absolutely impossible to follow. Still unclear to me what is being submitted, by whom, to whom, and for what purpose. 

Other than that, looks good to me. 

 
 brohan all i am saying is that this looks like i wrote it i will leave you to simmer on that for a while take that to the bank brochacho

 
The doctor wanted her out after a few weeks.  Just wasn't getting it.  Doctor had told the manager if there was a way to get rid of her he had his blessing.  Maybe I lack patience but I'm guessing others would feel the same when they saw her keying in data with one finger and the other hand on her hip.   

That was before she fell and had a stroke.  Doctor told me yesterday he thinks she couldn't handle the job and wanted to blame me for it.  Told me he wanted me to know that he really appreciates me.  Most everyone in the office is supportive, or seems so anyway.  Manager is playing it right down the middle, which is kind of expected.  Said it might not hurt to 'review the professional communication module' in our training.  

This blows 

 
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maybe blast her with some of your patented deep state conspiracy theories about using pizza made in a hidden basement to assasinate julian asange and blow her mind up then she will probably go on disability due to her blown up mind and your issues will be solved bam another problem solved by the old swcer take that to the bank brochacho 

 
The doctor wanted her out after a few weeks.  Just wasn't getting it.  Doctor had told the manager if there was a way to get rid of her he had his blessing.  Maybe I lack patience but I'm guessing others would feel the same when they saw her keying in data with one finger and the other hand on her hip.   

That was before she fell and had a stroke.  Doctor told me yesterday he thinks she couldn't handle the job and wanted to blame me for it.  Told me he wanted me to know that he really appreciates me.  Most everyone in the office is supportive, or seems so anyway.  Manager is playing it right down the middle, which is kind of expected.  Said it might not hurt to 'review the professional communication module' in our training.  

This blows 
Still have no idea what's happening in here. 

 

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