Today is the last day of 30 days in November, which is just
as well because today is the most facile day of them all. What airhead dreamed this one up I wonder? Today is:
Stay at home because
you are well day
What an absolutely ridiculous idea to have a day promoting
skiving, playing the wag, throwing a sicky, bunking off, wagging it, skipping
work, dodging the boss. It’s okay to take time off work because you are genuinely
unwell, but taking a day off when you are perfectly fine requires a holiday to
be booked otherwise to my mind it’s fraud, taking money under false pretenses
and should be punishable by death at the very least.
Excuses, excuses, excuses, I’ve heard them all over my
thirty years managing people and some made me angry while others made me smile.
You have to accept some of the everyday excuses like getting up late because
the alarm clock broke, missing the bus, car break downs, the bus not arriving,
my child/partner/other relative is ill or in the cells, I had to go to my
granny’s funeral, and my all time favourite passing the buck excuse - being
picked on at work. Now, these may sometimes be legitimate excuses for not going
into work, however using the same excuse 3 or 4 times a month did tend to try
my patience. Just how many grannies can one person have?
On top of that you have those excuses that it hardly seems
credible that anyone would attempt to make:
“My son’s hamster got loose and I had to look for it.”
“I was asked by the police to be in an identification parade.”
“I had to do jury service and only got the letter when I got home last night.”
“I dyed my hair and didn’t like the colour.”
“I lost me memory, but it’s back now.”
“I lent my car to my brother and he hasn’t brought it back.”
“I can’t find my keys / shoes / wallet.”
“I had no clean underwear.”
One I particularly liked was made by an otherwise pretty
reliable employee who told me she wouldn’t be in because it was too windy and
she didn’t want to cross a high motorway bridge.
Oh well, happy days, thank God I no longer have to listen to
excuses from employees who might as well told the truth in the first place. I'd have forgiven them - eventually.
Tim Preston on FB
ReplyDeleteI was sent to London to help with training some people and whenever I go away I like to book the theatre. This time I booked to go and see the Ligeti opera Le Grande Macabre. The trouble was that nobody turned up for the course and my manager told me to come home. I replied that 3pm was a bit late to be trekking all the way from London. Luckily she was all apologetic for sending me on a wild goose chase. ............. By the way I can sympathise with the hamster guy. The same thing happened to me with one of Alex's gerbils. The little bastard got right behind the kitchen units!