An "F" for Sensitivity

Organized labor has a new
website -- href="http://www.workingamerica.org/badboss/">http://www.workingamerica.org/badboss/
- where America's employees can nominate their boss for
"worst of the year." The stories are worth reading, not
only as classic examples of poor management, but to
educate us about the damage caused by supervisors who
share no credible connections with their
employees.

Here's a good example . .
.

Good kid

My dad had gotten
real sick when I was working for this one company. He
was not going to get better. My dad and I didn't always
get along and he was constantly in and out of my life.
My boss at the time knew this. Well, I had talked to my
boss about my dad's illness and told him that I wanted
to take half days so I could spend his last days with
him. He said that was okay. I left work early on Friday.
Went and spent the weekend with my dad. On Monday I
return to work and again wanting to take a half day, but
the dispatcher says that he is leaving early, so I
can't. Ok. My boss and I go to lunch and I tell him
about the weekend I had with my dad. Which was a real
good weekend. During lunch, he says to me, "If I were
you, I would cut my losses and get over it." I looked at
him and said, "He's my dad!" He said, "Well, you weren't
that close anyway right?" I said, "Well, that doesn't
mean I don't love him!" I pushed my plate out from in
front of me and walked out. I wasn't able to make it to
my dad. That night, he died. Yeah, I quit a month
later.

"I Want to Talk to the Half-Wit"

A man owned a ranch in
Clovis, New Mexico, and the State Wage & Hour
Department claimed he wasn't paying his hired hands
proper wages, and sent an agent out to interview the
rancher.

"I need a list of your employees and how
much you pay them," demanded the agent.

"Well,"
replied the rancher, "The ranch hand, been with me for 3
years. I pay him $600 a week, plus free room and
board.

The cook has been here for 18 months. I
pay her $500 per week plus free room and
board.

The half wit works about 18 hours a day
and does about 90% of all the work around here. He makes
$10 per week, and I buy him a fifth of bourbon every
Saturday."

"That's the guy I want to talk to ...
the half wit," said the agent.

"You're talking to
him now," replied the rancher