Why so Bitter?!?!

Have you ever asked your self this question…

I know it’s very general and can apply to anything but it is a great question to ask. Why am I asking this question today, well it’s because I am annoyed. You see today I was late for work. Not like a little late but really late. I either didn’t set my alarm last night OR I turned it off in my sleep. I wok up at 7:24 AM…6 minutes before I am due at work and I live 45 minutes away… “Ooops” is all I can really say.

Now I am not one of those people that is always 5-10 minutes late. Actually I am usually one of the first people here, like 10-15 minutes early. So for me to be 1 hr and 15 min late is insane.

I did what I was supposed to do. I called in to let my office know what happened and that I would be there late but ASAP. Evidently I did it wrong. You see I work in an extremely small office (15 people). My supervisor is not always in or if they are, is always on the phone...always in meetings. So when ever I have had to call in, whether I am late, sick or have a meeting I usually call/email our Inside Office lady to let her know and to tell everyone else, instead of leaving a bunch of messages. Which is what happened today, I called her she told everyone, I came to work. But today I got 'told' something for not calling my supervisor. Not just a please contact me also, but a rather not necessary email, I think...maybe I read too much into it but whatever. I didn’t mean to cause a ruckus but I had no clue if she would be in today. I was told no matter what the situation she must be informed by me. I wasn’t being deceitful just trying to cut down on the amount of time spent calling people when I am already late.

The 1^st email (why not just tell me in person…who knows…I guess to have it in ‘writing’), “ _________ told me that you did not wake up until 7:30. In the future, leave me a voice mail message or call my cell and let me know as well. Thanks.” OK that’s fine, mental note from this point forward I will do so. But then I got a 2^nd email, “Turn in a leave form for being late.” Um, OK. I was an hourish late I get that, but I can work through lunch and stay a little late…but whatever new policy is still policy, fine. So I submitted the form and apologized in my email for not calling her directly, etc. Then the 3^rd email comes, “I would appreciate the respect for basic communication in the future. Thanks”. OK I said I was sorry and in the future I would do so, why the implication that I was not being respectful. There was no disrespect just miscommunication. So why all the hostility…well now I know why this happened, I think.

You see my best friend came in town yesterday (Thursday). It was assumed that I went out last night and partied hard, therefore I was hung-over today and irresponsibly late. None of this is true. Yes I did go see my best friend but all we did was eat dinner and BS for a few hours. I was home early (like 11PM). But the assumption was since I had company in from out of town and I came in late that I’m a lush. Well that is unacceptable behavior in the work environment, right? Well of course but making assumptions on unclear information is also unacceptable, right. In my eyes yes…yes it is. I mean think about it. What if this ‘assumption’ was told to the owner of the company? I could have lost my job or been reprimanded harshly for something that was truly innocent. And it just plain made me look bad. Trust me if I'm hungover I am usually extra prompt because I DON'T want to get in trouble. It has been cleared up now I think...(everyone knows what actually happened), but still. I had a TERRIBLE morning because of all the BS that was supposedly flying around today…because an invalid ‘assumption’ was made.

So, what’s the lesson here? When in doubt ask!!! We are all guilty of this at some point, but don’t just fly off the handle because you ‘think’ you know what’s going on. Don’t assume things just because they make sense in your head. All this does is mess things up. It’s ALWAYS better to ask. Luckily my situation ended up being nothing more than a minor headache but it could have turned out extraordinarily different.