Topic: Bad week at work!!

[Cheesemaker]

So, has anybody ever had one of those weeks at work, that you wish had never happened? 

Well I did!! 


Let's just say, I nearly lost my job this week.  All due to a problem that the company and our engineers didn't think would ever be an issue.  But I accidentally found a weak link in their system.  Well, after spending two sleepless nights wondering if I still had a job or not.  I got word that I am NOT to be terminated, but I will be given a last chance write up, and other things.  I will take it, because I have my family to think about.  Basically, the Engineering dept learned a valuable lesson from this incident, and things will be changed to make it safer for the employee.   



So, take this to heart, when something happens at work, and your old way of how you were trained to do things, needs to stop right there!!  Because HR and Safety runs your business now, not the employees.  This is how corporations are run now.  Even if they don't have a damn clue on what you do, or how the product is made.  Just stop and let the engineers do it, and let them take the fall if the problem goes south. 

[81 shortbed]

What do you do for a living ?

[Stocker]

Wow - close calls like that are double scary when you have a family that depends on you. Glad you dodged the bullet, sorry to hear the bullet came so close to finding you. I know you know this but keep your nose extra squeaky-clean for a very long time. Never know if someone has you in their crosshairs now that you're getting a last-chance writeup.

[Cheesemaker [OP]]

What do you do for a living ?

I work at a cheese factory. 


Thanks Stocker, we have alot of people that you have to always be on your toes.  We just had a new piece of equipment replaced in the cheese making portion, plus all new computer programming, and the engineers have been working on the bugs still.  It's been a long two weeks, and many late nights fixing and dealing with issues as they arise.  Things will randomly shut off, with no alarms and such.  So your watching everything 10000% all the time.  Alot of us are physically and mentally wore out.  And this happened on top of it. 

So, for the next 6 months, I have to be on top of my game.  I cannot screw up one bit.  My Dept. Manager went to bat for me.  I have been a loyal employee for 13+ years, I am never late, I volunteer for OT, and I and dependable as an employee.  I have my moments at work, but my boss understands, and he has his too!!  So, that was in my favor.  If I was a piece of , would have been a no brainer.  Problem is, we alot of those people already.  Which makes my job even harder. 

[helipilot77]

I am glad you still have your job. I hope the situation improves for you, and you can get some much needed rest. Take care of yourself. We can't have you getting hurt. We need you arround here. And so does your family. Too bad that the safety fools are truely only worried about the cost of their insurance premiums rather than the actual safety of the workers.  My uncle owns a factory that I used to work at. Safety used to be about protecting the bottom line there. Then one day one of the old timers who had worked there since day one was killed right in front of me when a giant scaffold fell and crushed him. After that a lot of things changed in the company and REAL concern for the workmen is the new environment. Sometimes it takes an accident like this to change a company. Hopefully that's not what is needed. It's too high of a price. My uncles company is also in the area. Maybe it's a common problem in the whole area for management not take any responsibility for safety and point fingers.  Yeah right! That's a global problem. 

[kneedownnate]

Once you get that last chance writeup, it's time to start quietly but aggressively looking for another job.  I wasn't even given a last chance, just lost 14+ years of employment in the blink of an eye.  I don't have to look over my shoulder constantly where I work and have gone from a writeup every 2 years to one in 5 1/2 years, and it wasn't an "I'm going to fire you" writeup so much as an "pay more attention to when you need to clock off for lunch so we don't get penalized" writeup.  And generally my company won't fire you, they'll demote you and make you earn your way back up.

[Cheesemaker [OP]]

Yeah, during this whole time, I have been taking care of the wife, she came down with a nasty viral infection.  She works in the local school dist.  And now, I got it because I was so stressed out. 

After talking to some buddies last night, I am going to make some contacts with some local business's, and keep my options open.  Right now, I just have to wait and see what they give me.  Hopefully, I just get a last chance write up and a 3 day suspension.  I don't know if they are going to let me stay in my position at work or not, but I still have a job.  The only issue is, I live in a small area, and the job selection is kinda limited.  And packing up and moving isn't really an option at the moment.  There is too much relying on me outside of work here.  But one day!!!  Bend, Oregon is calling my name! 

I know am going to look at things alot differently.  A buddy told me to not be the super hero that was ingrained in our heads from when I started.  In the last couple years, things have changed alot at work, and its hard to get that out of your head.  Because its all you know how to do stuff.  It is time to step back and let the engineers fumble their way thru it, and if I loose product its off my hands. 

I have been looking at the warehouse dept at the plant lately.  Their jobs are a lower stress level than I have.  Basically pick orders and load trucks.  No late night phone calls saying you got alarms going off, or anything like that.  It's time that I get into a lower stress level job.  And if I go to warehouse, I will take a small paycut, but they have options of getting crazy amount of OT if they choose.

[Cheesemaker [OP]]

Once you get that last chance writeup, it's time to start quietly but aggressively looking for another job.  I wasn't even given a last chance, just lost 14+ years of employment in the blink of an eye.  I don't have to look over my shoulder constantly where I work and have gone from a writeup every 2 years to one in 5 1/2 years, and it wasn't an "I'm going to fire you" writeup so much as an "pay more attention to when you need to clock off for lunch so we don't get penalized" writeup.  And generally my company won't fire you, they'll demote you and make you earn your way back up.

I remember when you went thru that Nate.  But I remember alot of posts about how things were bad before it happened. 

[blackdiamond]

Bummer Cheesemaker!  You can't get fired or you'll have to change your name on the board.

I can't top your week, but this week I'm working through the recovery process for a really stupid administrative mistake that I made on several essentially identical technical documents that wasn't caught in review and one made it all the way through certification.  It's the classic case of a small admin error resulting in a significant technical issue for certification because it wasn't caught.  I don't have to worry about my job or demotion, it's most just an issue of personal pride and    My boss has been hitting on my group recently for attention to detail in our work and I finally became one of the examples.

[kneedownnate]

The place just sucked to work at, the people running it were running it into the ground and had done so since it was a popular and profitable place.  I wasn't shy about bringing that up and telling them what they needed to do to overcome their issues.  The location was great, lots of folks who worked there were great, but management sucked the big one.  I felt it was coming since only one other hourly employee made more than me, and all it took was talking out of turn, or pointing out that what I was being told to do was exactly what I was doing.  Either way, blessing in disguise 

[Cheesemaker [OP]]

I hear ya Nate.  When I worked at Les Schwab Tires, and they "permanently laid me off" which was chickenshit for fired.  I freaked out!  But it was a blessing in disguise like you said.  It was getting so bad down there politically, and physically on my body.  The one good thing about working at the tire shop, it was the one job I had, that I really did alot of learning and growing.  The two other jobs since, I really haven't grown as much in the same sense. 

I still curse out the tire shop to this day tho.  My back and hips hurt most days. 

[Cheesemaker [OP]]

I am glad you still have your job. I hope the situation improves for you, and you can get some much needed rest. Take care of yourself. We can't have you getting hurt. We need you arround here. And so does your family. Too bad that the safety fools are truely only worried about the cost of their insurance premiums rather than the actual safety of the workers.  My uncle owns a factory that I used to work at. Safety used to be about protecting the bottom line there. Then one day one of the old timers who had worked there since day one was killed right in front of me when a giant scaffold fell and crushed him. After that a lot of things changed in the company and REAL concern for the workmen is the new environment. Sometimes it takes an accident like this to change a company. Hopefully that's not what is needed. It's too high of a price. My uncles company is also in northwest Oregon. Maybe it's a common problem in the whole area for management not take any responsibility for safety and point fingers.  Yeah right! That's a global problem. 

Heli, I omitted the location from you original post, to keep names out, hope you understand? 

[kneedownnate]

Was that before or after Les died?  I've heard from quite a few people that it was a great place to work, or that their customer service was great, then when Les died it all changed drastically.  We've pulled so many customers from them it's not even funny any more!

[jimbo74]

i love america's tire company... i think they really are the best out there......

i worked there when i was in high school, and for wheel works after high school..... the caliber of america's is just soooo much better...... been around the industry for a long time though.... i think all the cars at my house currently have tires from america's tire company on them

[Cheesemaker [OP]]

Nate I was there when Les was still very alive and still visiting stores.  But Phil Wick had basically been running the show.  Yeah, I agree, Les wasn't in the ground yet, and Phil turned the company into a crap hole.  I have a friend who I worked with down there, finally quit 2 years ago.  Because they hadn't seen a raise in over 4 years, and when they did, they lost it and more to pay for insurance.  When I was there, they had the best retirement, and health care coverage I ever saw.  Les did his research when he ran the company, instead of relying on businesses to run a retirement, or a health care program for them, he found it was cheaper and easier to higher people from the industry and do it in house.  But Phil saw things differently that was for sure. 

[Rocksurfer]

It is good reading even though you only were close to being canned, not that it is any fun being in your position but learn from it and most importantly keep you options open. Don't become too comfortable in your job and don't be the one that HR knows your name.

By Kourtney Jason | Life2pointoh

Getting fired isn’t just a shock, it’s a HUGE blow to your confidence. Along with the stress of finding a new job right away, you also must face the realization that you’ll have to explain why you were fired in your future interviews. Awkward.

How do you make yourself still sound hireable and desirable? To get those answers, we chatted with Jim Camp, author of Start with No and a renowned negotiations trainer and coach.


Tip #1: Analyze and understand your responsibility in the situation.

“If you are in the dark and this firing seemed to come from nowhere, you should request that the leadership team provides the necessary feedback,” Camp tells Life2PointOh. Get a full explanation of the situation and reasoning behind the decision. With that, you can build upon it and not allow such a thing to happen to you again. “Get them to see that providing you with a detailed account of what they were unhappy with will be of benefit to them, as it creates goodwill and will help you be a more valuable employee at your next job,” he says.

Tip #2: Turn it into a learning experience.

Getting fired can be a positive thing. No, really. There is a lesson to be learned and new/better opportunities to be grabbed. “There is no such thing as a perfect employee with a perfect performance history,” Camp explains. “The greatest employees analyze their mistakes and weaknesses, and then work hard to overcome them and be better at the next job. The ability to create that for a new potential employer is priceless.”

Tip #3: Know what NOT to say in your next job interview.

Any language that puts the blame on your former employer (i.e. “They didn’t like me.” “They were crooks.” “They were not fair.”) shows that you have not moved past the real reason you were fired: your performance. Don’t go down that road, or you’ll raise giant red flags during the interview.

Tip #4: Know what to say to still look hireable.

“This interview is about you–your talents, your development, your ideas, your attitudes, your lessons, and so on,” our hire-me-guru says. “And it’s about your new employer–how your four or five best assets will benefit them.”

Don’t avoid the elephant in the room (the fact that you were fired from your last job) by trying to hide it because you’ll risk looking dishonest. “What you need to do is explain the steps you have taken since that mistake to be a better, stronger, smarter job candidate for them, and how this learning and growing process is a plus, an asset for them.”

Tip #5: Practice your explanation for getting fired.

Use this sample script and form it to fit your personal situation. “I was fired and rightly so. I take full responsibility. Here is what I have done to strengthen my skills/attitude/performance since then.” And practice your answer over and over and over until you can say it with confidence and honesty.

[Cheesemaker [OP]]

That was alot of my stress.  When I was let go from the tire shop, they told me I was "Permanently Laid Off" which still is just as bad as being fired in a potential employers eyes. 


I got my Write Up today.  And the Union HR Liaison, used to work in my dept, and taught me alot of what I know, told me this.  He has only seen two other guys basically say, they screwed up, in the 15 years a shop steward, and now an HR rep.  I walked in and took full responsibility.  And what my working knowledge of out dept is, was the other half of the reason I was just given a write up, and not a Last Chance, or termination.  He said most people that get fired, tend to put blame on somebody else.  He said if all of them manned up, most would still be working.