Question: “I am a receptionist at a large, very busy long-term care facility. I was disciplined for a mistake I made. I owned up to the mistake and that is not my issue. My issue is that my supervisor did the write-up, at my desk, while the phones were ringing, residents were asking questions and other staff were waiting for their paychecks. The HR director also came out and stood next to my desk while this was going on, I suppose in an attempt to make it seem like this was done properly, but it most certainly was not. I know nothing can be done after the fact, but I needed to vent. Can you offer me some professional feedback and advice?” — Gwen
See Comments Below.
Like what you've read? ...Republish it and share great business tips!
Attention: Readers, Publishers, Editors, Bloggers, Media, Webmasters and more...
We believe great content should be read and passed around. After all, knowledge IS power. And good business can become great with the right information at their fingertips. If you'd like to share any of the insightful articles on BusinessManagementDaily.com, you may republish or syndicate it without charge.
The only thing we ask is that you keep the article exactly as it was written and formatted. You also need to include an attribution statement and link to the article.
" This information is proudly provided by Business Management Daily.com: http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/15603/my-boss-dressed-me-down-publicly-any-advice "
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree with Anne, this wasn’t the most humane way of handling your situation. I would also request a private meeting to discuss how this was handled – to better understand why and going forward if this is how it’s always handled or if you can gently suggest an alternative way that is better for everyone involved.
That's terrible! but at least you didn't do something rash like quitover the humiliating way it was handled! (I wouldn't give the story more legs by talking with the people waiting for their paychecks about how awfully it was handled, but I think it's pretty safe to assume that you have their sympathy!)
If it makes you feel better, I know of a supervisor who wrote an email reprimanding an employee (for how he had worded an email he sent to his customers), but in "replying" she accidently sent the reprimand to all his customers too! He was so humiliated he quit on the spot, though the supervisor was mortified at what she'd done, apologized to him, and said she did not want hiim to quit!
We all make mistakes. At least you owned up to yours and can recognize theirs! Of course this should have been done privately. But I would not ask for an apology, but I would try to meet with your supervisor and HR director, separately and again express your regret for the mistake, tell them "lesson learned," it won't happen again…but God forbid you should make another error, could they call you away from the desk to discuss it/write it up _in private_? By now, they should realize their own mistakes …let's hope so anyway! In the meantime, "be gentle with yourself." You are a human being; you WILL make mistakes! Take care.
This was certainly a very inhumane way of reprimanding you. You should ask to meet with both of these people privately, behind closed doors, and find out why your reprimand was done in this manner. As I cannot think of any good reason why, you should request in the future that they do this type of thing behind closed doors, in a private setting. I would then ask for an apology – if they value you as an employee, you will not have to ask.