Comments on: She was fired for singing on the job

By: R. B.

R. B. — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:06:07 +0000

We have a lady in our supply chain area who goes around the building singing all the time. It’s not that she’s happy…it’s a stress-reliever for her, from what I can tell (she’s a very negative person and has been counseled about her attitude previously). It does get annoying and is especially of concern when she starts singing around vendors or customers. We’re trying to work with her about being more professional in general and about being considerate of others. We’ll see if that works…too soon to tell at this point…

By: HR Dude

HR Dude — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:05:11 +0000

I hear you, however you are speaking about a minority of folks instead of a majority of folks. In the HR world, you have to be open-minded to all prospects. If the work is getting done, no worries. We all have ways to relieve stress. If that outlet is successful, there should be a change in attititue for the positive. So, that furthers the point that if it makes them happy, why not? If it distracts them from other issues to be more positive, fantastic! So long as the work is getting done and the atmosphere is positive.

The question is, what happens when it becomes a distraction to others or, as rproctor pointed out, even if told by others, Mr/Miss Sunshine insist on that behavior? Are the one’s complaining moody people themselves? What about other things, like radios, etc?

By: rproctor

rproctor — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:44:45 +0000

Not all whistler, hummers, or laughers are necessarily happy. In the psychiatric arena, these could be considered “self-stimulating” behaviors. It is almost a compulsion for some–just like a smoker who has to “light up” when things get stressful or unpleasant, the singer/hummer/whistler does it as a stress relief or to distract himself or herself from the real issues. These people often don’t realize they are doing it; or if they do, don’t realize that it is distracting to others–even if told by others that it is.

So unless Little Mary Sunshine comes in with a bluebird on her shoulder and rainbow over her head, please don’t assume that all that cheeriness/noisiness is “really happy”.

Granted, it certainly doesn’t make it any easier to spend time with a co-worker like that, but it can be overlooked a little.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:33:38 +0000

Denise:

How did you get so lucky to be moved from your cackler? I had to wait until mine retired. It was a happy day!

By: Holmes

Holmes — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:39:40 +0000

I had a coworker who kept us laughing when she would come in everyday with a whoop, a spin, and an outrageous giggle. She was also a practical joker. One of her practical jokes went too far – she threw a fuzzy wind-up mouse in the break room and everyone went crazy; someone even passed out. A few weeks later she was assigned to a telecommuting job.

By: HR in louisville

HR in louisville — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:59:39 +0000

SSN, My apologies, from the way your sentence was written, It looked like you were referring
to me. Have a good day.

By: SSN

SSN — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:46:51 +0000

HR in Louisville, I think you may have misunderstood, I was referring to the manager that you said growls.

By: HR in louisville

HR in louisville — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:43:06 +0000

SSN, How do you get that I am not happy with my job just because I am commenting on
a bad manager? She wasn’t MY manager anyway.

By: SSN

SSN — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:37:20 +0000

HR in Louisville sounds like she needs a good song and probably a good dance too!! It doesn’t sounds like she is that happy with her job!

By: HR in louisville

HR in louisville — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:33:05 +0000

Yes, she growled, and would tell her assistant to come in to her office just to tell
him to get out!! She was terrible! I believe she rode her broom in everyday.