Making a stink at work (literally)

I bet many of us can think of past (or present) coworkers who were not pleasant to work with for different reasons. Sometimes personalities clash and work ethics differ. Even personal habits and hygiene can cause conflict, particularly in a close working environment.

The Smoking Gun recently ran two stories about a recent written citation at the Social Security Administration given to an employee for "uncontrollable flatulence" that created a hostile and intolerable work environment for coworkers. The first story details the citation (part of a formal progressive discipline process), and also provides the full 5-page letter given to the employee - including accounts of prior meetings with supervisors discussing the matter and a detailed timeline of the recent flatulence episodes.

A month later, the second story followed up with a report that the formal reprimand had been withdrawn after scrutiny from higher management, even before the initial story had been exposed.

Personal habits and hygiene can be a touchy situation in a work environment. Was the written reprimand warranted? I don't know. I suppose only the employee's coworkers know the extent of the problem. But I know that I have had experiences of having to discuss body odor, perfume smells, and bad breath with employees under my supervision, and it is always awkward and embarrassing for both parties. However, I have never had to resort to a formal warning or written documentation. And for that, I am grateful. 

What's a couple more years?

(AFP/Remy Gabalda) copied from here

A hotly-debated pension reform bill has recently passed in France. One of the main provisions was changing the retirement age from 60 to 62, which happens to be Early Retirement age here in the U.S.

Public opinion in France was against the change, but the Government went ahead, citing the need to make the change because of increasing debt and people who just keep living longer.

What I find somewhat humorous is that some of the most vocal protestors are high school students. 60 must seem ancient to them, and 62 is like having one foot in the grave already!

In reading some recent research on work attitudes, specifically about retirement, it is interesting that a vast majority of workers do not actually retire when they are eligible to do so, even when they have sufficient funds to live comfortably without working. Many workers even choose to return to work after retirement because they need the structure, fulfillment and meaning that work brings to their lives.

But I suppose that even if most workers continue working past the age of retirement, they would prefer to have that choice of retirement, instead of being forced to work a couple of extra years.

Two Employees Terminated for Leaking Private Information

Two state of Utah employees are in hot water after they used a state government database to compile a list of 1300 names, addresses, birthdates and phone numbers of suspected illegal immigrants. The list was then distributed to multiple law enforcement agencies and new media organizations.

Leaders on both sides of the immigration issue have condemned the actions of the two state employees, as distributing protected information is against both federal and Utah state laws (and even harsher penalties can be assesed for stealing of state records).

One of the two employees has already been fired and termination of the second employee (a 15-year state employee) is currently in process. The state of Utah is also looking into whether criminal charges should be pursued.

More information on this story can be found here, here and here.

Leave It to California

The SHRM annual conference took place this year in San Deigo, California. The tag line in the advertisements leading up to the event was something to the effect of "In the evolution of HR, California leads the way," highlighting the signifcance of the site chosen for the conference.

Well, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest efforts to reign in government spending and balance the state's budget is certainly having an impact on HR. Unfortunately, state employees are being caught in the crossfire. Scharzenegger wants to reduce the pay of over 200,000 state government employees to $7.25/hour (federal minimum wage) until California's legislature reaches an agreement on the state's budget. The state controller has refused to honor the governor's request and it's all ended up in court.

It's a very bizarre scenario, made even more bizarre by the fact that Gov. Schwarzenegger is proposing a cut to the federal minimum wage ($7.25/hr.), which is lower than California's minimum wage ($8/hr.), and some 30,000 governement employees that are exempt from minimum wage laws (i.e. doctors, lawyers, etc.) would not be paid at all.

Sounds like political games on both sides of the fence. The Republican governor is forcing the hand of the Democrat-controlled State Legislature, and the state controller (also a Democrat) is pushing back. And state employees are caught in the middle, wondering how it will all end up.