Peter Vadala and Fox News: A Love Story

[Motown Marvel]

The guy being a *****ebag has nothing to do with the workplace.

A manager coming in and repeatedly talking about her personal exploits DOES have to deal with the workplace.

The reason why managers are trained to not do this type of thing is precisely because someone may be offended. Everyone in the story agrees that she REPEATEDLY talked about her girlfriend. For a retail manager to come in to run a store for one day and repeatedly talk about their personal life is a very real reason for the company to take action.

I am a HUGE supporter of equal rights. I have taken part in gay marriage rallies and all of that good stuff. This has nothing to do with gay rights though. It has to do with an employee feeling uncomfortable because of the repeated conversations of a manager. THAT is the issue that started every other line of conversation we could go down.

The manager is in a position of authority, and should have left her personal information at home, especially when she was in a store that she was not familiar with.

Again...had this been a male manager, who was heterosexual...an a female coworker who felt uncomfortable, the man would be unemployed.

Heck, I dont work retail anymore...but in down times when I go months without working in my career (like...well...now) I sometimes get little part time jobs to stay busy. If I was working retail and my manger started talking all about their personal,lives Id tell them to shut the heck up and let me work.

the ONLY reason the guy felt uncomfortable was not because the woman was talking about her personal life, or her engagement, but because it was a homosexual relationship. if they had been a straight couple, he would have made no issue about it and probably would have congratulated them on their engagement. none of this has anything to do with her mentioning her personal life. again, not even the *****ebag conservatives who are on the bigots side are saying she conducted herself wrong as a store manager, rather they dont like her cuz she digs on vagina.

 

[Heretic]

I dont know man,

If I had a boss: straight, gay, male, female...and on the first day they wanted to talk repeatedly about their personal lives, sex, marriage, racquetball tournament, I'd have a problem with it.

 

[Majic Walrus]

You'd have a problem if a co-worker talked about their personal lives?

 

[Addendum]

I dont know man,

If I had a boss: straight, gay, male, female...and on the first day they wanted to talk repeatedly about their personal lives, sex, marriage, racquetball tournament, I'd have a problem with it.

Then put in your 2 week notice

 

[The Battousai]

I dont know man,

If I had a boss: straight, gay, male, female...and on the first day they wanted to talk repeatedly about their personal lives, sex, marriage, racquetball tournament, I'd have a problem with it.

So, you're unemployed, then?

 

[Heretic]

No...I own my own business. I am paid really good money by other companies, mostly because they know I get the job done. You know...instead of sitting around chatting all day. I remain professional, and that gets me good money.

And the fact of the matter is this...you guys are mocking me because I believe that work is supposed to be done at work. I will never apologize for that.

Your personal life is none of my business. I dont care what you do when you arent at work. I only care that you are working, and not distracting me from earning my paycheck.

The defense of "she violated policy, but thats cool because everybody does and it's more fun to be a slacker" is not a good defense in my book.

As a manager...in a position of authority...she should have known better than to repeatedly talk about her personal life ON HER FIRST FREAKING DAY at the store.

 

[Majic Walrus]

Heretic is Robo-Boss 8000.

 

[Heretic]

Not at all...the people who work underneath me actually have LOTS of fun. I am a better boss than anyone I can think of. Working underneath me is like a party...but the work MUST get done. I, as the boss, tend to stay out of their business...but the employees themselves have a freaking ball. Heck, my career IS partying!!!

But like I said, sometimes I get bored and will work a retail job. You do your job AND have fun. The last job I had outside of my career, I remember I had a big project we had to do. I asked everyone to work hard til it was done, and then I would pay them to do NOTHING for the rest of the week. When we were done I paid them their salary and let them stay at home....AND I gave them each 500 dollars out of my own pocket because they got the job done. If thats a bad boss then Id love some pointers on being a good one...

 

[Addendum]

At every single place I've worked at, when someone got engaged they told those co-workers that they were friends with about it, whilst working. The only time management cared about the talking was when 1) it was inappropriate to discuss at the workplace such as graphically describing a sexual conquest, and 2) when one stopped working to talk.

Discussing one's engagement does not meet the first requirement, and if she was working while talking, then there's nothing to complain about.

 

[Heretic]

Thats fine. I'm just trying to wrap my head around it. Brookstone doesnt seem like much of a fun place to work. This girl was only filling in at that store, so its not like she was telling friends. Besides, do the reports say that this was a NEW engagement? Ive just heard that she talked about her fiance, not that they had just gotten engaged the day before or whatever.

Maybe Brookstone is so boring that the employees are desperate to pass the time with ANY conversation. I just am a little different in that I dont talk about personal issues with people I dont know. I remember an employee of mine once talking about her marital problems...and I just shrugged...I barely know you, what am I supposed to say? I dont even care. I'm the guy that doesn't look at car accidents though. I'm the guy that doesnt bother to meet my neighbors.

 

[Gilpesh]

No wonder someone saying that they got engaged sounds like them describing in detail the sex they had last night, to you.

 

[Addendum]

Thats fine. I'm just trying to wrap my head around it. Brookstone doesnt seem like much of a fun place to work. This girl was only filling in at that store, so its not like she was telling friends. Besides, do the reports say that this was a NEW engagement? Ive just heard that she talked about her fiance, not that they had just gotten engaged the day before or whatever.

Maybe Brookstone is so boring that the employees are desperate to pass the time with ANY conversation. I just am a little different in that I dont talk about personal issues with people I dont know. I remember an employee of mine once talking about her marital problems...and I just shrugged...I barely know you, what am I supposed to say? I dont even care. I'm the guy that doesn't look at car accidents though. I'm the guy that doesnt bother to meet my neighbors.

But you didn't file a complaint about her yakking about her marital problems, so what's different here

 

[Heretic]

Whats different is that I was the boss...and I simply went back to work and gave her an assignment.

In this case the BOSS was the one saying things that made the underling feel uncomfortable. The law really isnt clear and exact on what those subjects have to be. The manager has the power, and the responsibility to not say things that would make an underling feel uncomfortable. In fact, she repeatedly talked about it. I just dont understand how in your first day working in a store youd have repeated opportunities to discusss your love life. I think it is in the realm of possibility that the manager intentionally made him feel uncomfortable...in which case she violated her code of conduct and should be reprimanded. In fact, the guidelines for harrassment state that it doesnt even half to be intentional.

 

[Addendum]

I don't see discussing one's engagement as something "uncomfortable"

 

[amazingfantasy15]

Heretic, you do realize the woman wasn't even talking to the Vadala right? So this guy was easedropping on her conversation and then felt the need to pipe up as "God's warrior" to tell this woman her lifestyle was wrong and deviant. That's wrong, hell the article even has a quote that says Vadala referred to hating gay people.

As far as talking during work, I've worked a few retail jobs before and had plenty of time to get to know my coworkers and learn a little about their personal lives, developing and maintained relationships I've found is actually beneficial in the workplace. I've never worked a job where talking to someone is expressly forbidden in the codes of conduct for the job.