BossMan told his wife that he will let Irene go. He told me Irene needs to call Olivia and apologize or at least makes amends with her.
Once that is done, he will tell his wife that he gave her another chance.
The problem is Irene is very proud. She would rather leave the company than apologize to Olivia who once used to be her good friend. She believes Olivia sent such a stern and mean message on purpose knowing that she would react as she did.
I am trying to reason with her telling he that she still needs to work and it is not just her. She has a family and she has responsibilities.
I truly do not want her to go and I think BossMan ants to keep her too but his pride has been hurt since he was cc'ed in Irene's backlash.
In a few minutes, I will sit Irene down for another "reasoning" session.
On the other hand, even though I understand why BossMan wants Irene to have a heart to heart with Olivia, I am dreading the outcome of that meeting if Olivia accepts to meet with Irene. Both women are stubborn and proud.
What a stupid mess!
I will let you know how this ends when I find out.
Meanwhile all your suggestions are welcome!
Wow. Well. Obviously the (real) problem started when the MIL & Olivia started asking Irene to take sides. That never ends well and Irene should not have been involved in that for even a minute. The BossMan should have taken care of that when it started. However, here you all are. My opinion is that Olivia is using her position to take advantage of the situation. BossMan is stuck in the middle (but has to take his wife's side) and Irene is going to take the fall for Olivia's lack of remorse / refusal to take responsibility despite knowing that she probably contributed to the situation by initiating the email conversation.
ReplyDeleteAs to what I would do? Impolitely, tell BossMan to man up and tell his wife that Irene is too valuable an employee to lose and tell her to apologise to Irene. And to tell Irene that she is too valuable an employee to lose and that he requires her to apologise to Olivia. I'm unclear, though, as to why you've been left to handle the mess when it's his responsibility to do so. Irene has been doing work outside her job remit for a long time because that's the kind of employee she is. I do think he's right, however, that they need to sit down and talk it through, pride be damned, as difficult as it is. Who likes to be wrong and take the blame? Even if you know both belong to you?
I don't know if that helped at all, but I don't envy your position and truly hope they can work something out. Good luck xx
Actually, I do not have to get involved at all. I could have told the BossMan "OK. So, Irene is leaving. Let's find her replacement" and go my merry way but, knowing Irene, her family, her finances and knowing the BossMan's kind heart, I am trying to stop them from taking an action they will regret later on. At her age, Irene cannot find a similar job in this country at the same salary level. She still has to work at least 3,5 years at the same level for Social Security eligibility. There are younger and willing people who would do the same job for half the money. She should not have lost her temper and attack Olivia with her husband cc'ed.
DeleteAh! I see. It's definitely messy and potentially hugely damaging to Irene. I hope it gets worked out. You're kind to help her. I hope she listens to you xx
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ReplyDeletewhat a messy situation and very unprofessional of the BossMan, wife and MIL to involve an employee in their personal stuff. If they want an employee to take care of personal tasks then they need to sit that person down and ensure that they understand that is part of their job duties.
ReplyDeleteActually it was a part of the job description but as it got complicated Irene wanted to withdraw from home related stuff. I think BossMan made the mistake then and there. He should have told Irene that it was a part of the job and then he should have talked to Olivia and his mother to be more organized and not share personal stuff with an employee of his. He did not want to get involved and the three women made a mess of it. Besides, these women are all acting emotionally, not rationally.
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