[Crook32]

I was fixing a piece of equipment and my manager came in asking if I ran his test. I said no I wanted to check the water level and saw that things needed fixing. He was mad that I didn’t run the test even though it was broken. He asked why I didn’t do it. I had like a fight flight or freeze reaction and just froze looking at the floor. He asked if I even remembered talking the day before. I felt paralyzed. I finally said that the equipment was broken and I could get as back to where we needed to be. Instead he unplugged everything and told me not to work on it anymore that day. That he would come in Sunday to prep it since I am going on vacation. So now I am going to be paranoid of any fall out from this when I get back. I have never had that bad of a reaction at work. Now I am just going to ruminate for 10 days. Plus my T is on vacation so I can’t even talk to her about it.

[Victoria'smom]

Talk here. I'm sorry this happened

[wiretwister]

let it go . . there is nothing you can change now . . enjoy your time off . . . there will be plenty of time to get nervous on first day back . . . don't let a jerk ruin you vacation . . .

[yellow_fleurs]

I am sorry that happened. We all make mistakes or have miscommunications at work sometimes. I would say try your best to enjoy your vacation anyways if you can, likely everything will be okay as it doesn't seem like that was a reason for being fired or anything. Your manager seemed to react pretty strongly for you just trying to fix the equipment, so sometimes it helps to remember other people's reactions may be a reflection of them and not as much us. Are they usually pretty reasonable? If so, perhaps you could just debrief with them about how they would want you to handle the situation in the future seeing as it's not your fault if equipment isn't working. I hope you have a great vacation!

[Wild Coyote]

I hope you can enjoy your vacation.

If you cannot enjoy your vacation, maybe call your manager and let him know you are anxious about the incident. He may assure you there is no problem.

It might be difficult to tell if someone is just having a moment of if there is truly a problem. You might be able to read your manger if you have had many interactions with him?

I hope things are peaceful now.

Originally Posted by Crook32

I was fixing a piece of equipment and my manager came in asking if I ran his test. I said no I wanted to check the water level and saw that things needed fixing. He was mad that I didn’t run the test even though it was broken. He asked why I didn’t do it. I had like a fight flight or freeze reaction and just froze looking at the floor. He asked if I even remembered talking the day before. I felt paralyzed. I finally said that the equipment was broken and I could get as back to where we needed to be. Instead he unplugged everything and told me not to work on it anymore that day. That he would come in Sunday to prep it since I am going on vacation. So now I am going to be paranoid of any fall out from this when I get back. I have never had that bad of a reaction at work. Now I am just going to ruminate for 10 days. Plus my T is on vacation so I can’t even talk to her about it.

Sorry that happened. Before I respond fully, know that I am NOT blaming you for anything, but rather, explaining what could have upset him and what you can do to rectify the situation. I speak from experience where I’ve gotten into trouble like this.

- - -

Maybe he was upset with a lack of communication? For example, you realized something was wrong and you went to fix it without letting him know it was broken, but because he had no idea about the broken part(s), he was expecting you to have finished something, and perhaps he even centered some of his plans around you being done with this work. Thus, he was caught by surprise and got upset because now his own plans are affected, and he could have spent his time doing other things (e.g., helping you troubleshoot the problem to get it fixed faster or working on a different project), knowing you wouldn’t have had it done when he wanted it done. He did overreact for sure, but I can see how that may be upsetting from his perspective.

As for being mad about you not doing the test despite broken parts... I think that’s a major miscommunication issue on his part, where he didn’t understand fully. He thought you could have done the work because he thinks that a broken part wouldn’t have affected the test, but (and I’m speaking from experience to help you avoid this problem in the future... I am NOT blaming you) he may have had a different opinion on that if you had brought the problem to his attention beforehand, because he would have had more time to assess the problem before you left for vacation and realized there was no way you could do the work with a broken part. And if he was oh so confident you could work with a broken part, he would have been able to provide “advice” and then been proven wrong. Or maybe it’s possible he actually knew a secret trick to make it work that he could have told you about? (Again, not your fault. You shouldn’t have to do these things, but I’ve had nasty bosses like yours who tried to make my life miserable.)

I’m not trying to defend your boss’ reaction (I think he was being overly harsh, honestly, especially since he didn’t bother to understand). Also, things do break and it’s no one’s fault, really... but I’m just speaking from my experience. It’s not fair to you at all, but that’s how it often is in the workforce with nasty people. So if something goes wrong, always, always, ALWAYS tell someone. Keep people up to speed on what you’re doing, even if it seems insignificant. It’s better to be annoying and cover your @ss than it is to work under the radar.

In the meantime, you can talk to your manager (like WC said) to find out how he feels. Ask if he was upset by your lack of communication and tell him that when you get back, you want to come up with a game plan so that this situation can be avoided in the future. It isn’t your fault and sometimes people just get mad because they don’t understand, so it’s always good to talk it out.

Hope that helps.

[Crook32]

Originally Posted by bluebicycle

Sorry that happened. Before I respond fully, know that I am NOT blaming you for anything, but rather, explaining what could have upset him and what you can do to rectify the situation. I speak from experience where I’ve gotten into trouble like this.


- - -


Maybe he was upset with a lack of communication? For example, you realized something was wrong and you went to fix it without letting him know it was broken, but because he had no idea about the broken part(s), he was expecting you to have finished something, and perhaps he even centered some of his plans around you being done with this work. Thus, he was caught by surprise and got upset because now his own plans are affected, and he could have spent his time doing other things (e.g., helping you troubleshoot the problem to get it fixed faster or working on a different project), knowing you wouldn’t have had it done when he wanted it done. He did overreact for sure, but I can see how that may be upsetting from his perspective.


As for being mad about you not doing the test despite broken parts... I think that’s a major miscommunication issue on his part, where he didn’t understand fully. He thought you could have done the work because he thinks that a broken part wouldn’t have affected the test, but (and I’m speaking from experience to help you avoid this problem in the future... I am NOT blaming you) he may have had a different opinion on that if you had brought the problem to his attention beforehand, because he would have had more time to assess the problem before you left for vacation and realized there was no way you could do the work with a broken part. And if he was oh so confident you could work with a broken part, he would have been able to provide “advice” and then been proven wrong. Or maybe it’s possible he actually knew a secret trick to make it work that he could have told you about? (Again, not your fault. You shouldn’t have to do these things, but I’ve had nasty bosses like yours who tried to make my life miserable.)


I’m not trying to defend your boss’ reaction (I think he was being overly harsh, honestly, especially since he didn’t bother to understand). Also, things do break and it’s no one’s fault, really... but I’m just speaking from my experience. It’s not fair to you at all, but that’s how it often is in the workforce with nasty people. So if something goes wrong, always, always, ALWAYS tell someone. Keep people up to speed on what you’re doing, even if it seems insignificant. It’s better to be annoying and cover your @ss than it is to work under the radar.


In the meantime, you can talk to your manager (like WC said) to find out how he feels. Ask if he was upset by your lack of communication and tell him that when you get back, you want to come up with a game plan so that this situation can be avoided in the future. It isn’t your fault and sometimes people just get mad because they don’t understand, so it’s always good to talk it out.


Hope that helps.

It was 8:30 in the morning so most people are just getting in and he told the day before that he was going to be out so I had no reason to try and find him. All I had to do was heat up some water but he couldn’t seem to understand that. It was an easy work around but he refused to listen. He doesn’t understand the project and said we need to stop fixing things and just run tests. He is sounding like the old project manager. They don’t care if the data is right they just want numbers. I have talked to the previous users and they have said many times it is just trial and error to get it to work. Most normal people would be happy if you found something broken and fixed it. The scientific method seems to be dead where I work.

[Crook32]

I want to email my manager and try to explain what happened but I am not sure how to word it without being too awkward or revealing too much. I have never had an episodes at work in front of someone so this is all new to me. I am not even sure what he is thinking but I don’t want him running to my boss like others do. I mean it was a medical reaction not me just being insubordinate. I need to nip this in the bud because I am already on thin ice. However since it has to do with a disability I am not obligated to tell him. So I am torn on what to do.

[Crook32]

Just found out they fixed everything in 30 minutes. Now I am dreading going back after vacation. I failed at fixing it and they did it in no time. Only reprieve I have is I didn’t put it together I was working off of what someone else started. Not that it will matter since I am not allowed to make mistakes. After freezing up the other day everything is compounding.