Employment & Labor Insider

"I sent $10,000 worth of birthday presents to my grandchildren, and not one of them wrote me a thank you note. Can I stiff them next year?"

"My boyfriend cheats on me with my best friend, steals all my money, and leaves the seat up. But I really love him! Should I stay?"

"I don't want to invite my unvaccinated cousins to my wedding when I elope. Do I have to?"

"My elderly parents are driving me crazy. Can I drop them off at my sister's house for the next five years?"

This week there were some doozies that were work-related. Let's take a look at what they've asked. (Links are to the actual columns, but the following are my paraphrases and my answers. The comments following the last letter are completely made up but capture the spirit of the real ones.)

To Ask Amy:

An executive in my wife's company keeps calling her the wrong name. She has corrected him repeatedly, but he keeps getting it wrong. Not long ago at a meeting he asked her whether anything was bothering her, and she went off and told him exactly what she thought of him for not remembering her name. I guess that felt good for about five minutes, but now my wife is distraught and wondering whether she should start looking for another job. Should she?

Robin (filling in for Amy): Yes.

To Dear Abby:

I am very close to a man in my department whom I supervise. We've slept together, but only one time. He tells me all his problems and says his wife doesn't understand him. I think she is cheating on him. My husband is an immigrant who lives 7,000 miles away. I have fallen out of love with him and have told him I'm seeing other men. Do you think this guy who reports to me might leave his wife? Do we have a chance at romance? I love my job!

Robin (for Dear Abby): No. No. And too bad, because you won't have it much longer after your employee sues your company for sexual harassment.

From Karla Miller:

Not long after I started a new job, I got a severe case of COVID-19 and was in intensive care and a medically induced coma. When I came back to work, my boss told me that the "timing" of my illness was bad and that I would never be promoted. I have an advanced degree and am very sought-after, but I really wanted to work here. Should I quit this job?

Robin (for Karla Miller): You had to ask? I thought you said you were smart.

Comments: 

If you got that sick, you must not have been vaccinated.                             Melvin6432 (44 upvotes)

I bet your boss is mad at you because you didn't get vaccinated. Lulabelle (27 upvotes)

If you got vaccinated, you would never get sick again for the rest of your life. 4outof5doctorsdisagree (156 upvotes)

HR is not your friend. HR is there only to serve the company.         1ineverycommentsection (34 upvotes)

Your failure to get vaccinated displays your bad judgment. No wonder your boss hates you. I hate you, too. Turniptruck (15 upvotes)

So glad I'm retired and don't have to worry about this stuff any more!                    Thurston Growl the 3d (2 upvotes)

@Turniptruck, you are an idiot. The letter writer never said that she didn't get vaccinated. Barristah122 (21 upvotes)

@Barristah122, why are you assuming that the letter writer is a female?               Lulabelle (50 upvotes)

Employers are evil . . . unless you weren't vaccinated, in which case you are evil and don't deserve a  promotion. Vaxxedandboosted78345122 (43 upvotes)

@Lulabelle, why couldn't she be a female? Barristah122 (4 upvotes)

@Barristah122, right, male boss and female employee. That's always the way, isn't it? You are so sexist. Lulabelle (17 upvotes)

I used to work for a diaper service. You remember the old diaper services, where someone would come to your house and pick up your dirty diapers and give you a tub full of clean diapers? That's what I did. My supervisor didn't like me. Not sure why. One day I caught a cold and had to stay home. My nose wouldn't stop running. The next day, I took a Contac and went back to work, and my supervisor told me my absence wouldn't be excused unless I brought in a doctor's note. But I couldn't get a doctor's note because I didn't even go to the doctor! Since I knew my supervisor didn't like me, I wrote my own doctor's note. Only problem was, I said, "Please excuse me from work because I had a cold. Signed, Dr. Livingston." Instead of saying "please excuse RamblinMan." I guess I was really nervous! So my supervisor figured out that I forged the note and fired me. That was a lesson I never forgot!                   RamblinMan2322 (0 upvotes)

*Comments are closed*

Yes, I know I should quit reading advice columns. Tomorrow. I promise.