How Wimpy Managers Provoke Employment Litigation
I just stumbled upon a great employment law blog called WorkMatters. I found it by following Betsy Munnell on twitter who referenced another blog that referenced WorkMatters. Anyway, WorkMatters is written by Michael Maslanka from Texas.
Michael wrote a nice post recently about firing employees. He had been reading "The Aneid" by Virgil - one of those ancient Greek books that almost no one reads anymore. The lesson from Virgil that Michael shares in his blog post is that one should not be wimpy when firing employees.
In "The Aneid," the main character is wimpy about breaking up with a powerful woman he hooked up with in Carthage. Instead of dealing directly with the break up, he delays, misleads, and seeks counsel from others. The woman eventually figures out that he is planning on leaving her and things get ugly and this ultimately leads to a war and endless misery. Had the suitor been direct about his plans, then the war and misery all could have been avoided.
This type of wimpy conduct exists today in the workplace and the lesson from Virgil still apply. Be open and direct about your intentions and this will reduce problems. As an employment lawyer, I hear different versions of this story on a regular basis. Employees, like the jilted lover in Aenid, often are forced to endure uncertainty and humiliation because management does not have the guts to be open and direct. This wimpy conduct is pervasive and it breeds anger and ill will at work. So many people come to our law firm because their pride has been damaged and they want revenge for how they were treated.
