My World With Words

I’d rather not work, either, so the work laptop is unplugged and we can go play. Except Mimi and her brother Walter broke their favorite toy–the fishing pole toy. Hmm, we’ll have to get creative. Maybe if I toss around those cloth mice they’re so fond of. Whatever we do, it’ll be better than working!

Image Credits: Cesar Cat © Belinda O; Paws in Heart © Bigstock Photos; Illustration of woman and cat © Tanya–stock.adobe.com

Years ago, I was a communications manager in the Benefits department of a major company. One of my favorite responsibilities was “translating” legalese into more commonly spoken language, as many of the employees we were directing our messages to had barely graduated from high school. If they’d even gotten that far in their education.

I had a good relationship with the attorney in that department, and she respected the work I did. One afternoon, the two of us were joined by three others in her office, and we were having a chat about a variety of topics, when this one came up: is it easier to ask forgiveness or permission? The four of them all agreed forgiveness was easier, and they laughed about the number of times they’d done just that on the job. I wasn’t so sure. Call me a goody two-shoes (and you wouldn’t be the first), but I was never one to just do what I wanted and then hope the higher-ups would smile benevolently and forgive.

About a week later, I was in a situation where I was faced with either completing the job the attorney wanted or working on one the VP of my department had asked me to do. I was in a quandary. The VP outranked the attorney, yet the attorney’s project had a tighter deadline. Neither one was in the office, but my manager was just getting ready to leave for the evening. I stopped her and explained my situation. She told me to work on the attorney’s project and she’d deal with the VP, if that should prove to be necessary. I was glad, because that was what my gut wanted me to do, but corporate politics don’t always agree with one’s gut. I had been on the verge of working on the VP’s project and asking forgiveness for letting the attorney’s work wait.

When I brought the attorney’s completed project to her the next day, I jokingly mentioned my discarded plan. The look on her face told me I’d done the right thing in completing her work first. I found out later that this was an incredibly important legal deadline, something she’d neglected to tell me initially.

Now, I believe in asking forgiveness from a forgiving God, but I am not tempted to ask for it from a mere human in situations like the one I just described. I ask permission first. At work, always. For that matter, I can’t really think of a situation where I wouldn’t, at work or otherwise.

Everyone operates by their own norm, by their own standards. But I believe we have to work together. Had the attorney let me know how critical this deadline was, I never would have pondered putting forgiveness ahead of permission. She knew the nature of my job meant I could be pulled in different directions, yet she withheld important information from me. I don’t think she did it deliberately. But she sure set herself up when she and others all agreed on the forgiveness track.

Communication is important, and it happens in so many different ways. Even without this experience, I know far better than to ask forgiveness rather than permission from my current manager, or anyone in management at my job, for that matter. It just isn’t done. It’s a good work environment, but we respect each other enough to ask permission first.

The bottom line? Don’t send mixed messages to your employees. In retrospect, I see this as a bigger problem at my former employer than I then realized. There were multiple situations that were confusing, and I wasn’t always able to ask advice. Management was asked to walk a tightrope of rules and regulations that were haphazardly enforced by the higher ups, including Human Resources (or the “People Division” as they called themselves). If there’s a rule worth communicating, make it a rule worth keeping.

Image Credit: Puzzle and Justice © BMMP Studio–stock.adobe.com Shocked woman © Voyagerix–stock.adobe.com

This may be one of the few posts you ever see me from me that involves motorcycles.

This weekend is one of the big events in my area–the annual Bikes, Blues, and BBQ festival. It’s anticipated that more than 200,000 motorcyclists will converge on the area, and many of them will settle in at the Harley-Davidson store a mere block from my apartment complex. While the main events supposedly take place just outside of the downtown area–several miles from me–this is a major gathering spot.

I’m hunkering down in my apartment until it’s over. I have enough food and Diet Coke to get me through the ordeal. Don’t get me wrong. These are not bad people, simply a huge group looking for a fun weekend doing something they love. It just happens to be something I don’t love.

Now, I could handle the BBQ part of it, if it weren’t for the crowds. But I’m not a fan of motorcycles. Driving home from work today, which takes me right past the downtown area, I encountered a few bikers having a jolly good time. Most of them were decent enough not to weave in and out of traffic, but some did just that, forcing me to slam on my brakes on multiple occasions. There’s heavy traffic on this route at this time on a regular day, and the plethora of bikers just added to it.

I wish I could have worked from home today, but a festival is not considered good enough reason to miss the office experience. Last year I swore I’d take this Friday off, but I forgot to budget my PTO time for it.

Thankfully, I have my cats to keep me company. They’re confused by the continual roar, and the bands will start up soon, so it won’t be our usual early bedtime. I realize this event brings in a great deal of money to the community (an estimated 15 million to the greater area), and the organizers do a good job taking care of business. That includes the folks at the Harley-Davidson store, who are pros at putting on a good show.

So let the bikers bike. I’ll stay home, watch some football, and catch up on my knitting. It’ll be a good weekend for all.

Image Credit: Row of Motorcycles © Matas Maciulskis–stock.adobe.com; Barbeque © fahrwasser–stock.adobe.com

At first, I thought it was me approaching him with my camera, and I fully expected him to get up and leave. Then I realized it was Mimi, and he was ready to pounce and play. However, Mimi saw him and apparently wasn’t up for that as she left the area and hid in another corner. Or maybe she was just being coy, I don’t know.

Image Credits: Cesar Cat © Belinda O; Paws in Heart © Bigstock Photos; Cat Pouncing © Mosharef–stock.adobe.com