Post by JULIE BRADY on Nov 23, 2012 14:50:10 GMT -5
“Just fine, thanks.” Julie nodded and bit into a fry. She knew it would be good, but she didn’t know if Remy would have some smart ass comment about it. Just as she was about to pick up a half of her sandwich, he started speaking again and she looked over at him. “You know, I don’t discourage workplace friendships. It’s important to have camaraderie to boost morale, but you should know friendships should stay within your own level.” Her blue eyes widened slightly and she just stared at him. Did he really just say that? “Making things too personal when you’re in charge of someone makes it difficult to want to fire them when you need to. You begin to make excuses to keep them on board because they have a mortgage or a baby or sick husband or something. You can’t let relationships blur what needs to be done. You don’t get to the top by being everyone’s friend, Jules.” The staring continued for a long moment. Julie was too stunned by his words to really be able to respond to them. As soon as the anger set in, though, she set her jaw and moved her hands away from her sandwich. That tasty lunch was going to have to wait a minute while she made it clear to Remy she didn’t want his advice on how to get to the top. “On the contrary, I think the friendlier you are with your employees, the more likely it is they’ll want to work hard for you. I also believe it helps you take human factors into account. Just because a person’s work quality diminishes for a couple weeks doesn’t mean they won’t get back into the swing of things. Sometimes there are legitimate factors like a sick family member or financial struggles that effect a person’s work ability, and I do think those need to be taken into account before someone is fired. There should always be reluctance when letting an employee go—that’s what builds a company’s reputation as being good to their employees, and that attracts hardworking people and several investors.” Her voice remained even as she spoke, her eyes cool as she looked at Remy. She didn’t like pompous people like him and he needed to be taught some compassion and humility.
“And for the record, if we’re only supposed to be friends with those on our level, then why should you bother befriending me? We’re not on the same level. You’re my supervisor now. And coming up in the house I grew up in, I have more in common with them than I do with you. Every person here has had to work hard for what they’ve gotten; I understand them and I won’t let the fact that I got further than they did cloud my vision of them as human beings. That makes me more relatable to them and they love me as a supervisor. Having said all that, I don’t let my feelings get in the way of my judgment. I know when someone needs to go, but I’m a firm believer in second chances. I don’t think it would kill you to try and understand the people who work for you. Being well-liked by your employees is how you get the most out of them. As someone who’s actually had to work for the position I have, I feel I’m more qualified to give advice on how to get on top than you, Remy.” The more she talked, the more heated her tone became until her voice was as venomous as it could get with her last words. It wasn’t until after she stopped talking that she realized she’d just given Remy Graham a tongue lashing and he probably wasn’t going to appreciate that. She couldn’t help it, though—he got her so mad! One of her elementary school teachers tried to tell her who she should be friends with once and she hadn’t taken kindly to that either. Sophia was her best friend, the only one at work who she saw on the outside, and she wasn’t about to let Remy judge that friendship. No one had the right to tell her who she should be friends with! And what did he know about getting to the top? His parents certainly knew a thing or two about being on top, but it was his great-grandfather that really would have known how to actually get to the top.
With her brows knitted together and her blue eyes still blazing, she turned to frown down at her sandwich. She was hungry, but she wasn’t interested in eating with Remy anymore. The hissing, growling cat in her chest needed time to calm down and breathe in order to actually eat and she couldn’t do that with him anymore. She grabbed her plate and slid off her stool. “You know what? I think I’d prefer to be alone to eat my lunch. See you in a while.” Giving him one last furious glance, she began to storm off to another part of the kitchen. She was certain she would hear more about this when they got back from lunch, but at the moment she didn’t care. Julie just wanted to eat her delicious sandwich without having to look at Remy’s infuriating face or hear his little rich boy comments.
“And for the record, if we’re only supposed to be friends with those on our level, then why should you bother befriending me? We’re not on the same level. You’re my supervisor now. And coming up in the house I grew up in, I have more in common with them than I do with you. Every person here has had to work hard for what they’ve gotten; I understand them and I won’t let the fact that I got further than they did cloud my vision of them as human beings. That makes me more relatable to them and they love me as a supervisor. Having said all that, I don’t let my feelings get in the way of my judgment. I know when someone needs to go, but I’m a firm believer in second chances. I don’t think it would kill you to try and understand the people who work for you. Being well-liked by your employees is how you get the most out of them. As someone who’s actually had to work for the position I have, I feel I’m more qualified to give advice on how to get on top than you, Remy.” The more she talked, the more heated her tone became until her voice was as venomous as it could get with her last words. It wasn’t until after she stopped talking that she realized she’d just given Remy Graham a tongue lashing and he probably wasn’t going to appreciate that. She couldn’t help it, though—he got her so mad! One of her elementary school teachers tried to tell her who she should be friends with once and she hadn’t taken kindly to that either. Sophia was her best friend, the only one at work who she saw on the outside, and she wasn’t about to let Remy judge that friendship. No one had the right to tell her who she should be friends with! And what did he know about getting to the top? His parents certainly knew a thing or two about being on top, but it was his great-grandfather that really would have known how to actually get to the top.
With her brows knitted together and her blue eyes still blazing, she turned to frown down at her sandwich. She was hungry, but she wasn’t interested in eating with Remy anymore. The hissing, growling cat in her chest needed time to calm down and breathe in order to actually eat and she couldn’t do that with him anymore. She grabbed her plate and slid off her stool. “You know what? I think I’d prefer to be alone to eat my lunch. See you in a while.” Giving him one last furious glance, she began to storm off to another part of the kitchen. She was certain she would hear more about this when they got back from lunch, but at the moment she didn’t care. Julie just wanted to eat her delicious sandwich without having to look at Remy’s infuriating face or hear his little rich boy comments.
