Monday, January 08, 2007

Almost Dooced

Now I rarely write about work people so the appropriate term wouldn't exactly be "Dooced," but with lack of a better term I'm going to run with it.

I was almost dooced right before Christmas because of my internet activity....yikes. I was being bad, and I knew it, but I couldn't focus!! It wasn't like I wasn't working, I was just taking a little breaks here and there. By law we're to get a half hour lunch and two fifteen minute breaks. If my boss isn't around for lunch I usually eat at my desk, and we don't take our fifteen minute breaks. It's not like I can't, but unless I'm super bored I really don't think of it! It's not like I put down my work and put my feet up, no... My boss and I have previously discussed this where she felt it was acceptable to take little brain breaks now and again throughout the day. That could be for surfing the web, emailing friends, or making personal calls. She trusts us to do our work.

Well one morning I had an email from Target and I seriously thought it was about a prescription. I clicked on it just as the company office manager (basically my boss' equal) walked up to my desk. I didn't have time to minimize so when she saw my screen and immediately asked if I was shopping online. "No. I had an email I thought was about my prescription, so I clicked on it and I got the Target website."

A few days later I was working away like a busy bee when one of the son's of the family run business stopped in front of my door and said, "I need to see you downstairs." At first I didn't even think twice. He has called me into meetings before, so I figured it had to do with that...Until I walked up to the conference room and saw the office manager, the owner of the company, and the son. My heart sank and in a split second I begged God to not let them fire me just before Christmas.

They basically told me that after my encounter with the office manager they had the IT Dept. run reports on everyone. Myself and six other people were called in to discuss our internet activities. I basically got a nice lecture but in the end I still had my job...PHEW!

The relief of it all actually put me to tears. I sat in that entire nerve-racking meeting perfectly fine, but as soon as I walked out the door the tears started to flow. I was embarrassed, ashamed and pissed at myself all at the same time. I had to run to the bathroom to hide my face for awhile. Once I was less red in the face, and I had fixed my eye make-up I returned to my office. Luckily there were only two other people in the office and they were both tied up at that moment. I, on the other hand was actually supposed to have left for Minneapolis 20 minutes prior...so I was able to escape without anyone seeing me!

Once I returned from my outside errands my face was back to normal and no one new the better. For the last few weeks every time I see the three people that reprimanded me I feel like a complete Moran and like their thinking, "We need to get rid of her..."

My immediate boss luckily loves me therefore I have one cheerleader in my corner.

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