Sleeping at Work - Startled by the boss or should I say bosses…
Here is an experience I had with an employee that possibly was sleeping at work...Me - my boss - their boss - and then their boss - were conducting routine rounds - when we startled an employee - that may have been sleeping at work. Here is how it happened… We were inspecting the entire 8th floor of the hospital - going from one room to the next - inspecting for safety issues - housekeeping issues - maintenance issues - and so on. If we came to a room that was locked - we would knock - and then use the master key to open it. Sleeping at Work - The chair was still rocking… As we made our way from room to room - we came to the room that the doctors use to sleep in when they have 24 hour duty. This room has a full size bed - television - desk with computer - rocker recliner - and bathroom with shower. The door was locked - we knocked loudly - and received no answer - so we stuck the key into the door lock - and then the door came open. It was a housekeeper - and when he saw all of us - you could tell he was startled. As he greeted us - he said that he was just finishing up cleaning the room - and he quickly made his way out passed us and back toward his housekeeping closet - without any cleaning equipment at all I quickly observed that the rocking chair had been moved in front of the television - his hat was laying on the bed along with the telephone which had been moved there also - the television was on - and there was no cleaning equipment in the room. Sleeping at Work - I was checking my messages… After completing our rounds - I contacted the employees supervisor - who reported to me - and I asked them to schedule a meeting quickly to speak with the employee. When we met with the employee we asked them - what were you doing in the room - they without hesitation said they had just finished cleaning the room and they were checking their work related messages on the computer. I then asked them why the chair had been moved - and he responded that is where he had found it when entered the room. I then asked him why the telephone and their hat was on the bed - and he said that he must have left the phone there when he cleaned the night stand and because it was hot he had removed his hat. We ended the fact finding meeting with them. Sleeping at Work - On the surface his answers sound pretty good… After - the supervisor and I went to examine the room again - to see if the story matched up - because we had some real question marks in our minds. Once at the room - we tried to match up their story to what was there. The table that the computer was on was right by the door and was at least 7 feet from the rocking chair that was still rocking when he had opened the door. The computer was not on. The telephone was stretched across the bed almost to the end of the telephone wire - and sitting right by the rocker at the end of the bed. We examined the room again to see if it had been recently cleaned - and found that the trash was full - there was dirty linen in the hamper - and the shower was not clean. Sleeping at Work - It is really important that you tell us the truth… The supervisor and I invited the employee back to our office for a second time. After setting down I asked them - tell me again - did you say that you had just finished cleaning the room - and they responded yes. I then asked them - you had mentioned that you had taken the telephone off the night stand so that you could clean it right - and again they responded yes. I asked them - you mentioned that when we knocked on the door and started to enter you were checking for work related messages - and they responded yes. I then explained - if I were to tell you that there was no evidence that the room had been cleaned - nor did you have any cleaning equipment in the room - nor did you remove any when we saw you - that the telephone had been stretched clear across the bed - and the computer was off - what would be your response. Before they could answer - I said to him - before you answer - let me make it crystal clear to you how important it is for you to tell me the truth now - because if we learn something different later it could impact you greatly. I did this while leaning forward and focusing in on him directly. Sleeping at Work - You were relaxing in the chair and watching television… Again before they could answer - I finished up with - you were sitting there relaxing in the rocker and watching television when we knocked on the door weren’t you - and they hung their head down a little and responded - yes - I’m sorry. In this particular situation we did not terminate the employee - they were issued a written warning for willful idleness. Thank you and may God Bless you! |
