Hater-Ade -- Product Recall

Today, I finally took action. I did it politely. I did professionally. I just did it.

Frack's second day back in the office after being laid off was today. We had to meet to discuss some marketing and sponsorship items for his clients and right as we started working on the items, he decided that he had something to say. It went something like this...

"Just so you know, this whole thing is still kinda raw to me. Ya know, being fired and then hired so it's all kinda weird. So if I'm short with you that's part of it. I don't know if I can accept you in this job or sitting in this office and I don't know if I ever will."

(For the record, I am sitting in our former boss' office, at the request of the CEO - not mine. Frack was very close to the former boss in, pretty much, a father/son relationship.)

I paused for a moment and said, "Okay, can I be blunt for a second?" Frank said sure so I kinda just laid it all out there for him. "Frankly," I said, "I don't care. Regardless of how you feel we're still going to have to work together and I'm not going to treat you any differently than before. I'm not Steve (our former boss). I'm not going to be Steve. I have a job to do and I'm going to do it. If anything, it's not been easy for me as well transition to this new position, working directly under the CEO, knowing that moving into this office would not be a popular change, and more. We're all adjusting to the changes so all I ask at the end of the day is that we work together the best that we can. I don't care how you feel about me or what I do for the company, or where I do my job within the confines of this office. All I care about doing is the best job possible."

With that he nodded and we went back to work (and rather productively I might add).

What I should have thrown out at him is that, if anything, I had a hand in getting his job back. Originally I was offered my choice of my current position or the job that Frack held. So, theorhetically, if I didn't take this job, Frack might not have been re-offered his former position under the new organizational structure. In fact, from what I recently learned, they were split as to what position they thought I would ultimately choose with one thinking I would stay in sales and other sure I would move to production.

I don't know what if anything this is going to do to improve the situation in the office. All I know is that I'm not taking it anymore. Like I said, I have a job to do and I'm not going to let other people's foul attitudes impact me.

Time to pull the Hater-Ade off the shelves.