Vicki Walker, an Auckland (New Zealand) accountant, was sacked for sending supposedly confrontational emails with words in red, in bold and in CAPITAL LETTERS. The Employment Relations Authority in New Zealand ruled that Walker was not fairly terminated from her position after sending the emails to co-workers. Her previous employers, ProCare, have now been ordered to pay New Zealand dollars $17,000 (US $11,500/€8000) for unfair dismissal.
Fired in December 2007, after two years with the company, ProCare claim Walker had “caused disharmony in the workplace by using block capitals, bold typeface and red text in her emails.” Walker claims that the one email used in evidence was in regard to how her team should fill claim forms, and specifies a time and date highlighted in bold red, and a sentence written in capitals and highlighted in bold blue. It reads: “To ensure your staff claim is processed and paid, please do follow the below checklist.”
WHAT??? THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!
DUMB BITCH!
/just saying
This is just another example of incompetency rising to the top. The people who make the most money, generally don’t know a damn thing about running a business. Meanwhile some lower worker, actually tries to improve efficiency by showing how to fill out forms, and she is punished. Fortunately she works in a country that protects her, rather than one that rewards incompetence.
I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE TYPE IN ALL CAPS!!
whoops!
Come on, she typed in all caps but went further and place them in bold and colored them red! If I ran the company I wouldn’t want this type of person working under me either. There’s nothing special, professional, funny or what have you on doing this. Well, I retract that statement. There is one and #1 has it right.
I ONLY WRITE WHAT THE VOICES IN MY HEAD SCREAM AT ME TO WRITE, SORRY.
#1 is right.
Unless you are making street signs or license plates, there’s no need for all caps.
other people doing stuff makes me angry
I suspect that #2 has it right. The woman got fed up with people that ignored the form or messed up while filling it out. She eventually got in trouble because some senior manager didn’t bother to fill out the d**n form. She tried to make it obvious how to fill it out, and got in trouble for her efforts. Happens all the time in bureaucracies. See Catch 22.
#1 is right!
I worked with a woman and I HATED her emails. They were not always angry shouting but she would use a large red font for a paragraph or two make a point; one had to scroll and scroll to read her emails because of the large fonts; and the “congratulations” or happy ones!!! Don’t get me started — they were like emails from a 5-year old rather than a 45-year old.
If her explanation was true, then she was fired by morons and is better off working elsewhere.
Most likely, the people she worked with did not like her trying to increase efficiency.
I NEED MO’ INFO NAO!
Did she use them as headings? Or, was blasting her co-workers critical emails?
Part of assertiveness training courses, for young female managers, is “how to take command” in meetings and emails. She may have been taught to do this at business college.
More to the dismissal than this report states..probably turned down the boss’ advances or some such.
# 4 The0ne,
Typical PC NAZISM at it’s HYPOCRITICAL finest.
Can’t STAND SOME TYPING in CAPS, but has NO PROBLEM CALL THE LADY A BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO BACK TO RUSSIA you, you BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!
#4 – Uh oh, struck a nerve. Sounds like #14 lost a job. Okay everyone, on the bus – back to Russia.
/mailing noname wadless panties.
# 15 Slutty Sister Mary Hand Grenade of Quiet Reflection,
Be berry berry quiet…Im hunting wabbits…BITCH!!!
Are we sure the ONLY reason she was fired was because of using all caps? Maybe that was the frosting on the already several tiered cake?
While the story is from New Zealand, I find in the USA there is a tendency for the workplace to become more “feminized.”
What I mean by that is the attitude of “we all have to get along” and don’t say anything that might hurt someone else’s feelings. Even if you are right, if you don’t sweeten the message and just be direct and to the point, they view you as hostile. You don’t have to insult anyone, just challenge their ideas, and you will be seen as “not playing well with others.” Ever think that maybe some people deserve all caps and in red?
So called “*ssholes” get things done because they challenge conventional thinking. Think of Steve Jobs for example. Sadly, too many “businesses” are more concerned with making it a happy workplace instead of one that actually accomplishes something. With out these people sticking to business, the happy shiny people would be out of a job in a year.
# 18 Oaf Tobark,
“if you don’t sweeten the message and just be direct and to the point, they view you as hostile. You don’t have to insult anyone, just challenge their ideas, and you will be seen as “not playing well with others.””
I ran into this allot, especially in the West and South West. I am originally from the East Coast (NJ area) and tend to be direct and to point.
Since I’ve been working in the SouthWest and on the West coast I notice meetings take much longer with this common “feminized” attitude of “we all have to get along” and “don’t say anything that might hurt someone else’s feelings”. These meetings are thereby much less productive and people complain about going to the meeting.
To avoid that sensitivity stuff, I dumb things way down and smile (Dubya style). Also, if they ask where your from don’t say East Coast, they start saying shit and get hostile towards you.
One classic example, I was sipping coffee outside a coffee shop reading a newspaper and this well dressed executive walks by and says hi. I am not even paying attention, engrossed in what I was reading and the guy stops in front of me and gets hot under the collar for not saying hi back. I got annoyed because this dude wasn’t going to allow me to just enjoy my coffee and what I was reading, but insisted I pay him some courtesy he felt due. To which, I retorted, get a life.
wtfdontsheknowthattherightwaytogetnoticedistouselowercaseandnevereverinsertspacesbetweenwordsnowTHISissomeserioustexting
Only assholes type in all caps, which begs the question, what type of asshole types in all caps and in Red?