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German IT Outfit Bans Whining
theodp writes "German IT outfit Nutzwerk Ltd has come up with the perfect solution to whining in the workplace - it's made cheerfulness a contractual obligation, advising those who don't measure up to the prescribed level of jollity in the morning to stay at home until they cheer up. The plan was prompted by a female employee whose constant complaining prompted the other staff to complain about her complaining."
is over the top, but there are few things more irratating & detremental to productivity than an angry/whiny co-worker.
A rule-of-thumb in software development: If a place has too many Dilbert cartoons on cubicle sides, have an exit strategy. If it has none, RUN!!!
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
...but I am under contractual obligation to not whine.
I can imagine that being under contract to not whine will mean that people will come up with creative ways to whine without really whining. Reminds me of a conversation I had last night. I am recent transplant to The South and was told that there were phrases in use here that didn't mean what they really mean. For example, if you tell someone something like "I just inherited a million dollars" they will reply be saying "That's nice." ...which really means F*ck you.
So, image code words and phrases will be created to allow whining without breaching the contract.
but there are few things more irratating & detremental to productivity than an angry/whiny co-worker.
One thing more detrimental is an angry/whiny co-worker (or employee) who is pretending to be cheerful.
This really just sounds like management doesn't have the skill or the emotional maturity to actually deal with the problem, so instead, they sweep it under the rug.
If an employee is angry/whiny, there is a reason. Maybe that reason is internal to the employee. Maybe that reason is the result of something in the work environment. Force the employee to pretend to be happy, and the employee will probably more unhappy. Then you have an employee not working to the best of their ability, who may even be acting out passive aggressively. That attitude can spread just as quickly as overt angry/whiny behavior, and can be even worse to tolerate because it is harder to pin down.
Because emotions aren't something that one can always control with impunity? Besides, no whinging means you can't complain about the PHB or you cow-orker while on the job - you end up being a good little robot. IME emotions - both good and bad - spark thought, and thought leads to greater productivity. I can see a policy of dealing directly with someone who does _nothing_ but complain and then offers no creative solutions, but trying to program happiness? No thanks.
Soko
"Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." - Anonymous
No one should need to leave, and supressing ppls freedom of speech
in the workplace is just the beginning .
Soon it will be politically correct to suppress it elsewhere .
If the person does not do their job that is one thing, but
for them to be silenced for expressing discontent over maltreatment
or inequality is a bad idea in my humble opinion .
Ex-MislTech
google "32 trillion offshore needs IRS attention"
Germany has customer service that you can't get and the US has customer service that you don't want.