Unrestrained
To echo the sentiments of Benedict in his latest entry about a coworker erupting on him, I have to confess to being guilty of doing the erupting myself on a coworker. Shocking, I admit, but Kingmob's fuse is short when it comes to the matter of working hours and the fair application of trades and deals regarding those hours.

The story is as follows. As we are all well aware, the Pittsburgh Steelers went to the Super Bowl this year. Now, seeing that there were minor riots in both Oakland and the South Side after their victory over the Denver Broncos and the mere fact that it is the Pittsburgh Steelers, logic would seem to dictate that it might be wise to close prior to the Super Bowl because (1)everyone wants to watch it (2) the chances of further rioting, win or lose, increased substantially for the Big Game. Well, logic is a funny thing, and it appears that it's used on a random basis in some instances. Case in point, the longer than necessary debate as to whether or not to close the library early. Granted, some people don't care about football, and if the teams involved were any but the local one, it would be unfair to close entirely, early, or at all. However, the evidence seems to dictate that the demand for the library's services will fall to an astonishingly low number if the facility were open. Four people utilized the library during the previous game. Four! Also, seeing that every business on Forbes was closing early, other than the bars, it would seem fitting to close the library as well. Well, after some back and forth, finally the campus police suggested that it would be wise for us to close, and the hours were trimmed to a reasonable ten to six.

All of that background sets up this tale. My coworker, who is experiencing some personal problems, appealed to my sympathetic nature and asked me to work for him. Now, I told him previously that if it meant that much to him I would do so. However, as my disbelief at the unreasonableness of the superiors not to close library reached its peak, I hastily agreed to work for him. After simmering down, I thought about the fact that I didn't want to be here any more than anyone else, and I'd made that clear to numerous people. I issued a request for further compensation to my coworker in the form of an email. When I came in the next day, that's when the trouble started.

I approached him in a non-confrontational manner and inquired if he'd received my offer. He acknowledged that he had, and that the terms of my request were absurd. His points were thus:

I had made an agreement and you can't renege on that.

You can't just change a deal.

Sometimes you don't get what you want.

I countered with:

I'm getting nothing out of this, and I demand compensation for my sacrifice.

I didn't back out of the deal. I just reconsidered it after I calmed down.

Originally, you didn't want me to be bitter about the request. Now I am.

In other words, I stormed out in a fury. All of it became moot when the next day the decision came down to close early. However, I still had had an argument in public with a coworker. That could have been handled more professionally. Amazingly, I found agreement on the terms of my request with my other co-worker. It was just the execution of it that could have been handled better.

The lesson in all of this: never agree to anything out of haste if there is even the slightest chance of reconsideration on your part. It makes life easier.