Mandatory Mental Health Night

First not-butterflies-and-flowers day at work.

An employee traveling in North Carolina calls me 9 am in a panic – there is no money in her new bank account! A new manager, jerked around by management dithering over a pay plan, is unhappy with his month-end commission. An obese salesman, tilting on the verge of cardiac arrest (he actually took two days off earlier this month to see a cardiologist), is nickel-and-diming me over chargebacks. Two new employees are unexpectedly in the hole in terms of commission versus draw – unexpectedly because they are not expecting it to be so, thanks to last-minute advances last pay per their managers.

None of these problems have their origin in decisions made by me. Yet, I am held responsible by the admittedly innocent parties involved.

Calgon, take me away!

Or better yet, I’m gonna relive the battle of Second Manassas with Jeff Shaara tonight. Sometimes I think an infantryman in 1862 under General Lee may have had a better go of it than a payroll administrator in 2012 in my line of work. At least the infantryman has a rifle to defend himself …