Sparks cause fire....

Well, I pride myself on the fact that I don't explode very easily when I'm pissed off. It's an art form, because as we may have gone over once or twice, I had a few good years of crazy.

Now I'm laid back. I have a long fuse...But everyone reaches the end if you let the flame go long enough.

Yesterday I'm at work, tracking annoying coworker's breaks as she has had a habit latley of disappearing for 20 min at a time to smoke. My boss has seen her outside working and smoking. I smoke, and I don't take breaks at work. You don't need one every hour. And you especially don't need to make me look bad to my boss.

Quick background, its a rule in my dept, you tell someone when you leave your desk. We have to answer 17 lines, so you are not to leave 1 girl alone on the phones, and you have to give each other the courtesy to tell someone when you leave, so we know when you'll be back.

So CW leaves at 3:25, I see her leave her desk, and I write the time in my planner. 3:45 rolls around and I ask the girls..."do you know where CW went?"

No

4:00 by this time I'm pissed. Who leaves for 35 minutes on the job? It's a complete lack of respect for me, and the department.

I look outside for her. I look in her VP offices for her. I'm getting more pissed by the minute. I hope maybe shes applied for another job, but its company policy you have to have your supervisor sign off on your application.

4:55, she comes thru the dept "I'm gonna go outside before you all go home at 5:00"

Ok, so you have been gone for an hour and a half, and now you are going to smoke? I let her dig her own grave, and I waited. I'm at my desk, shut down, at 5:05, everyones gone, and I pull her into an office.

Me: Where have you been for an hour and a half?

CW: In a VP's office

Me: You didn't tell anyone where you were, I had no idea if something happened to you, and these girls were stuck out there answering your phones and couldn't leave, that's not teamwork, remember we talked about how you are part of a team now?

CW: I didn't plan to be in there this long

Me: You didn't tell anyone where you were

CW: For the record this happens to me all the time (meaning the girls leave her alone)

Me: CW, no one has EVER left you alone for an hour and a half

CW: Well it happens

Me: That's not the point, if you have a meeting you let me know

CW: It wasn't planned

Me: You should have the common courtesy to call if 10 minutes passes and you are away from your desk. VP has a phone in his office, there's no excuse for that.

CW: I'm sorry

Me: Another thing, you are not a personal assistant, your VP may be use to a level of service that you are unable to provide for him now, why were you in there so long, does he have you working on a project (that i wasnt informed of)

CW: bla blah, project information, this is what we did blah bla

Me: That's fine, you should also let me know when you are working on extra projects, because its my job to maintain the jobflow in the department. I'm your supervisor, you might not like telling me where you are, but its a departmental rule and you know that.

CW: They knew where I was

Me: But I didn't know.

In the end, she was crying. I told her she had to tell me when she left her desk, since she wants to play he said/she said. I wasn't mean, I was just direct. I have another meeting with her today, where I'm sure this will all come up again. As I also have to tell her to stop giving unsolicited advice to her coworkers. And the fact that she has no respect for me as her supervisor. Is that obvious? She just went to smoke, and didn't tell me she was going anywhere.