Am I wrong to be annoyed about this workplace complaint?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do some extra support work for my company during staffing shortages. It's essentially overtime, but it's much more flexible than a normal workday. When I'm doing support, I can dress casually, make my own hours, work weekends if I want, etc. Anyone is eligible to do it, and the whole point is to help keep things running.

So imagine my surprise when an unknown colleague apparently complained that I wasn't required to sit in on a meeting and instead was allowed to "leisurely stroll into work in jeans."

My boss called me into his office and told me I should have attended the meeting since I was there. I pushed back and said that I wasn't there in my normal capacity, everyone knows that, and if someone had a problem with it, he should have explained that. His response was basically, "I know that, but..."

At that point I said, "Am I correct or not? Because if you know that, then there shouldn't be a 'but.'" We went back and forth a little. My suspicion is that someone with some influence was behind the complaint, because otherwise I don't think this would have gotten any traction.

Now I'm annoyed. My wife says to let it go, but part of me wants to escalate it because I feel like I got called in and criticized for following an arrangement that management already approved. On the other hand, I don't know if this is worth ruffling feathers over.

Would you let it go or push back?

Did you really say this? That’s pretty rude (whether you’re taking to your boss, a peer or a friend, for that matter). Also, how is it “like overtime” if it’s happening at a time that you normally would’ve been there and expected to attend this meeting? Maybe next time you sign up for the support shift you should send a message to the team letting them know that you’re in the support role that day and not available for regular work, meetings, etc.

So when you come in on your day off you need to make sure everyone is cool with that? Maybe people need to mind their business. What kind of workplace is this?

[Anonymous]

Every single time someone asks if you are available for support get in writing that you are allowed to wear jeans and aren't required to attend a meeting. Decline if they can't answer to the affirmative. Problem solved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you let it go but essentially ignore it and either continue the way you were, or stop doing this whole support thing since it’s too much fuss now.

OP again. You know what’s funny? Right after I was called in to have that chat, my boss found me and asked when I was planning to come in and offer support again. You can’t make this stuff up.

Did you flat out ask if there was a dress code for support work when he made this request?

[Anonymous]

OP you can’t let one person’s snide comments rattle you so much. They probably were having a lousy day and said something stupid in passing. You can’t control that. You can control how you react though. It’s not like your boss came down hard on you and wrote you up. Just move on and stop dwelling.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like your boss maybe failed to stand up to a higher up here? It would be a waste of your OT to attend meetings.

I'd get some clarification on policies but ai think the take away is your boss may be a bit of a people pleaser or squeaky wheel greaser. It's a datapoint going forward.

[Anonymous]

I feel bad for your wife.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP you can’t let one person’s snide comments rattle you so much. They probably were having a lousy day and said something stupid in passing. You can’t control that. You can control how you react though. It’s not like your boss came down hard on you and wrote you up. Just move on and stop dwelling.

I can see how OP is rattled. He was doing the team a favor, taking on the extra work, minding his business, and then some jealous weirdo got mad he wore jeans and skipped a boring meeting. It would put me off going the extra mile as well. Is that really what the workplace wants? They should have handled the whiner and reminded them of the support work policies rather than indulging their petty complaints.

[Anonymous]

I think you need to find out who did the complaining then figure out ways to make their life miserable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you let it go but essentially ignore it and either continue the way you were, or stop doing this whole support thing since it’s too much fuss now.

OP again. You know what’s funny? Right after I was called in to have that chat, my boss found me and asked when I was planning to come in and offer support again. You can’t make this stuff up.

This is where you say that you won't be doing it again. Since the expectation changed, it is not at attractive to put in the overtime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you let it go but essentially ignore it and either continue the way you were, or stop doing this whole support thing since it’s too much fuss now.

OP again. You know what’s funny? Right after I was called in to have that chat, my boss found me and asked when I was planning to come in and offer support again. You can’t make this stuff up.

This is where you say that you won't be doing it again. Since the expectation changed, it is not at attractive to put in the overtime.

This. The correct way to handle it was to not chastise someone following the rules rather making it publicly known that going forward there were new expectations and rules. OP did nothing wrong.

[Anonymous]

OP, what exactly did your boss ask you to do when he shared this information? Did he ask you to actually dress up during your support shifts? Or was he just airing the comment that the accuser shared with him?

Depending on this, I think you have your answer. If boss ACTUALLY asked to to dress up, then you take that into your calculus of whether you want to continue putting in support time. If he was just like, so and so had a problem with your jeans; well then… you have a manager and culture problem and decide whether this is a place you actually like working.

Either way, make a decision and let go for your own peace of mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP you can’t let one person’s snide comments rattle you so much. They probably were having a lousy day and said something stupid in passing. You can’t control that. You can control how you react though. It’s not like your boss came down hard on you and wrote you up. Just move on and stop dwelling.

I can see how OP is rattled. He was doing the team a favor, taking on the extra work, minding his business, and then some jealous weirdo got mad he wore jeans and skipped a boring meeting. It would put me off going the extra mile as well. Is that really what the workplace wants? They should have handled the whiner and reminded them of the support work policies rather than indulging their petty complaints.

+1

But op, shake it off and don’t give it another thought.

[Anonymous]

You sound insufferable and I can see why you’re working hourly OP.

Attend the meeting next time if it relates to your function - you’re already trying to milk the extra pay anyways so why not sit in on a meeting that isn’t super relevant to pad that time?

[Anonymous]

Does the support work involve getting on the floor and connecting cables or something that would require jeans instead of a suit? Or is it sitting at a computer and doing different work than usual?

If you are just at your desk, I would wear normal office attire from 8-5. If you come in at night or on weekends, then wear jeans.

If the support work has a task that needs to be completed during a regular meeting, email your boss and ask which has priority.

Since you are being paid extra for the support work, it seems like you would still be expected to do your 8-5, 40 hrs/week tasks. If you are doing the extra work from 1-3pm, when are you making up those 2 hours of your regular assignment?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does the support work involve getting on the floor and connecting cables or something that would require jeans instead of a suit? Or is it sitting at a computer and doing different work than usual?

If you are just at your desk, I would wear normal office attire from 8-5. If you come in at night or on weekends, then wear jeans.

If the support work has a task that needs to be completed during a regular meeting, email your boss and ask which has priority.

Since you are being paid extra for the support work, it seems like you would still be expected to do your 8-5, 40 hrs/week tasks. If you are doing the extra work from 1-3pm, when are you making up those 2 hours of your regular assignment?

It’s nice and all that that’s what YOU would do. But employers can’t make exceptions to make situations more attractive to their employees, and then backpedal without warning.