COULD I GET HELP WITH THIS PROBLEM Two employees, Janet and Martha, work side by
ID: 376090 • Letter: C
Question
COULD I GET HELP WITH THIS PROBLEM
Two employees, Janet and Martha, work side by side as bank tellers. For several months, they relieved one another for their coffee breaks. Janet took the first break from (9:45 to 10 A.M., and Martha took the second one, from 10 to 10:15 A.M. However, a new supermarket opened in the shopping center, and there was suddenly a large influx of shoppers coming in to cash checks right after 10 A.M. Accordingly, Jack Smith, their boss asked Martha to postpone her coffee break until after 10:30 A.M. but told Janet she could continue taking the same break. Martha thought this request over, and when she came in the next day, she told Mr. Smith that the new arrangement was unfair. If anyone should postpone her break, it should be Janet, because she had the early one for a long time. When Mr. Smith asked Janet her opinion, Janet said that she had been handling the peak load alone from 10 to 10:15 A.M. for a long while. Now she ought to get the choice because she is still going to be on duty during the extended peak period.
QUESTION 1: Who should decide the conflicting coffee break times—the
supervisor or Janet & Martha?
QUESTION 2: Why do simple things like break times sometimes blow up into
serious human relations problems?
Explanation / Answer
Q1) It is the supervisor who should decide on the conflicting coffee break times as he is the authority to make decisions related to handling the customer queue and the employee work. Also, Janet and Martha would talk on their own behalf at an individual level rather than looking at the bigger picture i.e. at the operational level. Both have their own points to justify their preferences and it would be difficult that they reach an agreement if they are supposed to decide.
Q2) Below is why simple things blow up into serious human relations problems -
1. In an organization, employees attribute the salary and benefits they get to the workload and hence they start comparing with their colleagues at the same level.
2. Real issues come when the workload increases and the responsibility needs to be taken by compromising one's personal preferences. This is when it is important for supervisor to fairly distribute the work.
3. On practice, employees take certain things for granted and find it difficult to adjust to any deviations. This is when they find alternate ways and start looking at things around.