Bad Manners in the Workplace

"If I need a favor at four o'clock in the morning, whether it's a quick loan, a shoulder to cry on, a sleeping pill, bail money or just someone to pick me up in a car in a bad neighborhood in the driving rain, I'm definitely not calling up a fellow writer. I'm calling my sous-chef, or a former sous-chef, or my saucier, someone I work with or have worked with over the last twenty-plus years."
-Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential

Our prep cook called in sick all weekend. This wouldn't be a problem if she didn't do this all the time.

Plus, our other prep cook decided to change his schedule and now he doesn't work weekends anymore, either. Of course, he informed our kitchen manager last week, but the manager never told anybody before taking the weekend off. Basically, it was a really hard, busy weekend at the restaurant that could've been avoidable if 1. Our prep cook was considerate enough not to call in every time she sneezed, 2. our other prep cook had given fair warning before changing his availability, 3. our supervisors actually reprimanded employees for this behavior, or 4. our kitchen manager gave us a heads up before abandoning our understaffed kitchen for our busiest weekend in months.

I should be graduating in less than a year, and at that point I will be (I hope) through with restaurant jobs for good. So why do I let my job, my temporary job, bother me? Do I care too much? Obviously, mediocre employees can get away with practically anything without consequence, so what's stopping a good employee, like myself, from calling in for a weekend?

In the entire time I've worked there (it's been about a year and a half), I've never called in sick. I went home early once, but considering that it was either that or puke all over the flat top grill I think I made a wise choice. Imagine the smell of sizzling vomit.

One morning I went in with such a wicked hangover that I had to leave the kitchen to puke every 15 minutes, but I still came to work. I had one coworker who seemed to call in sick whenever the Cowboys played. It took months for him to get fired.

One of these days, I'm hoping this ultra considerate attitude towards work will one day be pay off. It helps to believe in Karma.