Fellow employee. What would you do?

[kodydog]

Thursday morning before the holidays the boss hands me a wing chair and says it needs to be done by tomorrow. Busted my tail and by 1:00 Friday it was done. Springs tied, all new padding, sprayed the legs, the works.

Quitting time Friday, last day of work until Jan 2. Me and two other employes left at the same time. On our way out we collect our paychecks. I was last and the boss calls me to the side. In his hand is my check and an envelope. One of the other employes noticed and made a comment about me getting a bonus. His last words were, if Ed gets a bonus I'll be pissed. It was. Not much just enough to take the wife out to dinner Christmas night.

The boss could have handled this better but Tuesday morning after the holidays the pissed guy is going to question me. He's our stripper, 24 years old, when he's working he works hard but he also spends a lot of time screwing around, he could work harder. And whenever I get a chance I explain to him what it takes to make money these days. Gotta have a dream, gotta stay focused and gotta work hard.

Question is, when he asks should I simply tell him its none of his business and he should go talk to the boss.
Or should I give him another one of my motivational speeches.
I could get real snarky with him but don't see the point in this.
Any other ideas?

[sofadoc]

Bonuses serve a dual purpose.

1) They are given to reward hard work.
2) They are not given as a reminder of what is expected of them.

Similar to tipping/not tipping a waiter.

Since your boss gave it to you right in front of him, he shouldn't mind if you "fess up" when you co-worker asks you.
Just tell him that the bonus was small, and if he has a problem, he should take it up with the boss.

As for giving him a motivational speech, has he been receptive to them in the past? If so, it can't hurt. If not, I'd say he is the boss's problem.

This is a prime example of why I don't hire anyone. Most employees are like your co-worker. Unless their name is on the sign outside, they just don't give a rip. There just aren't enough kodydogs to go around.

[Allan]

Just tell him that the envelope was to do with a favour you did for the boss
And leave it at that
Let him take it up with the boss if he is not happy

Allan

[JuneC]

I'm with Allan on this one.  You can't deny that it happened - he saw it.  But you can diminish the importance.  What your boss did was put you on the spot.  Not good IMHO.  "Junior Worker" probably thinks you got a grand.  But what's done is done.  Maybe he was trying to motivate this young dude into doing more.  But any type of behavior that he might interpret as gloating would get him more pissed at you than the boss.  Just my opinion.  I'd not say anything at all unless he brings it up and if he does, say just what you said - enough for dinner but not a trip to Bermuda (which would have been VERY nice given how hard you've been working).  Try a little humor if you think that might deflate the situation.

June

[JDUpholstery]

That is standard psychology 101, reprimand privately and reward publicly....its meant to say thanks on one hand, and motivate others on the other hand. If he brings it up, I'd just smile and walk away!

[MinUph]

I also would just walk away. It is really none of his business what goes on between another worker and the boss is between those two. You don't owe him any explanation.

[sofadoc]

Been thinking about Ed's co-worker a little more.
He's 24........stripping furniture at an upholstery shop......works hard at times......but also screws off. And he's PO'ed because he didn't merit a bonus.

By the time I was his age, I was supporting a family with the wages earned from being a full fledged upholsterer. I had already graduated from stripping couches and sweeping the floor before I left my teens.

Maybe the young man is frustrated because the clock is ticking, and he hasn't taken his career to the next level?
Does he intend to pursue upholstery for a living? If not, it's probably time that he moved on to whatever his life's calling might be.
But the "catch-22" for Ed's boss is: No matter how bad you might think an employee is, you can always find one that's worse.

I may be way off with my assumptions in this particular case. But the same scenario plays out every day in Anytown, America.

I'm just always curious about boss/employee relationships as they apply to the stitcher trade, since it isn't exactly a career that young people are diving off into.

[gene]

On a mature and clear thinking day, I would concur with Paul.

1. You are assuming that he will say something. You are negatively impacting your days off with this assumption. Dump the assumption and you won't think about it until, if, the guy comes up to you and asks whatever he is going to ask. Then you can take Paul's suggestion.

Or you can be ready for him with a more immature approach:

a. A motivational speech is great for ticking off 23 year old somethings who spend most of their time wondering why the world hath shat upon them.

b. "Hey, it's not a bonus. The boss pays me to keep his wife happy. You know. Sexually. Wink wink nod nod."

c. "The money's not for me. It's for some friends of mine who did a favor for the boss. The boss had a former employee giving him some trouble so my friends, who like to collect baseball bats, encouraged this guy to stop his harassment."

d. "It's not a bonus. The boss pays me to give you motivational speeches."

e. "It's not a bonus. The boss gave me a loan so I can buy my wife some silicone breasts for Christmas. He wouldn't loan me enough money to also get my girlfriend some fake boobies. So she'll have to wait until next year."

f. "Envelope? Envelope? That wasn't an envelope. The boss gave me a white rabbit! Dude! What have you been smoking?!?"

g. "You Lazarushian-leather Gunga Din!
Though I've belted you and flayed you,
By the livin' Gawd that made you,
You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din! "

Just some thoughts for you. Hope this helps.

gene

[baileyuph]

This is not your problem, keep it low profile and simple:  just say it was no big deal, just something the boss wanted to pass along.

Congrats Kody on your work performance, doing that wing back in the time frame you spoke, deserves a little something from the boss, the young guy would agree, no harm done.

Did you strip the wingback, pattern, cut and sew, then tie springs and complete the whole job?  If so, you know that is blazing speed, even with an easy fabric to work with.

It would take me almost a couple hours to redo the spring base, that alone is a lot of work.  Cleaning all that up, rewebbing, placing the springs, and retying, then burlapping the springs, details, details!

Have another good year!

Doyle

[kodydog]

Maybe the young man is frustrated because the clock is ticking, and he hasn't taken his career to the next level?
Does he intend to pursue upholstery for a living? If not, it's probably time that he moved on to whatever his life's calling might be.
But the "catch-22" for Ed's boss is: No matter how bad you might think an employee is, you can always find one that's worse.

The young man (Sam) moved to Gainesville from Lake Worth South Florida. His father was a foremen for a big construction company pulling down $60 - $70k per year. When Sam graduated high school he followed his fathers lead and joined the company. He was making some pretty good scratch when the bottom in the housing market fell out. This also led to problems between his parents and without getting into too much detail the whole family moved from a nice house in Lake Worth to a two bedroom single wide in Gainesville. The father was unemployed for over 1-1/2 years. Sam and his mother work low paying jobs to support the family. Pretty commendable. He has a serious girlfriend and in my opinion a good head on his shoulders.

He takes my advice seriously. He can see how well I've done compared to some of the other people we work with.

The subject of training upholsterers has come up on the forum a time or two. Last summer the boss closed the shop for a  one week vacation. The other upholsterer asked for an extra week off to visit family out west. No problem except four weeks later we hadn't heard a word from the guy. We needed to get some work out so I showed Sam some basic upholstery skills. Sewing welts, building panels, and upholstering back panels. And the boss didn't seem to mind. One day the boss comes up to me and asks if I know any upholsterers looking for a job. I said no but my stripper would love to work for you guys and we could teach Sam more skills in upholstery. The boss said he trained a guy once to make slip covers. After two years, just when he was getting good, he went off on his own.  The boss didn't want to make the financial commitment to train Sam. Maybe partly because Sam doesn't give it 100%. I didn't tell Sam what the boss said but I stopped showing him how to upholster. And the other upholsterer came back after 5 weeks. So to make a short answer long Sofa your assumptions were spot on.

Gene I'll take your #1 reply to heart. Your others cracked me up.

Its good to have friends in the business to bounce this stuff off of. The shop is closed for 11 days and this could amount to nothing but if he says anything I think I'll just shrug my shoulders and smile.

Doyle, the shop I work has a nice set-up. Sam had the wing chair striped including the springs and all I had to do was spray laq the legs and web and tie the springs. We have a sewer who does all the cushions. On this chair the fabric pattern was a small leaf. Very easy to cut and line up. I upholstered the insides and patterned the cushion for the sewer. When she finished she sent the cushion to Sam who cut new foam and stuffed it.  At the same time I finished the outsides and any other little details. One thing I learned working in a factory was always try to think one or two moves ahead, like a chess match. That way your hands are always moving and you don't waist time thinking whats next.

[sofadoc]

The boss said he trained a guy once to make slip covers. After two years, just when he was getting good, he went off on his own.  The boss didn't want to make the financial commitment to train Sam.

Can't say as I blame your boss there. Our family business tried training a few upholsterers back in the early days. As soon as they thought they knew enough to get by on, they almost always started working out of their garage for customers that they stole from us.

Your boss has a situation that's rare in this biz. Like I said earlier, there just aren't enough "K-dogs" to go around.


Of all of Gene's suggestions, I like "g" the best. By the time he's done scratching his head, he'll have forgotten why he was mad. :D

[west coast]

The boss put you in a lousy spot tell the kid to ask the boss what was in the envelope and see what happens.

[Darren Henry]

The boss put you in a lousy spot tell the kid to ask the boss what was in the envelope

Good call.

Our family business tried training a few upholsterers back in the early days. As soon as they thought they knew enough to get by on, they almost always started working out of their garage

Just my personal experience talking. After 5 years  and one 50n cent raise I was still $4.00 short of what was promised as a wage and treated like an apprentice but expected to fix all my co-workers mistakes, drive across town and deal with the buildings drainage issues at what ever time of the night etc...and generally do more for less than any of the newer staff. That and the being told to lie to the over charged customers led to my going to work for friends in sign business for a year and then opening my own shop.I won't go into the abuse I withstand from the "piece of work" that currently strokes my cheque, but i will say that I have no loyalty to him or the organization.

On the other hand; I would have laid down my life for my old master when I was making shoes. The money wasn't great , but I was treated with respect,my work was appreciated and I was honoured to be working there.

This certainly doesn't apply to everyone,just seed for thought for those with staff.

[kodydog]

A business will not succeed by keeping their employes down. And anybody who feels their employer is keeping them down must get out as soon as possible.

Truth be known when I was Sam's age I wasn't much different. Just making a little over min wage, not giving it 100%, and not focused on any one direction I wanted my life to go.

The cool thing that got the ball rolling in the right direction. I met my wife and we moved to Hickory NC. I got a job as an apprentice upholsterer. Working in a factory I could see the guys and gals who were making the big bucks. Driving the nice cars and living in the nice houses. And I watched them. These guys were fast, knew all the different styles of furniture and didn't take those extra cigarette breaks like some of the other guys. And they were going to the furniture collage to learn other skills like management.

I immersed myself in the furniture industry. Over six years I worked at 3 different factories each one a step up. The last working for Century building wing chairs and recliners. At the same time taking some interesting classes at the furniture collage.

The other upholsterer at work spends most of his time complaining how rotten his life has been. He lives with his wife in a camper on a piece of property with no electricity and no running water. He blames his lot in life on his parents, the government, his kids, society etc. The boss put him on piece work because he just wasn't getting the work out.  I've seen a time or two when he needed to make a little extra money and he does know how to bust it when he wants. To hear him talk hes always just around the corner from his next big investment. An "if only" attitude. My advise is always the same, start here, start now. The place I work has a ton of furniture waiting to be done. The guy could potentially work 50 hours a week, he works 35.

My point is life is what you make it. When you find yourself in a bad situation make plans to make it better. Always keep your eyes open for that next opportunity but start where your at now.

[sofadoc]

Truth be known when I was Sam's age I wasn't much different. Just making a little over min wage, not giving it 100%, and not focused on any one direction I wanted my life to go.

We probably all were to some extent.
But in the times that we live in now, I'd be afraid if I were in my mid-20's, and still hadn't chosen a definate path in life.

At that age, I tried a few different careers (aerospace plant, TV repair, restaurant management), but I always had the "safety net" of a well-established family upholstery business to fall back on.
And no matter how hard I tried to pull away from the family business, I always ended up gravitating back to it.
By the mid-80's, I was an upholsterer for good, and never looked back.

It might be time for someone to give Sam the old "#!!*, or get off the pot" speech.

Darren brings up some good points from the other side of the employee/boss relationship. Sometimes the worker feels overworked, underpaid, and most of all, under appreciated.  And no matter how hard he works, the boss still feels like he isn't getting his money's worth.

Ed seems to indicate that he not only feels adequately appreciated, but compensated fairly as well. I can't emphasize enough how rare that situation is in today's society.