Was this a touch insensitive?

Question

OK, we have this temp at my accounting firm named Karen. Today was a really stressful, busy day and Karen was yammering away, and I totally tuned out her blabbling.....After she was finished, she was looking at me expectantly, like she was waiting for my answer. It dawned on my that she had said something important, because I noticed teardrops running down her cheek. I thought back to some of the key words and I remember "terminal and virus" and I realized that she had put a virus on our main terminal. I started freaking out about it, then she said that her pet beaver had a terminal illness from a virus. My bad. Anyway...by this time I couldn't very well take back what I said so I still told her she was fired. Was I wrong, or was I a tad insensitive????

Answer 1

Yes, you were insensitive.

You should also hire her back.

It isn't her fault you were stressed & not paying attention to her. You could have said "not now please, I'm really busy. We'll talk later",  instead of firing her.

Your mistake and you should rectify it.

Answer 2

Assuming this is real, yes you are an insensitive jerk.

Firing someone for your inability to admit you weren't listening puts you right up there with the pointy haired boss.

Answer 3

So you fired her because you thought she said that she put a virus in your company's main terminal.  But then you realized that's not what she said (i.e. you were wrong).  So instead of owning up to your inability to listen to others in the workplace or hiring her back you decided to leave her crying and jobless...

I would say that was both wrong and very insensitive.

Answer 4

hhhmmm i dont know...maybe a tad insensitive but i guess you still have to do your job

Answer 5

Naw she should leave her personal BS at home...

she's just a temp anyhow..I think that means disposable!!!

Answer 6

Uhhhh...YES! That is horrible and more than just a "tad" insensitive. You should go and apologize to her and give her back the job you took away. If you refuse to do this then it just shows your lack of character. Is your pride worth hurting someone like that?

Answer 7

Kay, so put yourself in her shoes. You just got fired after tearfully explaining to your boss that your pet beaver has a terminal illness from a virus. Were you insensitive......YES phone her. Do it right now and explain that u misheard and would be delighted if she would return to work for u  (maybe throw in that u were insensitive (because u were) and that a skill she may try to develop is being concise so that this issue won't happen again)  

Now, what have we learnt today? LISTEN to your employee's even if they do have the tendancy to blab, and dont BLAB because people will eventually tune out and BIG mistakes may happen.

Answer 8

OK, we have this temp at my accounting firm named Karen. Today was a really stressful, busy day and Karen was yammering away, and I totally tuned out her blabbling.....After she was finished, she was looking at me expectantly, like she was waiting for my answer. It dawned on my that she had said something important, because I noticed teardrops running down her cheek. I thought back to some of the key words and I remember "terminal and virus" and I realized that she had put a virus on our main terminal. I started freaking out about it, then she said that her pet beaver had a terminal illness from a virus. My bad. Anyway...by this time I couldn't very well take back what I said so I still told her she was fired. Was I wrong, or was I a tad insensitive????

Answer 9

Nobody has a pet beaver. Quit making up ridiculous stories and get a life.

Answer 10

not wrong at all talkers and whiners need not to work in legal field...that's more for creative liars

Answer 11

you were neither wrong nor insensitive!!

If only I had a penny for every time I fired someone who wouldn't stop waffling on about their beaver problems.....

Answer 12

You were on the right, she was not hired to talk about her pet, right? Beaver as a pet? Maybe her husband was the beaver she was talking about? I mean I have seem some husbands that do look like beavers.

Answer 13

Pet beaver?  Who keeps beavers as pets?  If it was soooo busy and stressful, then she should not have been yammering away at you.   I would have not kept her working in my office either.   People have to understand when to talk and when not to.  This is why you use temps, so that if someone does not fit in, you can move on to the next person.