I don't visit much of GD in my years on DTF but this is a GD topic I gotta share with you guys. Today, I insulted one of my employees via text by accident. It was meant to go to my supervisor collegue, but I fucked up. I won't try and make this too long if I can, but I'm sure it will be.
I'm a supervisor and have a pretty full on job at times. Anyway, I'm in charge of a lot of people that are all casual so I'm constantly working with new people every year. This one staff started around October but didn't have a particular qualification/ticket needed in the role. For some reason, the people and culture section of my organisation which is a local government sector will still put an employee on the books even without the quals, they just have to be willing to obtain, then it's up to us and we then get in trouble if they then work without it. Anyway this fellow was meant to obtain it in October but he isn't the full quid. Nice guy and does a decent enough job with job work availability, he's filled out the form wrong and just balls it up three times now and it keeps getting sent back and he has no urgency to get it done even though it should be affecting his employment. It got to a point where if a qual wasn't produced, we should have taken him off the roster. Nevertheless he then let it slide again, things got busy and XMas happened and cause shit took too long his application got withdrawn cause of just that, taking too long.
We told him again he would be let go if this wasn't sorted. Anyway, us being the nice guys keep giving him work, and then he was suppose to take the form to my collegue when he worked with him yesterday to sign, he didn't do it of course again, so I was on the way to the work venue he was at today to sign it off and make sure he sends it again. I get a text as I was on the way, telling me he forgot to bring the form. For fucks sake I was getting angry. I got there and said I will try and print one. He was standing outside and I was on the computer looking to print out the back.
Myself and my other supervisor collegue are good mates and work well together, and we always send texts to each other laughing at what the staff do and what we have to deal with, slaging off staff and what they do or how they constantly scew us. Anyone working with casual staff know it's hell at times. I went to send him a text and it said 'XXX is almost as dumb as YYY.' Now YYY is possibly the dumbest sack of shit I've ever had and I fired him a few weeks ago because he was such a dosile dickhead who was shit at his job and couldn't learn or take any accountability for his work performance. For some reason, don't ask me why, I opened up the text from this staff member who was above my collegues name, typed it and sent it.
I immediately realised what I had done and the sheer panic and terror that came over me was something I've never experienced and never want to experience again. I couldn't undo this, and I'm always so careful, how the fuck could I have done that. What do I do. He's standing right outside. I had the worst morning before that today also so emotion, tiredness and carlessness got the better of me. As a supervisor I'm not afraid to tell people what they need to hear, but that just wasn't me and made me instantly feel sick. All of a sudden wondering how I could dispose of the body with blood on my hands, I hear, "I think you meant to send that to someone else mate."
I got up, walked up to him and apologized profusley. Surprisingly he was okay. He said "it's fine mate, I know you've been looking after me and helping me out, I should have done this at the start, I've let you down and I understand it's my responsibility." I replied with comments like "I appreciate that, but there was no need for that and I feel sick to my stomach, and I'm sorry. Any action you want to take against me regarding it, I'll cop it mate, but it's just silly banter between the two of us to get us through the day that doesn't mean anything and to be honest with you, the lack of urgency with this qual has really frustrated us and you know that, hence the text but I still have no excuse for that, you don't deserve that." I also said, "Mate there is no way you could be as dumb as YYY, no one on this planet could and if you were, you still wouldn't be here." He said it was all good, shit happens and he wasn't going to get me in trouble. I told him that wasn't the issue, it's just poor tact and felt dirty for that to happen and how unprofessional I was.
I felt like I let myself down and I always pride myself on having a good working relationship with everyone and a top reputation. This was a sour moment that if North Korea tested a missile launch right in my workplace, I'd be more than happy. Anyway, we had a bit of a laugh and general chat and this guy was so gracious with the way he took it. I could have said a lot lot worse to be honest and he could have taken it a lot worse. I still feel sick to my stomach and have really let myself down. Nevertheless, the guy shouldn't have been making money for these last few months but I have been lenient and helpful and really put my back out for him and covered his ass so maybe that's why he took it on the chin. He also said he found it funny himself, shit, maybe he is as dumb as the other bloke I referred him too haha. My collegue will see him in the morning so I'm praying everything is still okay, the last thing I'd want to do is hurt someones feelings by just being dumb and saying something that's uncalled for and not contructive at all.
Sorry for the long post, but the point of the story is take care when texting and who you are texting, this was the worse feeling ever and would never want anyone to feel it. So tell me DTF, am I a bad person anyway and anyone done something like this?
tl:dr - Sent a text to an employee by accident meant for my supervisor collegue saying he was an idiot. Took responsibilty and he was okay about it, it seems.