By Mary Potter
I am the managing director of a company that makes luxury furniture. Recently I have been having trouble with the staff. There has been a distinct lack of productivity and they seem distracted, especially my two managers. I am a lot older than my staff and I am set in my ways. They do not discuss personal matters with me and I do not feel comfortable talking to them about anything unrelated to business matters. As a result, my sole focus in my company. Anything I do outside of office hours is either work-related or by myself. I am single. I like to watch operas, visit museums and galleries and eat gourmet food. My staff are young, vibrant and have a keen eye for trendy yet classic pieces.
I bought a spy phone and hid it in the office of my manager, Joe Woods. As far as I was concerned, anything to do with my company is my business. What is discussed in that room should be to do with our business or should not be discussed. Work belongs in the office and home life belongs in the home. That is how I have lived my life and it has worked for me so far. I am successful and happy. When there is a problem with my company, I deal with it however I can.
I left early that evening, which is unusual for me, but I claimed to have an emergency dental appointment and hurried away. Joe Woods would be in his office for some time. It was only 4pm. Sarah Burke was also there when I left. It would be interesting to hear their conversation.
I went home, fixed myself a dry sherry and dialed in. I put the phone on loudspeaker so I could listen to what occurred. Joe had our newest piece, the Alexandria Recliner, in his office and I could hear Sarah praising it.
"What a beautiful chair," she said, "I bet we sell hundreds of them."
"We should test it out," replied Joe, a smile in his voice, "while Grumpypants isn't here."
I bristled at that – Grumpypants indeed! These youngsters had no respect. And what did they mean by "test it out"? I soon found out. I had never heard such sounds before or such language! I had to have another dry sherry to stop my hands from shaking. The things they were doing on my recliner! |
