This one is on me. FREAKING out...

[erik316wttn]

I'm on medication for anxiety, but it's not helping. I'm seriously losing my shit over here. Probably for no reason, but I need some reassurances...

I'm a front-end supervisor at my retail job. Sometimes we are tasked with putting display model furniture together in our down time. Usually the service desk person does this, but occasionally the CS or a cashier is asked to do it.

Anyway, our desk person was doing it last night. A friend came in to look for her about 2 hours before close, and I thought nothing of it at the time. I puttered around, and then came over for a bit to help her assemble the dresser. Her friend (not an employee of the store) was helping her, and I did say "She shouldn't be doing that. She's not a paid employee and there's liability issues." I helped for about 15 minutes before I had to start my closing duties. Apparently, after I walked away her friend went right back to helping her assemble the dresser. One of the girls in apparel notified managment that S (the desk girl) had her friend over the last 2 hours of her shift. They were talking and stuff, but S got her work done and no customers were ignored.

Our closing manager last night, J, came to me after the store closed and said "Were you not aware that S's friend was here for more than 2 hours tonight and helped her assemble furniture?" I told her that after about 815 or so I wasn't paying much attention to what was going on at the desk because I was getting the rest of the front-end closing duties done. But you can see the desk clearly from the front end. I just wasn't paying attention. I pretty much told her this and she said "It worries me that her friend was here for 2 hours and you didn't even notice."

There was a liability issue there for sure, and I should have followed up on it. I didn't really think about it after I walked away at 815, and I should have been more diligent. If S's friend had gotten hurt in some way that would have been a BIG TIME liability issue.

The whole thing makes me look pretty bad, I'll admit. I'm just hoping I don't get written up for it or anything like that.

I know that my reaction is probably not justified, but anyone with an anxiety disorder will probably understand. Talk me down.

[It's me]

I don't having anxiety disorder, I but I can relate to messing up and then worrying about it.

I came across this recently, and it might provide some relief for you:

http://thebossshow.com/2014/02/26/hardwiring-happiness/

[EricKei]

It doesn't sound like there's much you could have done about the friend, short of throwing her out (which would have been kinda extreme), as it sounds like she literally waited until you were out of sight and immediately went back to assembling the item. Especially as I kinda doubt that most stores keep liability waivers handy for people to sign. Whoever bought the dresser (if any) really should have done it at home if she wanted to do it herself.

[erik316wttn]

I mean, I DID notice the friend there after I had come over. She was talking to S, but S was still getting all her work done and customers weren't getting ignored so I let it slide. However I didn't see the friend over there assembling furniture again after I told her to stop.

[cindybubbles]

If she's a non-employee doing employee work, then why don't you just hire her?

[erik316wttn]

Then I think the only foul here is that you let her stay. Most work places have a rule concerning friends visiting while the employee is on the clock. It's one thing to come and shop, but another thing entirely to hang around during the rest of the employee's shift. I've actually been the employee telling the friend to come back at the end of my shift as I've got work to do and I can't really do that and hang out at the same time. But that's me.

Yeah, I probably should have done that. I've been distracted, as we've got our 2nd child due in 19 days. I haven't been myself at work lately.

[MoonCat]

Heck, from my perspective you didn't do a thing wrong! You told her that her friend shouldn't be working on the furniture with her, and you had other work to do, which you did. Physically shoving someone out the door is also a liability issue, so you went as far as you could. It was up to your co-worker from that point on to make sure her friend didn't help her with the furniture.

[erik316wttn]

Got talked to today about it. Apparently they're kicking it upstairs, so to speak, and getting corporate employee relations involved, regarding S. The front-end manager talked to her, and apparently she doesn't understand what she did wrong or how it possibly could have been a liability. She made the points to me that I should have had the friend leave (or told management about it) because it looks bad to customers and other people who work there (S has her friend with her... why can't I have mine, etc?). Both are valid points that I agree with and concede. I was mainly looking at it from a "shit is getting done" standpoint.

She also talked to S before me, and she said that S didn't mention at all that I said anything to her. I also was not as assertive here as I should have been. I said it once, then transitioned to "ok, what step are we on?" in almost the same breath. Saying it that way didn't give it the sense of urgency that it needed, and I'll again concede my bad there. I also should have followed up.

She said she wanted to talk to me before she went to corporate, and I asked, and she's just going to corporate on S, but she's including my statements. So if the corporate punishment person decides to be a dick that day, I could still maybe get a writeup or something.

Lesson learned, and I feel like a huge idiot.