An Open Letter to My Former Co Worker

You should be ashamed of yourself. As management, you were responsible for the overall atmosphere in your department. You abused your position.

I knew that you were prone to tantrums, to little fits of rage and throwing things. On the surface, however, you were funny. You joked and teased and goofed off. I thought that you had come around.

I bought it - hook, line and sinker. Until your entire department decided to tender their resignations. One of them handles the work of our best salesperson. You should have realized, dear sir, that messing with the "Polly Pocket Pit Bull" was not a wise choice.

Polly is extremely protective of her co-workers. Especially those that work without complaint. Gina is one of those people.

Once it was out in the open, your employees felt relief. They felt free enough to share it with me. I was horrified at the descriptions; it all happened under my nose! I work closely with your (former) department; how could I not see what they endured?

I had no idea how bad it was. It was not unlike an abusive marriage; emotional abuse leaves people with deeper scars than a fist ever could. Your former employees may need therapy.

I will gladly work nights and weekends to help them catch up on the paperwork that you refused to do. I will help them research; I will help them retrain. I will help them recover. I will not rest until they are all okay, until they are reassured of their abilities. Until they are convinced that they are, indeed, doing the job they were hired to do.

There is one bittersweet aspect of this change. In order to help this department on the road to recovery, someone was chosen to take your place. This person was taken from MY department. Someone who is gentle of spirit, kind of heart. Yet someone who will not settle for anything less than the best. Betty Boop will do an amazing job with the ashes you have left behind.

I am glad that you were fired. It should have happened a long time ago.