Facing Write-Ups for Insubordination and Unsatisfactory Work: Should I Fight Back?

I'm looking for some HR advice. The other day, I was in a meeting with my manager and the CEO. It was just supposed to be to discuss a maternity leave, but it turned into a project planning meeting out of nowhere, and all of a sudden, people were starting to set deadlines for a project I'm heading up. When I said the deadlines were not possible, the room went dead quiet. To try to help things along and problem-solve, I asked if I absolutely had no choice and had to do it in that time frame if I could get a commitment that no other projects would be put on my plate. The answer was a resounding "no." No deadline was set, and the project is being held back until they can figure out what to do—go external or hire a contractor to assist me.

Fast forward 7 days, I get hauled into HR. My manager and union rep are sitting in the room already. It turns out I'm being written up for insubordination for asking "for a commitment that no other projects be given to me if I have to meet this deadline." I got a verbal warning for that.

Secondly, they gave me another written warning for unsatisfactory work. They cited that I prematurely launched a project, forgot to CC my boss on one unrelated email, and made a typo. We have no policies surrounding any of this. In the past, I've been free to launch projects when I feel they are done, and I've never had any issues. Nothing was done differently this time. I completed it to her specifications, although she disagrees… unfortunately, not everything was in writing.

I'm planning to grieve both these through the union, but before I do, I wanted to get some opinions and advice. Am I really in the wrong here? Our union is usually pretty lax about things, but this really seemed to rub them the wrong way, and they are wanting to fight it. Should I? If I fight it, I feel I'll be marked, and my life there will be made very difficult. If this is the case, is there anything I can do about it?

Thanks,

Addressing Negative Perceptions at Work

Probably the way you put up your objection has created a feeling of negativity towards you. A diplomatic and reasoned statement regarding deadlines for projects, without taking your other job commitments into account, would have served the purpose. If you say, "Do not give me any other project while I work on this," it is like dictating terms which the management has not appreciated. You may not have intended to be insubordinate, but perceptions of people vary.

You need to clarify that you had good intentions and did not want to jeopardize quality by taking on additional projects that could compromise work quality due to time constraints. This warning is mainly due to the negativity that has developed towards you. Management can always find loopholes in your work, etc.

Handling the Situation with HR and the Union

I do not advise making it a matter for the union to handle. The union may be using you as an excuse to challenge the management. You should address the issue with HR by providing a comprehensive response and attempt to resolve the matter. The union can only offer limited assistance in this case where you may have inadvertently spoken bluntly (which may be the truth), but human egos are sometimes fragile and easily offended. Downplay the incident and try to smooth over the dispute.

Nathrao is absolutely right on point with his readings of the situation and suggestions. Even though you seem to be located in Canada, I believe that while customs, culture, and practices may vary, human psychology largely remains the same everywhere.

There's a line/precept in psychology: "How the other person responds depends on HOW he/she perceives what you say... NOT what your intent was or how/why you said it." For all you know, you could be screaming your head off, but IF the other person 'perceives' you to be speaking sensibly/softly, his/her response would be pretty smooth as if you were murmuring. Hope you get the point.

Analyzing the Scenario You Mentioned

"...was just supposed to be to discuss a maternity leave but it turned into a project planning meeting..." Maybe you could have bought time by saying you didn’t know or weren’t told about the focus of this meeting? And asked for another day/time? Or even if this meeting had to take place then, you could have heard everyone, noted all the inputs, and said you will get back after working out the details... could have given you time in another way? Just give this a thought.

"...if I could get a commitment that no other projects would be put on my plate. To which the answer was a resounding no." Don’t you realize that had anyone said that you can’t avoid other projects, it surely would have been a confrontational meeting... you know your guys better--did you expect them to say anything but NO? Maybe you put them in a situation where you got the answer YOU wanted?

I agree that this strategy works excellently in some situations... but in this one, maybe you could have responded in a way that would have made THEM say what you wanted without asking? If you really believed that you wouldn’t be able to take up any other projects while doing this one, all you had to do was to lay out the cost and timelines... presuming you use MS Project or any equivalent software... and it will be for ALL to see the repercussions IF you were to work on multiple projects. Hope you get the point.

Sometimes, it helps when anything else BUT THE LIPS do the talking. All the rest of your description of what transpired only seems to be the natural consequential steps that followed from what started in the meeting.

Rewind and Reflect

I would also suggest you rewind back to any possible scenes a few days BEFORE this meeting. I have a feeling something(s) MUST have happened that missed your attention... else I don’t see the reason(s) for your guys calling for a project meeting THIS WAY in the first place. Usually, ANY project meeting is called for with due notice and scope... anyone who has handled projects [big or small] knows such meetings NEED preparation. For all I know, this meeting COULD have been a SETUP?

Options Open to You

Coming to the options open to you, I second Nathrao... the best way is to close it smoothly rather than escalate it... reduce the scope for the Union to further use you.

All the Best.

Regards,
TS

Dear Billy1956, When you raise a query in the public forum, the members need to be given basic information like the nature of your industry, your designation, length of service in the current company, what type of project it was, whether you have been handling multiple projects, why meeting the deadline was not possible, and so on. Though you have written a long post, it is a narration of incident(s) assuming we know everything about you or your background. Generally, members of the labor unions are workers. You appear to be a manager. Even then, are you a member of the union?

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar