Truely Stupid Idea

One of my coworkers, Diana, the Jack Johnson fan, is working her last day here at the company. About 25 of us went to lunch at India House today including the head of our IT department.

As part of the celebration (is that the right word?) Diana brought in a bunch of coffee cakes this morning. As I found out at lunch, she originally had wanted to bring in a large sheet cake. The icing would have had a design of a sinking ship with life boats floating away.

To review, we are a company that has just been purchased and are going through a process of consolidating jobs and functions. People are losing their jobs as the integration continues. As managers meet in secret to choose software systems for the scrap heap, programmers that support them are sitting on pins and needles. And Diana thought this would be funny?!? She was told by a friend not to do it. That people would not find in humorous. She asked the head of our IT department if it was OK. He told her out-and-out, "NO!"

There are a few of us, those that have worked elsewhere and have been through this kind of thing before that would laugh at this kind of joke. But many employees are going to take it hard. Management, trying to keep a base of employees to "keep the lights on," don't want this kind of symbolism in the office.

It was a truely stupid idea. The bridges not only would have been burned, they would have been blown to smithereens.