A company catering to a “Karen” employee is unlikely to thrive. In this case, the Karen lacked real authority, making her impact even more detrimental. In today’s story, OP accommodated Karen’s needs after an accident, but she started missing work without notice. HR noticed this and asked her to attend regularly or go on disability. Karen got disability, but OP hired a temp. When Karen’s disability ended, she came back to work but remained absent and refused duties. OP tried to replace her, but HR sided with Karen after she threatened to sue. OP eventually quit, causing chaos in the department. Karen continued to avoid work and even h*rassed OP after he left, but eventually got fired herself.
Scroll down below to read the story in OP’s own words.
1. OP resigned from a job, and Karen reported him to HR because of it.
2. OP was a director of sales operations at a company where a Karen worked who had a go for weekly physical therapy visits.
3. Karen’s frequent unexcused absences from work, despite accommodating her, led to HR’s concern about the adequacy of her medical documentation.
4. HR advised Karen to improve her attendance or obtain short-term disability approval, which I preferred, as it allowed me to arrange temporary coverage for her duties.
5. Karen found a doctor willing to approve disability, allowing me to hire a temp. Despite rumors of her activities, work continued satisfactorily.
6. Karen returned to work after short-term disability but continued to be absent and neglect her duties. HR agreed to replace her.
7. HR caved to Karen’s threat of a lawsuit, hindering OP’s ability to manage their department effectively. Karen refused tasks, causing further issues.
8. HR refused to allow OP to hire a replacement for Karen. Karen exploited HR complaints, avoided work, and influenced colleagues to do the same.
9. OP called Karen during a busy time, but she claimed harassment to HR. Frustrated, OP resigned to avoid further career issues caused by Karen’s actions.
10. In OP’s absence, sales ops collapsed, causing order delays. A senior VP took over until OP’s replacement arrived, compelling Karen to finally fulfill her responsibilities.
11. About a month after OP quit, Karen called, furious about having to work. She threatened to report OP to HR, even at OP’s new company.
12. She threatened to report OP to a department unfamiliar with her. The absurdity amused OP, who blocked her. Karen was fired, got no benefits, and moved in with her mom.
Now that you have read the story, it’s time for you to see what Redditors had to say about this. Read till the end to see what are other people’s opinions on this. Don’t forget to share your own opinion at the end of this article.
13. HR really dropped the ball here. They let Karen’s antics run wild, and now the whole department’s suffering because of it.
14. This is a classic case of HR failing to manage a problematic employee.
15. It’s unbelievable how ineffective HR can be sometimes. They let Karen manipulate the system and disrupt the entire workplace.
16. This story just shows how HR can be so out of touch with the real issues in a company. They need to step up and do their job properly.
17. This seems to be true.
18. At least someone had a happy ending.
19. They should have intervened much sooner to prevent all this chaos.
20. HR’s mishandling of Karen’s actions is appalling. They should have supported OP and addressed the problem before it got out of hand.
What are your thoughts on this story? What would you do, or how would you react if you were in OP’s position? You know that your feedback means a lot to us; therefore, we want you to share your thoughts in the comment section below. For more such articles, keep visiting Defused. Have a nice day!
