If it was any other company in the world, the media wouldn’t even mention this, but somehow Apple fires an employee for truancy, and suddenly it’s front page news. Sure, the employee had an opportunity of a life time, and was able to assist people in need, but bailing on your job without giving them much notice to fill your position is pretty selfish.
I need to state that I’m thankful that a young man took it upon himself to help out in Haiti, and that if presented with the same opportunity, I probably would have taken the same action he did. What looks better on a resume? Apple Genius or Humanitarian who has had first hand experience providing aid in a disaster zone?
But, I draw the line at the expectation that I’d have a job upon my return, especially when I know full well what the corporate policies are of my employer. If nothing else, Apple, Inc. is a bureaucracy, and bureaucracies don’t make exceptions very often. This particular employee may have been acting in a applaudable manner, but what happens when thousands of other employee’s start calling in at the last minute to cancel shifts? A big problem, that’s what.
I don’t support the policy in any way, shape, or form, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last decade it’s that no one owe’s you anything, and unless you’re playing within the rules of the game, you’re on your own. Apple decided to exercise a clause of their contract with employees, and the Apple employee decided to take a chance and see how far the rules stretched. Sadly, the rules weren’t very elastic this time.
