Pongo Resume

Yesterday, in what has to be the most dramatic, non-violent, public job resignation ever, JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater dropped a few F-bombs over the loudspeaker, grabbed a beer from the galley, engaged the inflatable emergency chute, slid down to the runway, hopped in his car, and drove home.

Is that cool, or what? I know it’s not really cool, but c’mon—haven’t we all had days at work when we would have exited via the emergency slide if we’d had one?

The straw that broke the camel’s back for Slater, apparently, was a run-in with an obnoxious passenger who unapologetically hit him in the head with her overhead luggage. Of course, stories are now running rampant about all the possible stressors in Slater’s personal life that might have pushed him to the brink. Again, I think we can all relate. Maintaining control and professionalism on the job can be mighty tough when you’re facing a double-whammy of drama at home and at work.

Slater’s flipout will undoubtedly cost JetBlue money to replace the emergency slide, retain lawyers, and hold lots of meetings to reevaluate their employee screening processes—but they’re getting tons of publicity for their money.

And I must confess, I kind of appreciate Slater’s stylish sayonara. Say what you will, it beats the hell out of another horrific workplace shooting.

Have you ever had a time at work when you wanted to act out just as Slater did? Share your story below.

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OK, now I know for sure that my first career (in HR management) has left indelible impressions on me, because I just can't see the fun or coolness of this guy's exit.

I just think it's sad that he let himself get to the breaking point and now will do....what? Who's going to hire him? He showed extraordinarily poor judgment and lack of restraint, in a job that requires very good judgment and a lot of restraint, and everyone knows about it.

I also think it's depressing that so many of us can relate to his rage because there are so many jobs that are pretty hard to take day in and day out - abusive customers, ridiculous rules, impossible quotas, long hours, etc.

And as you said, compound that with personal stressors, and you've got a real pressure cooker.

Slater took a fantasy that many of us have and, unlike most of us, actually played it out. It's fun to see someone else take the risk and the heat. But I'm guessing he didn't plan to do this when he woke up yesterday morning, and I'm wondering how he's feeling today about it.

Maybe he'll get his own reality show out of the deal - weirder things have happened.

@Heather Mundell

You're right,of course, Heather, and I should have added a large disclaimer saying: DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME IF YOU VALUE YOUR CAREER!

Because the fact is, Steven Slater is a household name right now. He's at about minute 13 of his 15 minutes of fame. He's the people's anti-hero of the day -- or at least of yesterday.

He's also charged with some serious crimes that could result in jail time.

He's also a 38-year-old man with 20 years of experience as a flight attendant who's now unemployed (and possibly unemployable) in his field.

So yes, it is sad for him that he became so desperate that he chose that route, and dug himself into a pretty deep hole.

He'll probably make the rounds of the talk shows and make some money that way, but long term, he's probably in trouble.

But boy, he gave a lot of people a vicarious thrill when he grabbed those brewskis and threw himself down that inflatable slide!

Thanks for a great comment!

Julie

I think the guy had spunk doing what he did,the gal pissed him off, but how can someone fire him for that, He had a bad day... and it started with the obnoxious [passenger], those things happen,dealing with the public every day and having a professional attitude every single minute is very hard to do i give the guy a medal because he got the stress out and luckily it didnt happen when they were in the air and something even more devastating happened,you should not have to put up with people when they act like an ass to you. Its your job to keep them safe from getting killed but its not your job to listen to them when they are obnoxious, he should of stepped back and got away from her when everything had started just to avoid doing what he did, Do not fire him for what he did he acted out just like anybody else would when someone gets pissed,let him keep his job,If he has been there 20 yrs and this is the first case of anything like it then give the guy a medal and a raise dont fire him and let him ruin his career over some obnoxious [passenger] that started it all in the first place..

Jet Blue might be better served spending its money to examine the context in which its employees work.

I often see managers attribute employee misbehavior solely to the employee with no regard for the context in which the employee works. However, research has shown that context has a significant impact on human behavior.

There's a name for this errorneous explanation of the cause of behavior: Fundamental Attribution Error. See here (http://bit.ly/a3T1Uw) for more information.

If more managers were willing to look at the environments in which their staff members operate, we would likely see fewer over the top and even dangerous and deadly flame outs by employees.

I agree with Brian Horvath. The man had a REALLY bad day. The airline should take full responsibility for the therapy necessary to understand why the break down happened. Adding insult to injury by firing a man for acting out is not a cure. What if his issues escalate emotionally? Unless it is defined by a Psychologist his home life cannot define his actions alone or in combination with the job. All jobs have pressure and those in airlines are in a very pressured position. Keeping the safety of others in mind and when those "others" do not give the respect in return responding violently gives cause to some type of reaction. I really believe the airline needs to rebute their intentions, fine the flight attendant in fees (charged for beer and safety equipment) and send him through counseling w/suspension. We need to take more action of understanding core anxieties and anger in the workplace by becoming active in resolving issues and avoiding a replay of the US post office such as the case of the distributor most recently. After all we are only human and "every action causes a reaction."

I think what he did was unprofessional and immature. If they let him get away with it what kind of message does that send to the other employees? and the customers? Some people might not feel entirely safe with a person who's known to snap like that.

In business there are of course guidelines, rules and regulations, behavioral expectancies they want from their employees to make the the experience more pleasant for their customers. You take a scenario of a customer with equally as bad a day/life as this guy. Since she's not on HER job she's expected to react to whatever however. It's his job to respond professionally to please that customer and salvage business. I get it. However business forgets they have employees a man and not a machine. The don't calculate the precise figures of the human condition. What that man did for the airline he worked for will cost them money and business. Some of those people will never fly that airline again because of his actions. A public recognition of his release from their company is smart business. And it was every bit as correct for Steven Slater, a 20 years served human being to respond to the conditions of abuse he experienced that day the way he did. That passenger is alive today, without having prior knowledge of Mr. Slaters emotional condition that day. With the world we live in customers should be on alert to the fact that nothing is impossible and anything can happen. Mr. Slater did what he felt was neccessary for his sanity. To save mine I don't know I wouldn't do the same.

@Everyone Above

Thanks for these excellent and thoughtful comments.

Now that the brouhaha has died down, I think we're all able to look at the situation more objectively and realize these kinds of incidents don't happen in a vacuum. It seems like there was a perfect storm of stress building for a long time, and for Mr. Slater finally erupted. Fortunately, he didn't take anyone down with him.

--Julie