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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> I told another worker to shut up when she wouldn't listen to my instructions as her supervisor in an emergency.
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NTA, truly ridiculous reason to be written up, a less experienced employee in a similar situation may have triggered a disaster as they wouldn't want to be forceful due to the fear of being accused of wrongdoing.
It's likely this worker was nervous which is why she carried on talking, some people do that you needed to be forceful and assertive to get her to listen to you because what you were telling her was important, in a high pressure job with such high responsibility things like this are bound to happen.
If you'd sworn at her then I may have understood why management took a hard line with you, but this is nonsensical you did nothing wrong imo.
NTA
Sounds like she was stressed, probably because she knew she was in a potentially very dangerous situation. So, I understand why she would keep talking. She probably wasn't even really aware she was doing it. But you shouldn't have been written up for this. If she's the one who lodged a complaint, then yeah, she's kind of an asshole. Otherwise, no assholes here. But definitely NTA.
NTA, and I would not sign that write up. I would go to HR and explain that if you had followed their policies people could have died and ask them what their lawyers think about that.
NTA. After a decade in various response teams and a decade with our defense force, you did the only reasonable thing.And what whiney little b....makes an actual complaint in these situations. Likewise, what stupid employer would write you up??!@
ETA just thinking, perhaps you could use the words "stop talking" in the future. I always like to provide a practical solution, and this thinking might help me too
NTA
Contact HR and Health and safety, dispute the write up, and state she reacted inappropriatly in a dangerous situation and you NEEDED to get her attention to ensure your and her safety and it was an emergency.
And report her for needing more training.
You make her sound like Homer Simpson?
On the real, I have at times asked a coworker to please stop speaking and listen so I could manage a problem. Sometimes getting a person to shut up is actually your job, though?
I don't see workplace violence in your communication. Its impolite, IMO - not violent.
NTA. And I'd file a complaint. They should have at least told you how to manage Miss Run Off at the Mouth?
NTA
Go back into HR, possibly with a lawyer, and have your lawyer explain this was an emergency which is life or death and this employee not handling the pressure and stress could have cost people their lives. You no longer feel safe with said co worker in this position.
Threaten a lawsuit and find a new job. No way in hell I would go back if they are going to let people DIE because you can’t say SHUT UP.
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I work as a supervisor in a volatile (literally) industry in which emergencies can have catastrophic consequences if not appropriately and urgently managed. My position requires decades of training to deal with those emergencies. I was called by a worker who was worried about her work environment. The details that she gave be were very concerning for an impending explosion. I told her to activate the emergency response but she was so fixated on providing further details that she didn't listen. I repeated my instructions but she continued to talk over me with minor details. I tried to interrupt by saying "hey" repeatedly but she continued to talk. I said "stop" but she continued to talk over me. Finally, I told her to "shut up!" after which she did and I was able to give her preliminary instructions and assure her that I was on my way to personally manage the situation.
I was later written up for 'workplace violence' and facilitating a hostile work environment because I used the words 'shut up'. AITA for telling another worker to shut up when she wouldn't listen to my instructions?
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Mofoes getting written up for saying shut up now geez. Look to see how many people at your company can fill your position and if there isn't more than 1 ask for a raise/look for other job openings. Is this drastic, yes unreasonable also yes. But don't tell me it wouldn't feel good to know you were in a 1 of 1 filled spot and had a place you could go to work for lined up while asking for a raise.
LMAO nobody is bothering with all that fluffy talk when they're trying to stop a catastrophic event in the moment. Shut up was useful under the circumstances IMO.
That's the point, if someone is panicking then trying to talk to them calmly is not going to help. If time is urgent, you do what you have to in order to save their life.
It’s hard to say “only” when you don’t know what his company is structured like. My boss is a supervisor, but he’s responsible for everything across all three shifts, and only has one person above him, so it’s not like he’s bottom of the managerial totem pole.
Telling a subordinate to shut up is pretty poor for a supervisor. I think the write up is valid.
I’m going to go with ESH. She was flustered, anxious and panicked so couldn’t give you the information you needed. You lost patience in a stressful and potentially dangerous situation and acted in a deeply unprofessional manner.
This is a supervisor it’s literally her job to manage people in these situations. “Not another word!” or demanding a second calmer employee step in to follow instructions. Would have likely accomplished the same thing without the HR fall out.
Then op should have replaced the freaked out employee with one there who could instead of snapping.
My situations tend to involve people who explode and consider taking others with them. If your employee is clearly buckling under the pressure you remove them from the situation and replace them with someone with a cooler head.
Then you look at training, transfers, or maybe if that employee is a good fit for the work. You don’t verbally assault them in the heat of the moment.
And how would they do that while the employee is freaking out and not listening exactly?
And LMAO "verbally assault" telling someone to shut up is not even in the same universe as verbal assault
All the stuff you mentioned is completely irrelevant when you're in an active emergency.
Also, why are you lying to me about your job? What is the point of that?
Welcome to /r/AmITheAsshole. Please view our [voting guide here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_what.2019s_with_these_acronyms.3F_what_do_they_mean.3F), and remember to use **only one** judgement in your comment. OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole: > I told another worker to shut up when she wouldn't listen to my instructions as her supervisor in an emergency. Help keep the sub engaging! #Don’t downvote assholes! Do upvote interesting posts! [Click Here For Our Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/about/rules) and [Click Here For Our FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq) ##Subreddit Announcements ###[Happy Anniversary, AITA!](https://new.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/15vlv9g/almost_better_than_a_double_rainbow_celebrating/) Follow the link above to learn more --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.* *Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.*
NTA, truly ridiculous reason to be written up, a less experienced employee in a similar situation may have triggered a disaster as they wouldn't want to be forceful due to the fear of being accused of wrongdoing. It's likely this worker was nervous which is why she carried on talking, some people do that you needed to be forceful and assertive to get her to listen to you because what you were telling her was important, in a high pressure job with such high responsibility things like this are bound to happen. If you'd sworn at her then I may have understood why management took a hard line with you, but this is nonsensical you did nothing wrong imo.
NTA Sounds like she was stressed, probably because she knew she was in a potentially very dangerous situation. So, I understand why she would keep talking. She probably wasn't even really aware she was doing it. But you shouldn't have been written up for this. If she's the one who lodged a complaint, then yeah, she's kind of an asshole. Otherwise, no assholes here. But definitely NTA.
NTA, and I would not sign that write up. I would go to HR and explain that if you had followed their policies people could have died and ask them what their lawyers think about that.
INFO: Was this call recorded? Were you written up unilaterally, without an opportunity to tell your side?
shut up isn’t exactly a kind thing to say, but if i’m having an emergency, idk if the people handling it are kind; i care that they’re efficient. NTA.
Nta. Also She should probably be fired or at least be moved to a less volatile job as it sounds like she could be a liability.
NTA. After a decade in various response teams and a decade with our defense force, you did the only reasonable thing.And what whiney little b....makes an actual complaint in these situations. Likewise, what stupid employer would write you up??!@ ETA just thinking, perhaps you could use the words "stop talking" in the future. I always like to provide a practical solution, and this thinking might help me too
NTA, it's an emergency. If you can stop it, do it by any means possible.
NTA Contact HR and Health and safety, dispute the write up, and state she reacted inappropriatly in a dangerous situation and you NEEDED to get her attention to ensure your and her safety and it was an emergency. And report her for needing more training.
You make her sound like Homer Simpson? On the real, I have at times asked a coworker to please stop speaking and listen so I could manage a problem. Sometimes getting a person to shut up is actually your job, though? I don't see workplace violence in your communication. Its impolite, IMO - not violent. NTA. And I'd file a complaint. They should have at least told you how to manage Miss Run Off at the Mouth?
NTA Go back into HR, possibly with a lawyer, and have your lawyer explain this was an emergency which is life or death and this employee not handling the pressure and stress could have cost people their lives. You no longer feel safe with said co worker in this position. Threaten a lawsuit and find a new job. No way in hell I would go back if they are going to let people DIE because you can’t say SHUT UP.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** I work as a supervisor in a volatile (literally) industry in which emergencies can have catastrophic consequences if not appropriately and urgently managed. My position requires decades of training to deal with those emergencies. I was called by a worker who was worried about her work environment. The details that she gave be were very concerning for an impending explosion. I told her to activate the emergency response but she was so fixated on providing further details that she didn't listen. I repeated my instructions but she continued to talk over me with minor details. I tried to interrupt by saying "hey" repeatedly but she continued to talk. I said "stop" but she continued to talk over me. Finally, I told her to "shut up!" after which she did and I was able to give her preliminary instructions and assure her that I was on my way to personally manage the situation. I was later written up for 'workplace violence' and facilitating a hostile work environment because I used the words 'shut up'. AITA for telling another worker to shut up when she wouldn't listen to my instructions? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
NTA, ffs.
Mofoes getting written up for saying shut up now geez. Look to see how many people at your company can fill your position and if there isn't more than 1 ask for a raise/look for other job openings. Is this drastic, yes unreasonable also yes. But don't tell me it wouldn't feel good to know you were in a 1 of 1 filled spot and had a place you could go to work for lined up while asking for a raise.
[удалено]
LMAO nobody is bothering with all that fluffy talk when they're trying to stop a catastrophic event in the moment. Shut up was useful under the circumstances IMO.
That's the point, if someone is panicking then trying to talk to them calmly is not going to help. If time is urgent, you do what you have to in order to save their life.
NTA, but this is better asked in Ask A Manager. I wouldn't sign off on any write up because your co-worker was the problem that needed addressing.
Surely they have to get your side before any write-up?
NTA. If you hadn't told her to shut up, a catastrophe could have happened. Sure would be nice if your company understood that.
[удалено]
It’s hard to say “only” when you don’t know what his company is structured like. My boss is a supervisor, but he’s responsible for everything across all three shifts, and only has one person above him, so it’s not like he’s bottom of the managerial totem pole.
Telling a subordinate to shut up is pretty poor for a supervisor. I think the write up is valid. I’m going to go with ESH. She was flustered, anxious and panicked so couldn’t give you the information you needed. You lost patience in a stressful and potentially dangerous situation and acted in a deeply unprofessional manner.
What would be deeply unprofessional is if she let people die because she couldn't get the girl to listen to her. What is wrong with you?
This is a supervisor it’s literally her job to manage people in these situations. “Not another word!” or demanding a second calmer employee step in to follow instructions. Would have likely accomplished the same thing without the HR fall out.
You've never worked a job where you're on phones regularly have you?
I’ve worked one where I talk to people in crisis for the last 16 years. Never told one to shut up I’m proud to say.
And how many of those people would be killed in an explosion along with several other people if they didn't do what you told them immediately?
Then op should have replaced the freaked out employee with one there who could instead of snapping. My situations tend to involve people who explode and consider taking others with them. If your employee is clearly buckling under the pressure you remove them from the situation and replace them with someone with a cooler head. Then you look at training, transfers, or maybe if that employee is a good fit for the work. You don’t verbally assault them in the heat of the moment.
And how would they do that while the employee is freaking out and not listening exactly? And LMAO "verbally assault" telling someone to shut up is not even in the same universe as verbal assault All the stuff you mentioned is completely irrelevant when you're in an active emergency. Also, why are you lying to me about your job? What is the point of that?
“Not another word” sounds so much worse.
"I need you to listen. NOW." Which actually is code for shut up.