Internet rallies around employee after manager used them as a scapegoat by assigning unfamiliar task

Modern jobs require individuals to be adaptable and learn the varied list of things on the job. While some organizations may have training programs, they cannot fully prepare a person for all the responsibilities that will come with a position. Most of the time, you end up learning on the job and making a few mistakes, but it all works out in the end. Reddit user u/purpl3picl3 shared their story involving a boss who wrote them up for doing a job that they were not trained for. 

The author starts by stating that they are a lower-level employee at their workplace. Their initial impression of the supervisor was that he was "pretty chill." So, when he asked them to fill in for a position temporarily, they did so while informing him that they were not trained for the job and didn't really know what to do.

Upon hearing this, the supervisor insisted that they do whatever they could for that day and that it was "fine." Reflecting on their helpless situation, the author wrote: "Well, I don't even have a login for the computer that I was supposed to use, so it was hard to work around that, but I did." The author ended up doing what they could but eventually made a mistake. Their supervisor, who was initially aloof and insisted that it "wasn't a big deal," wrote them up and conducted a disciplinary meeting. The user was later informed by the supervisor that they would not be paid extra for their shift.

Realizing that they had to ensure this would not happen again, they explicitly stated in a write-up that the user would not work for the same position unless they got higher pay and formal training for the post. Seeing this, their employer called them back for another meeting where they stated that the author's demands were "unreasonable" and that they should just "follow instructions in a military manner without pushback." The author writes, "I feel like I wasn't wrong nor was I rude to them. I just expressed that I wouldn't take liability without benefits and they are upset at that."

In a subsequent edit to the post, the author mentioned that their mistake was not a big deal. They also said their supervisor spoke to them very harshly in front of coworkers, which is unacceptable. Individuals on the platform stood with the author's decision to demand higher pay and proper training as it was the fair thing to do. u/Shasty-McNasty commented, "Imagine writing someone up who covered for you. That guy sucks." Other military personnel on the platform pointed out that orders were not blindly followed.

u/TheLurkingMenace clarified, "Okay, first of all, nobody in the military can get away with saying they were just following orders. If someone orders somebody to do something illegal, there's going to be pushback. If they order them to do something they aren't qualified to do, there's going to be pushback. Which brings me to the next part: If it's not your job, you're not allowed to do it. And finally, you're not in the military. As a veteran, I feel insulted by the suggestion."