Performance Transgressions
77
entire rack of recently cleaned glass flasks is cracked and needs to be discarded. You meet with your lab tech to find out what happened, and your discussion sounds something like this:
>> Louis, can you come here for a second? Look at all these flasks. They’re all cracked right down the middle. Do you have any idea why that may be the case? [No, I don’t know what happened and have been meaning to tell you about that.] Well, tell me how you handled them: These have been already run through the autoclave, right? [Yes.] Okay, so walk me through your steps. [Well, when the autoclave was done, I took them out like you told me and placed them on the counter. I then filled them with distilled water in preparation for the next round of experiments. Before I knew it, some crack lines started forming, and now they’re all cracked.] Oh, okay, I get it. Let’s review the three-step process in sterilizing instruments and flasks using the autoclave machine. First, you wash and scrub the instruments and flasks by hand. Then you use the ultrasonic cleaner. Finally you sterilize them in the autoclave machine. Is that clear? [Yes, Paul—that’s exactly what I did.] Okay then, I guess we should add a fourth rule: You have to let the glass flasks cool off before adding water or other cold liquids to them. In this case, you went to fill up a flask that was hot out of the machine, and the glass cracked. If the glass is hot to the touch, then cold water or roomtemperature liquids will crack it. Does that make sense? [Yes, it does. Sorry, I should have realized that.] No worries. As long as you’re clear on it now, Louis, then we’ll be fine. Be careful discarding those broken glass flasks and order a dozen new ones. Just make me a promise: We shouldn’t have to have this kind of conversation again. Does that sound fair to you? [Yes, it does, and we won’t. I promise.]
You just can’t think of everything as a manager. In this case, you didn’t realize that a younger member of the workforce may have never run the dishwasher at home or realized that adding cold liquids to hot glass could cause it to crack. No harm done. You diagnosed the problem, reviewed the rules with the employee, and added a new one just to clarify things in the future. You can pretty much rest assured that your physics lesson will be taken to heart, if for no other reason than to avoid embarrassment—unless the breakage occurs a second time. In the case of recurring negligence and thoughtlessness, a written warning may be warranted.