I apply for a front desk position at a hotel in town, and I receive a call back fairly quickly. I go to the interview, and it takes about twenty minutes for the owner to get to me, which I will forgive as the interview before mine went over its time. We do the usual questions and answers, and then he hits me with this question.
Owner: “Do you like gossip?”
I’m taken off guard by the question.
Me: “No? What do you mean?”
Owner: “I mean talking about your bosses and your coworkers, spreading rumors, and such.”
I’m incredulous; if someone likes to do that, they’re not going to admit it!
Me: “No, I really don’t like that.”
He continues on. I mention noticing that the hotel’s restaurant seems to be indefinitely closed. His response?
Owner: “Nobody wants to work anymore.”
Red flag number one!
Owner: “So, I’ve been trying to fill several positions since February.”
It’s June. Red flag number two.
Me: *Cautiously* “So, what happened for you to require that many openings?”
Owner: “Thank you for asking! It got toxic. The morning shift has gotten toxic. I work in my office, as there’s a lot of paperwork I have to do as the manager and owner. Well… this girl, the shift lead, started to keep the other employees from seeing me, telling them that I don’t care for them, that I don’t want to see them, making it all toxic…”
This goes on for a little while, repeating several times and looping back to how this girl kept making things “toxic”.
Owner: “…by the time I realized how bad it was, it was poisoned. I had to clean house, and I fired all of them.”
Yiiiiiiiikes.
I’ve decided that I do not want this job.
Me: “That’s terrible.”
Owner: “I’m glad you understand. You see why I don’t like gossips? It ruins things and poisons workplaces. It makes everything toxic.”
The interview wrapped up shortly after this little spiel, and I left quickly, passed the closed restaurant, and had a reflexive wince at the word “toxic” for the rest of the week.
Related:
This Is Why “No One Wants To Work Anymore”