When Out Of Office Becomes Permanent

Back in the mid-1990s, I had hired a guy for a senior systems administration role. It was made quite clear in the posted job description, the interview process, and on his first day that this role would be required to be on call a few nights per month on a rotating basis with the other admins. The salary reflected that as well; this was a six-figure position… in the nineties!

He was issued a company laptop and a cell phone for his on-call work that could be done from home. 

As part of the onboarding process, our lead admin wanted this guy to shadow him on his on-call evening so that he could see how processes differed in the off-hours. It was his second day on the job.

That evening, I happened to be working a bit late, and the helpdesk called me.

Helpdesk: “Hi, we have an issue that needs to be escalated to the system admin team. Have we got the right number for the new guy? It’s just ringing and going to a default voicemail mailbox.”

Me: “I’ll call the lead admin to get him working on the issue, and I’ll contact the new guy myself.”

I call and get the same thing, just the voicemail. I try multiple times.

I fish out his employment docs that are all still sitting on my desk and find his home phone number. I call and get about three words out of my mouth when he responds:

New Hire: “Why the f*** are you calling me at home?!” *Click.*

A bit in disbelief, I look back at the paperwork and verify, yes, this IS his phone number, and try it again, thinking maybe he’d mistaken me for someone else. I received a similar bit of vitriol and a hang-up. I contact the lead admin.

Me: “Just calling to inform you that you won’t be having the new guy join you tonight… or any other.”

Lead Admin: “Why?”

I explain.

Lead Admin: *Deep sigh.* “Fine. Kill all of his system access and his door card. I’ll make sure we have HR waiting for him at reception first thing in the morning…”