You Gotta Be SPECIFIC

My supervisor used to work in the office of a factory. She sometimes tells us stories from her time there. This is one of them.

One day, management decided they needed to be seen to be supporting their employees’ CPD (continuing professional development). So, they put up a notice in the canteen saying, “If you want to take any courses, we will pay for you to attend them.”

That may not be exactly how it was worded, but the important thing to note is that nothing in this notice suggested that these courses had to be related to their jobs, or indeed to any job.

So, one of the factory floor workers decided to go on a white water rafting course and then insisted the notice meant the company should pay for him to do so.

Amazingly enough, they did! The notice disappeared soon after.