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Ask Amy: Terminated employee terminates baby gift

Amy Dickinson, Tribune Content Agency on

– Perplexed Present-giver

Dear Perplexed: My first thought is that “Jo” is in a spiral, and might suddenly be very worried about finances. It is not necessarily rational for Jo to believe that reclaiming this $20 will substantially affect the outcome, and yet when your employment situation has suddenly changed, immediate choices are not always rational.

My next thought is that Jo is hurt and bitter. Hurt plus bitter equals petty. And yes, this person’s pettiness is out of line. Pettiness always is.

Of course this will affect your opinion of your former coworker, and yet my experience tells me that you will almost never regret cutting someone some slack, especially when they are hurt and acting out.

Think of it this way: once slack is granted, you can always “de-slack” later, based on the person’s subsequent behavior.

When offering a job reference, you should only comment on your specific knowledge of that person’s job performance.

 

You don’t know why Jo was terminated, but to use this episode as a reason to refuse a recommendation would, in my opinion, also be petty.

Dear Amy: A close cousin of mine just got her first dog (after a lifetime as a cat-person).

I’m very happy for my cousin because honestly, this pup is definitely adorable, well-behaved, and an all-around cutie.

When she first got the dog, we were hosting an outdoor picnic and she asked if she could bring her pup. Naturally, we said yes. Her pup charmed everyone and the visit went very well. After that, we hosted another (very small) event on our porch. Pup showed up and again, the visit went fairly well.

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