Have you ever been reprimanded for doing the right thing?

Of course, several times.

One night (back in 1990) when I was in the Army and on duty (officer in charge) of a huge medical research building. At about 3 in the morning an old man was stuck in the elevator. The building engineers and fire department couldn’t get the man out (without destroying the elevator doors).

I called a local 24 hour elevator repair company. They got the man out of the elevator quickly and fixed elevator’s malfunction. I got in trouble because I authorized Amy money without proper consent from the comptroller.

The comptroller was home in bed. I was “in charge” so I did what I thought was the right decision.

I knew nothing about elevator except that one was malfunctioning with an old man inside. The elevator was stuck but was it capable of falling? I only knew that I had to get that old man out quickly.

Got no thanks, just ridicule and derogatory counseling.

I’m guiltier of saying the right thing more than doing the right thing.

@gondwanalon That certainly sounds like the military to me!

Ooo! I have a story!
This involves a coworker named George S.
Back in the middle 80’s, George worked for the phone company as a maintenance splicer, working gas pressure and cable locates. George would open manholes and try to track down air leaks caused by old or poorly assembled splice cases.
Anyway, he was set up on a manhole in the #2 of 4 lanes on Folsom, a major street in San Francisco, which heads straight downtown. This is a one way street.
While he was standing at the top of the manhole, he saw an explosion from a van approaching him.
This unmarked van, which was Government, was improperly transporting explosive gas. The tanks were rolling around on the floor of the van, rather than being secured standing up. One of the takes rolled into another, causing the top controller to crack, releasing explosive gas all over the floor of the van. The driver, unaware, was smoking a cigarette. He threw the butt to the floor, igniting the gas, and blowing the driver out of the vehicle. The van, now driverless and on fire, continued down the street towards my friend George.
George was an ex-Marine. He ran alongside the van, jumped in, and stopped it. The driver ran up and screamed for him to exit the vehicle, because it was on fire, and had lots of explosive gas tanks inside.
George kept his cool. He ran to the back of the burning van, opened the doors, and jumped in, and began throwing out all the tanks.
When he finished, he jumped out of the vehicle, and the fire department put the fire out.
George saved a major catastrophe from occuring. Imagine that van, heading straight for the financial district, hitting a building and exploding. George suffered some burns on his eyes, but he was able to return to work.
When the Company found out, they suspended him for behaving recklessly in a dangerous situation. They said he should never have gotten in the van to stop it, and never have removed the tanks.
Suspended!
Then the newspapers got wing of it, and suddenly the Company changed its mind. They gave George a bronze bravery award (wonderful, but only 3rd rate!).

^^ No good deed goes unpunished!

Many times. I also learned it is better to ask for forgiveness on an act of commission versus omission.

One such experience was when I was heading up a project and placed an order for a couple hundred thousand dollars of computer equipment needed to keep the project moving. The equipment came, I met the deadlines, and continued a very successful project going. I didn’t have the approval level needed for that $$$ line. My SVP called me into a meeting to review. He was a loud and boisterous type. He called me on the carpet about it. My only retort was that he was out due to a family emergency and I forgot to discuss when he returned. In closing he thanked me for keeping the project going to well. It was him that told me that he would rather call me out on an act of commission versus omission and putting the project in jeopardy.

Yes I can’t think of anything at the top of my head right know but I’ll put something on this thread when it comes to me. My brain won’t work right now.

You know what they say, no good deed goes unpunished.

Some things are better left unsaid. It doesn’t matter if they’re good or bad…

You don’t always know what the right thing is until after the event. I mean what sort of counselling would @gondwanalon have got had the old man died in the lift?

@flutherother Of course I can not speak for @gondwanalon but I know if it was me and I did nothing to save the old man and he died, I would have felt a LOT worse. Doing what he did and saving the man was a risk I would have taken any day of the week! They could have taken my job after that, I would have walked away knowing I made the right move.

I lied.
I cheated.
I bribed men, to cover the crimes of other men.
I am an accessory to murder.
But the most damning thing of all: I think I can live with it.
And if I had to do it all over again, I would.

@ragingloli You’re a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

@flutherother and @Dig_Dug Pretty sure that I would have been in far more trouble by doing nothing. Of course I documented every step that I made include a timeline of all steps I made. I also included my concern for the old man. He said that he was OK but looked pathetic sitting on the floor. I worried that he may have a medical condition or need to go the the bathroom. Most of all I wondered what the structural integrity of the elevator was.

This situation is so consistent with my experience in the US Army. Whenever I did something that was above the expected or commendable it was dismissed. When I just did my job as expected then it would be blown way out of proportion and I’d be given some sort of award.

(I have stories of outrageous and unbelievable US Army waste and abuse).

^^ Catch-22

@gondwanalon I hope you don’t mean abuse as in people do you?

“Imagine that van, heading straight for the financial district”.

Should have put something on the accelerator pedal.

@Dig_Dug waste and abuse of money and resources. The huge medical research building was scheduled to be vacated within a year and demolished in 2 years. Nevertheless a multimillion dollar computer system (that included fiberglass cables strung through every aspect of the sprawling 5 story building) continued to be installed while scaling down for closure. Also within just a few months of closing the facility a new million dollar ventilation system was installed (including a huge blower that put on the roof by a helicopter).

The rationale: the contracts were approved and payed for years earlier. That’s ridiculous and asinine. The leaders that OK’ed the contracts should have negotiated a reasonable settlement and recovered some of the money. I call that criminal waste and abuse.

Today there is no sign or indication that that huge medical research institute ever existed. What’s left are my memories and grassy field.

On the first day that I reported to work there I asked how many people worked there. “Oh about half” was the reply. HA! Funny joke I thought. It turned out to be true.

^^That is such a waste and totally uncalled for.

A friend came on to me and I pushed her away because I was in a relationship. She called the cops and ghosted me. She also convinced my girlfriend that I was cheating on her. They both got no contact orders through the university. Even though I left them alone.

They couldn’t give two shits that I was in pain and falling apart.

They turned their backs on a friend.

I guess that after 23 years I am finally in the next stage of grief. I just don’t know what stage I am in. It keeps restarting over and over. It’s definitely a key to my deja vu/time traveling, mental issues. It’s left me permanently disabled, and on medication for the rest of my life.

Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.

@RedDeerGuy1 I hope you are talking to someone about this. I just seen someone yesterday and it helps a lot to talk about these things to others that can help you. You can not do it alone. Trust me I know grief and it is the toughest thing to deal with and I don’t know if you ever get “over” it nor am I sure that you are suppose to. The best thing we can do is move on as best we can because those that do care for us would want us too. I speak from the heart.

@Dig_Dug I am seeing someone, and I just now figured some of it on my own. I will bring it up with them next Tuesday.

That was how I lost my full-time job that I had about 6 years ago. Unfortunately, I wasn’t protected by whistleblower laws because the person wasn’t doing something illegal, but was technically going against company policy. Unfortunately, the upper echelon chose to ignore it. But you want to know something funny? A few years after I left, because I know somebody who still works there and is still privy to things going on, the same guy who was their sweetheart and was breaking all the rules? He screwed them over big time! And every time I think about that, I just laugh and laugh!

@LifeQuestioner lol, nice!

@Dig_Dug I am speaking to a counselor in 22 minutes. Will update after.

@Dig_Dug Update Psychologist said that too much time has passed to do anything legal. Which is great because It is too late for my ex-friends to do anything legal to me as well.

@RedDeerGuy1 Thank you for that update let’s call that a WIN! At least you’re safe from them coming at you! Now you can start to heal and put all that behind you. I wish you luck, no not luck, I wish you happiness and joy! (((HUGS)))