First, we were to take one furlough day in March.

Then, we were to take two furlough days in March.

Then one of the two furlough days was cancelled, and if you had already already taken both, you were to convert one of them to vacation.

Last night I got an "emergency" phone call, asking me to email all the employees in my purview, with the message that if they had converted a day to vacation, they were to change it back to furlough.

I sent out the email from my home computer. Which, I'm sure confused everybody, since I absent-mindedly used my personal email address. But I did sign the email with my name....

So of course this morning I'm getting gazillion phone calls asking what the heck is going on. All I can say is, read the #$%*&^ email. Now you know as much as I do.

It's hard not to be cranky; especially since those of us at my level got talking when the "convert to vacation" came out and said immediately that some employees were sure to file grievances. We could foresee it--why couldn't management think it through also and see the implications and unintended consequences?

This kind of thing happens all the time, as management shoots from the hip. Or at least that's what it seems like. Probably our intermediate managers see what's likely to happen, but those who foresee problems are called Cassandras and troublemakers.

If you want to be promoted, go along with the program and tell your boss what a great guy he is.