What is the best way to avoid responsibility for your own fault - whether it be work, school or relationships? That's right, put all the blame on the other person, and it doesn't matter that this other one is completely not to blame for your own incompetence. The more furiously you insist and the more offended you look, the more effective this strategy will be in the eyes of other people.
Unfortunately, although we were completely joking, of course, many people use this particular tactic, thereby masking their mistakes or elementary laziness. Most often this happens in the workplace, and then there is what we used to call "office drama".
One such office drama is featured in a post by user u/hollandaisecrabcake on the AITA Reddit community, which racked up over 29.7K upvotes and nearly 3.1K various comments. And, most interestingly, the tactics of the employee who made the blunder seem to have been quite successful. However, let's talk about everything in order.
More info: Reddit
The author of the post works in a company where they are a supervisor to nearly 30 other employees
Image credits: faungg's photos (not the actual image)
So, the author of the post works in a company where they are a supervisor for more than thirty employees. The Original Poster and their husband had planned a trip to the beach for a whole week, but the OP, being very prudent, took care about a week before the start of their vacation to ensure that their absence did not affect the work process in any way.
Image credits: u/hollandaisecrabcake
Before leaving for a vacation, the manager warned every subordinate in advance
First, the OP sent out emails to all colleagues that they would be unavailable for a whole week. Then they prepared special instructions for subordinates who were to take over the work with certain clients in their absence. Moreover, the OP specifically shared all the necessary information with each colleague, so they went to the resort in full confidence that everything would go perfectly.
Image credits: u/hollandaisecrabcake
After returning to the office, the manager found out that one of the clients was literally lost for the company due to their subordinate's incompetence
Remember that famous Murphy's law? "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." After returning from vacation, the supervisor found a bunch of e-mails from one of their colleagues who urgently needed files for an important client, and who could not find them at all.
Image credits: Nkulileko Masondo (not the actual image)
As a result, it cost the company that very client, and the blundering manager, trying to justify themselves, simply put the blame on the OP, whom they could not get in touch with for a whole week. The OP was indignant and stated that the colleague had a week before their vacation to find these files, or at least ask them where they are, and that they'd warned everyone in advance that they would not be available.
Image credits: u/hollandaisecrabcake
The employee blamed their supervisor for not answering work emails and calls throughout their vacation, despite being warned about this
The subordinate's reasoning was, as they say, ironclad - as technically that lost client was the OP's, and the blame, in their opinion, lies largely with the supervisor. Moreover, as the OP admits, nobody around even cared that the manager did not bother to collect the necessary files in advance.
Image credits: NEC Corporation of America's (not the actual image)
Most people in the comments, however, sided with the author of the post, as they did everything they could in that very situation
In the opinion of most commenters, however, the OP is not at all to blame for this situation, since they had thought through in detail the transfer of information to subordinates in their absence. After all, it is impossible to foresee all possible ways in which a situation will develop. In any case, people in the comments are sure that the OP's company needs a clearer and more thoughtful system for situations like this.
However, a certain share of the blame still lies with the OP, as a supervisor, some people in the comments are convinced. After all, the manager is there to make sure that the employees are efficient even when the higher-ups are not available for any consultation. Although the lion's share of the blame in this particular case lies, of course, with the OP's subordinate.
We are almost sure that you have already made up your mind about who is to blame in this story, and what you yourself would do if you were the Original Poster. So we are now looking forward to your comments, and if you also happened to end up in a similar situation, then your own tale will be most welcome.