A Gen Z Sleeping Beauty Got Transferred to My Team. My Career [Nearly] Ended.

Gen Z + Gen X + Workplace Politics = Life Lessons

I should have been more cynical.

Jason, a fellow consulting sales team manager, suggested that I need not hire an additional headcount from the market. He can transfer Isabelle to my team.

I raised my eyebrows.

“Why are you suggesting this, Jason? Aren’t you shorthanded? You need all hands on deck. Come on, don’t be an idiotic nice.”

That was me, 3 months ago.

I still harbored human goodwill.

Today… no longer.

Here’s why.

I Hear Snores During Office Hours

“Oh, COME ON!”

That was Alex. He is irritated because he needs a quiet environment to work his best. And he already has headphones glued to his ears.

“I can’t believe this. None of my girlfriends actually sleep during working hours. This princess here is unbelievable!”

That was from Dora, the butch in my team. She has dated multiple girls, but Sleeping Beauty is murdering her patience.

And…

… Putting Dora in a difficult position.

Dora is a Diversity hire champion. She worked hard with our HR director to bring in quality candidates from an untapped resource pool.

She trembles whenever her endorsement is in question.

And this time… everyone is asking how Sleeping Beauty got in.

However, as luck would have it, Angel, the bulldozer alpha female in charge of all deal teams, is coming to my office venue for a bi-weekly meeting.

This is the pretty, go-getter Senior Manager who thinks I’m gayish.

And Angel is well known for intolerance with infractions of professionalism.

She believes in discipline.

Our meeting is due to start in 45 minutes. I called Dora to my office and reminded her about the meeting.

My message is Dora is clear.

“Wake Isabelle up and get her to run an errand. Or send her home. Do what it takes so we look good when Angel is here. You hear me?”

Dora did not reply.

She bolted out of my room.

Even I Ran Out of Luck

I was busy vetting the status update slides before the meeting with Angel.

And while I got busy, Dora got frustrated.

“Isabelle, come on, wake up! Angel is coming! I need you awake! Stop snoring!”

I chuckled.

It was rather funny.

My door was open and I could hear sounds from outside. Never in my working career have I heard desperate vocalizations like these. I heard Dora approaching Alex for help.

Alex got jittery.

“Dora, I’ve got to review my slides before my piece of the presentation. Why are we wasting time on this?”

I did not hear anything after that.

Angel arrived shortly after.

She walked into my room.

“Shall we start earlier?”

I smiled at her. I expected [exactly] this.

“Why not? We are on time.”

Angel smiled as I grabbed my laptop and walked her to the boardroom.

“Exactly. Professionalism is so underrated these days.”

That statement sent shivers down my spine. I hope Sleeping Beauty will not destroy my professionalism on my behalf.

To my surprise, she was nowhere to be seen.

What a relief.

For now.

The Din in the Boardroom

The clock hit 1459 hours.

I was ready to go. Angel shut her laptop after clearing emails. She looked prepared.

“Shall I begin, Angel? I target to finish this session by 330 pm.”

Angel gestured for me to begin.

It was a good day. Our team’s status was good, and we are on track to exceed our Q1 sales target by 8%. Even Alex’s presentation was clean and straight to the point.

10 minutes in and my good fortune ended.

Isabelle, the Sleeping Beauty, walked in.

She did not knock before opening the door. She came in and said this.

“I was in the toilet. Sorry. Where is my seat?”

I shot Dora a dirty glare. She almost suffered from a heart attack. She got up and quickly arrested Isabelle to the seat beside her.

I was unimpressed.

Angel was beyond irritated.

“Aldric, do you mind if we take a 5-minute pause? I want to ask this young lady some questions.”

I returned an embarrassing smile.

Dora knew what was coming. She slumped in her chair.

“Isabelle, what is that patch on your shirt? That one just below your left collar.”

Sleeping Beauty looked up, looked down, and then replied with nonchalance.

“Oh, that’s saliva. I drooled while sleeping in the office.”

75% of Dora is below the table line now.

Angel pressed on.

“And why are you sleeping in the office? Are you sick? Why are you not on sick leave? Is it because Aldric needs you on an urgent deal?”

Isabelle continued her honest ways.

“I was tired, so I took a sleeping break. It helps me freshen up. Anything wrong with that?”

That final sentence was a stab in my heart.

Everything was wrong with that. Everything.

Angel took immediate action.

“Meeting’s canceled. Aldric, please stay back. Everyone else, please leave the room. Dora, can you get Jason to come in? And James.”

James is our HR Director.

He was the first one to arrive.

Angel shot him a death stare.

“Take a seat, James. Make yourself comfortable. You have plenty to explain.”

Jason arrived after James took his seat. They were sitting on thumbtacks.

“Explain to me how Isabelle got in, how she has been performing until today, and why she is allowed to sleep in the office during working hours. Let’s start with you, Aldric.”

I went completely clean. I mentioned how Jason transferred her to my team.

Jason pulled no punches. He said James, the HR Director, assigned her to his team.

James, the poor chap at the receiving end of all these, said the following.

“Isabelle checked all the boxes, Angel. She has outstanding academic credentials, 3 years of experience in sales, and has previously worked in a dynamic setting. I wasn’t expecting her to, ah, openly sleep in the office.”

A dead silence followed.

We could see Angel thinking really, really hard. This is a tricky situation even for her.

Angel has never encountered a junior sleeping in the office because she is tired.

“James, this is a 50–50. We have a part to play in this. We chose her. Let’s do this. Find a professional decorum buddy for Isabelle. Bring her up to speed. And I endorse extending her probation by 2 months.”

No one said a thing after that.

I genuinely thought that was a soft landing.

Of course, the only person who whined was Dora.

“Why me! Why ME!”

Well.

The Close

Managing workplace relationships has become challenging.

Gaps across generations have grown visibly wider.

Gen X’ers expect the young to know how to carry themselves. Gen Z’s believe in being themselves.

I have no issues with both.

But for us to gel in the workplace — We need empathy. And time.

And… a healthy dose of mutual understanding.

Like this story? Hit Subscribe!

Oh, oh, you can buy me a cup of black too! Thank you!