December 20, 2007
Man Fired for ‘Dilbert’ Cartoon Wins in Court
Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, has heard about workers getting into trouble, even being fired, for posting his comic strip but now he has verifiable evidence.
David Steward, who worked as a security supervisor at the Catfish Bend Casinos in Burlington, Iowa, lost his job three days after posting one of Mr. Adams’ strips to the company’s bulletin board. To add injury to insult, Mr. Steward found his former employer was contesting his claim for unemployment benefits.
That was what brought Mr. Steward and his former employer together again before an administrative judge.
Steve Morely, human resources director for the casino, said management at the company found the strip, which compared managers to drunken lemurs, to be “very offensive.”
He added, “We consider that misconduct when you insult your employer.”
For his part, Mr. Steward said he posted the strip after learning the company planned to lay off 170 workers, believing “it would cheer some people up.” He added, “I found it humorous.”
The administrative law judge in the case, Lynette Donner, sided with Steward believing that his putting up the Dilbert comic represented “a good-faith error in judgment.” With the ruling, Mr. Steward will be able to receive his unemployment check.
For his part, Mr. Adams could see how the cartoon would have put Mr. Steward on the wrong side of his former employer. “Most ‘Dilbert’ comics don’t come right out and call management a bunch of drunken lemurs,” he told the Des Moines Register. “So I can see how this one might have been a tad over the line.”
Discussion Questions: Have you seen in the workplace comic strips or other “humorous” material that could be seen as a criticism of management? Do you see this as a firing offense? What is the lesson in this case for other employers?
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Everyone sees cartoons and jokes about bosses, management, big business, etc. If the company is so uptight that they cannot tolerate public view of a comic strip available in hundreds of daily newspapers, they’ve got bigger problems. Organizations, and that includes businesses, benefit when folks feel free to speak their minds. And that includes humor. The Dilbert strip certainly wasn’t racist or sexist. And it sure hit home, didn’t it?
When management looses touch with employees it can lead to some sad situations like this one. If management was so incompetent that it really thought that dismissing over 100 employees was going to “cheer up” the remainder then I think the cartoon depiction was kind. Maybe management needs to spend a little time on the floor and a little less time in the office.
Wow! Who’d want to work at a company where you can’t post cartoons?
And here’s another question: Who has the time to go around reading them all? I manage a group of people in a fairly large organization. There are Dilbert cartoons all over the place. Every now and then I read one or two. I gotta wonder about an executive team that has the time to patrol and/or care about this kind of stuff.
I once had a dress code policy change that I initiated show up as a cartoon on our bulletin board. I took a different approach. I scanned the cartoon, included it in a Powerpoint presentation that I was giving on the topic, and made a point at laughing at it myself…it was pretty funny.
This diffused the volatility of the situation, and allowed me to focus on the reason behind the policy. Everyone understood.
This points to larger problems in the organization as a whole. Any company that is more focused on what is posted on bulletin boards, instead of motivating employees to do the best job they can, has issues with their corporate focus, morale, and OTJ performance issues. Any one person (let alone a group) who doesn’t recognize the value of giving employees enough freedom to not only express themselves, but also to have some tongue in cheek fun, will have greater control issues with other aspects of their jobs.
An interesting survey a couple of years ago reported that over 60% of your customers will go some place else to shop it they think it would be more fun shopping at a different location. After food and housing, we spend more money on fun and entertainment then anything else. Some of the sickest humor I ever heard was in the operating room and critical care units of hospitals. Humor is a way to break the tension and help relieve stress.
Yes, you can possibly go too far at work but in this case, management needed to learn the lesson.
The hearing judge did the company a great favor–gave them some cheap consulting on the fact they need to change their ways.
Laying off 170 people…I wonder if revenue is down because customers quit coming because of the low morale of the employees?
Must be a great place to work. Unbelievable that a boss would over-react so much to this. The next should be to fire the boss and find someone that can relate better to their employees. Has the boss kept his job or does he own the company?
First off, the Dilbert cartoon is a cartoon. The company has to relax a bit and have a sense of humor. Secondly, as has been pointed out, the company would be smart to have a “Find a cartoon to express your feelings day” once a quarter, and invite all employees to submit cartoons that express how they feel the company is being managed. The management of the company might learn something.
With this particular casino, I would fire the supervisor who fired the worker, and hire the worker back as the supervisor. That might fix the problem.
Near the end of my corporate career I noticed some of the senior execs had pictures of US presidents in their office. So I decided to do the same and I put one of Richard Nixon up on the wall. Then the company hired a Democrat CEO and I was told to take it down. I didn’t. My situation was different because I really didn’t need, or want my job.
I’m flattered when I hear that some of my RetailWire comments, critical or praise, are posted on the bulletin boards of some major retailers. Hopefully no one has been fired for doing so. Whether it’s a Dilbert cartoon or a RetailWire comment, often management does like to hear the king has no clothes on.
I have to laugh when I hear about the Dilbert cartoon incident. Management should take a trip down to the warehouse and read what is written about them on the walls in the restroom that the dock workers use. The Dilbert cartoons would then look pretty mild.
As for appealing someone’s unemployment rights, it is often standard practice for an employer to appeal simply on the chance that the former employee does not show up for his hearing.
Agreed. But I also see it as a warning sign to the company. Every company is concerned and trying to develop ways in which to keep their good employees. If someone post this joke, it may be an opportunity to talk about how that person feels truly and what changes could be made to make the place a better workplace. It’s about looking at things through the eyes of negativity or looking at them through the eyes of opportunity.
When you go by a desk and see a sign saying, “This is the best place to work!” you know you’ve arrived as a company.
If you don’t provide an outlet for employees to commisserate, they’ll make one for themselves. Witness “www.retailsucks.com.” Instead of being punitive about it, you’d better take it to heart–if one guy felt strongly enough about the situation to post a comic about it, then guaranteed there are 50 others grumbling loudly to each other. However, the company that fires someone over something like that probably doesn’t have enough emotional IQ to realize that this level of employee dissatisfaction is undoubtedly hurting productivity, and thus financial results.
By the way, I STILL have the Dilbert cartoon on my desk from a past life, where it was completely apropos and something I proudly displayed in the office. Pointy-haired boss tells Dilbert, “A hacker broke into our system and stole our corporate strategy.” Dilbert replies, “Did he post it on the internet? I’d like to read it. I’m also curious about my objectives for the year. Do you have the guy’s email address?” Alas, I don’t think it did any good, but at least I didn’t get fired.
Yes, exactly. A company that can’t tolerate criticism from any corner has much bigger problems than a Dilbert cartoon.
I have always wondered how companies could expect intelligent work from employees it treated like children or criminals.
While the contemporary 24/7 work culture is physically punishing at times, it at least gives those of us in it the illusion of freedom of movement. We may be working all the time–from our houses, our cars, even Aisle 6 at the supermarket–at least we feel like adults, respected for our input, not inmates in a prison.
I think Mary Baum says it best in her second paragraph. This story hearkens back to the 1300s when the reigning monarch would have you executed for treason for such an act of criticism. This smacks of firing for the purpose of setting an example for others. If so, that damage is already done regardless of the judgment in court.
The Dilbert cartoon is blaspheme against the professional and anointed guardians of the hedge funds. If it were not for lemurs like us, who would keep the snakes away from the golden eggs that our associate geese lay?
In this complex age, planning is becoming more and more difficult. It takes longer than ever to decide who to lay off, so drop the name calling when the personnel meeting requires three martinis. We are thoughtful and deliberate, we are not drunk.
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Everyone sees cartoons and jokes about bosses, management, big business, etc. If the company is so uptight that they cannot tolerate public view of a comic strip available in hundreds of daily newspapers, they’ve got bigger problems. Organizations, and that includes businesses, benefit when folks feel free to speak their minds. And that includes humor. The Dilbert strip certainly wasn’t racist or sexist. And it sure hit home, didn’t it?
When management looses touch with employees it can lead to some sad situations like this one. If management was so incompetent that it really thought that dismissing over 100 employees was going to “cheer up” the remainder then I think the cartoon depiction was kind. Maybe management needs to spend a little time on the floor and a little less time in the office.
Wow! Who’d want to work at a company where you can’t post cartoons?
And here’s another question: Who has the time to go around reading them all? I manage a group of people in a fairly large organization. There are Dilbert cartoons all over the place. Every now and then I read one or two. I gotta wonder about an executive team that has the time to patrol and/or care about this kind of stuff.
I once had a dress code policy change that I initiated show up as a cartoon on our bulletin board. I took a different approach. I scanned the cartoon, included it in a Powerpoint presentation that I was giving on the topic, and made a point at laughing at it myself…it was pretty funny.
This diffused the volatility of the situation, and allowed me to focus on the reason behind the policy. Everyone understood.
This points to larger problems in the organization as a whole. Any company that is more focused on what is posted on bulletin boards, instead of motivating employees to do the best job they can, has issues with their corporate focus, morale, and OTJ performance issues. Any one person (let alone a group) who doesn’t recognize the value of giving employees enough freedom to not only express themselves, but also to have some tongue in cheek fun, will have greater control issues with other aspects of their jobs.
An interesting survey a couple of years ago reported that over 60% of your customers will go some place else to shop it they think it would be more fun shopping at a different location. After food and housing, we spend more money on fun and entertainment then anything else. Some of the sickest humor I ever heard was in the operating room and critical care units of hospitals. Humor is a way to break the tension and help relieve stress.
Yes, you can possibly go too far at work but in this case, management needed to learn the lesson.
The hearing judge did the company a great favor–gave them some cheap consulting on the fact they need to change their ways.
Laying off 170 people…I wonder if revenue is down because customers quit coming because of the low morale of the employees?
Must be a great place to work. Unbelievable that a boss would over-react so much to this. The next should be to fire the boss and find someone that can relate better to their employees. Has the boss kept his job or does he own the company?
First off, the Dilbert cartoon is a cartoon. The company has to relax a bit and have a sense of humor. Secondly, as has been pointed out, the company would be smart to have a “Find a cartoon to express your feelings day” once a quarter, and invite all employees to submit cartoons that express how they feel the company is being managed. The management of the company might learn something.
With this particular casino, I would fire the supervisor who fired the worker, and hire the worker back as the supervisor. That might fix the problem.
Near the end of my corporate career I noticed some of the senior execs had pictures of US presidents in their office. So I decided to do the same and I put one of Richard Nixon up on the wall. Then the company hired a Democrat CEO and I was told to take it down. I didn’t. My situation was different because I really didn’t need, or want my job.
I’m flattered when I hear that some of my RetailWire comments, critical or praise, are posted on the bulletin boards of some major retailers. Hopefully no one has been fired for doing so. Whether it’s a Dilbert cartoon or a RetailWire comment, often management does like to hear the king has no clothes on.
I have to laugh when I hear about the Dilbert cartoon incident. Management should take a trip down to the warehouse and read what is written about them on the walls in the restroom that the dock workers use. The Dilbert cartoons would then look pretty mild.
As for appealing someone’s unemployment rights, it is often standard practice for an employer to appeal simply on the chance that the former employee does not show up for his hearing.
Agreed. But I also see it as a warning sign to the company. Every company is concerned and trying to develop ways in which to keep their good employees. If someone post this joke, it may be an opportunity to talk about how that person feels truly and what changes could be made to make the place a better workplace. It’s about looking at things through the eyes of negativity or looking at them through the eyes of opportunity.
When you go by a desk and see a sign saying, “This is the best place to work!” you know you’ve arrived as a company.
If you don’t provide an outlet for employees to commisserate, they’ll make one for themselves. Witness “www.retailsucks.com.” Instead of being punitive about it, you’d better take it to heart–if one guy felt strongly enough about the situation to post a comic about it, then guaranteed there are 50 others grumbling loudly to each other. However, the company that fires someone over something like that probably doesn’t have enough emotional IQ to realize that this level of employee dissatisfaction is undoubtedly hurting productivity, and thus financial results.
By the way, I STILL have the Dilbert cartoon on my desk from a past life, where it was completely apropos and something I proudly displayed in the office. Pointy-haired boss tells Dilbert, “A hacker broke into our system and stole our corporate strategy.” Dilbert replies, “Did he post it on the internet? I’d like to read it. I’m also curious about my objectives for the year. Do you have the guy’s email address?” Alas, I don’t think it did any good, but at least I didn’t get fired.
Yes, exactly. A company that can’t tolerate criticism from any corner has much bigger problems than a Dilbert cartoon.
I have always wondered how companies could expect intelligent work from employees it treated like children or criminals.
While the contemporary 24/7 work culture is physically punishing at times, it at least gives those of us in it the illusion of freedom of movement. We may be working all the time–from our houses, our cars, even Aisle 6 at the supermarket–at least we feel like adults, respected for our input, not inmates in a prison.
I think Mary Baum says it best in her second paragraph. This story hearkens back to the 1300s when the reigning monarch would have you executed for treason for such an act of criticism. This smacks of firing for the purpose of setting an example for others. If so, that damage is already done regardless of the judgment in court.
The Dilbert cartoon is blaspheme against the professional and anointed guardians of the hedge funds. If it were not for lemurs like us, who would keep the snakes away from the golden eggs that our associate geese lay?
In this complex age, planning is becoming more and more difficult. It takes longer than ever to decide who to lay off, so drop the name calling when the personnel meeting requires three martinis. We are thoughtful and deliberate, we are not drunk.