Whining can get you the sack
Shirish Joshi

Beware! If you are into the habit of whining about the weather or the broken photocopier to your bosses, it may cost you your job, as a German company has recently banned moaning, and has made them “sackable offences”.

Employees at IT company Nutzwerk Ltd in Leipzig have to agree to be in a good mood as part of their employment contract, and anyone found violating it is straight-away terminated from the services. Manager Thomas Kuwatsch said those who get up on the wrong side of the bed should stay at home and work out their grumpiness rather than come to work.

He, however, warned those taking too much time off for bad moods would face the sack.

“We made the ban on moaning and grumpiness at work official after one female employee refused to subscribe to the company’s philosophy of always smiling,” Fox News quoted him as saying.

“She used to moan so much that other employees complained about her complaining. Once it was part of the contract, however, our employees really started to think positively. Mood is an important factor in productivity and everyone here works hard and is happy,” he added.

Kathleen Sochor, who has been with the company for four years, also supports the move, insisting that one man’s grumpiness is bound to spoil everyone’s day.

“It’s great that whining is not allowed. If one person is grumpy it makes everyone else feel bad and ruins what could be a good day,” she said.

However, lawyer Marion von Sahr seems unsure if firing someone on the basis of whining would continue for long.

“In principle, employers and employees can contractually agree on anything if both sides are happy and that includes banning whining. But I am not sure if being a sourpuss is enough reason to fire somebody,” he said. — ANI

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