He finally gave in, after two and a half days of standoff. Under pressure from his superiors and his colleagues, Miguel turned on the heating, which he had turned off out of revenge after having a sandwich stolen. Theft, resentment, collective punishment against the backdrop of a missed lunch break, this story contains the ingredients of a good corporate thriller, to be consumed in front of the coffee machine. It all goes back to last Friday, with a chicken sandwich at the heart of the plot.
For Miguel, revenge is a dish that cannot be eaten, and that is the heart of the problem. On Friday, this general services employee of a company in the Paris region experienced a mishap. When he opens the cafeteria fridge, his Swedish bread sandwich, freshly purchased from the bakery, goes missing. Worse, its ripped packaging lies in the trash.
Hungry and angry, he makes the decision in consultation with himself to turn off the heating on his floor, without notice. Around forty employees were affected, and a few dozen minutes after this breakdown, the cold began to envelop the premises. Enough to move a small team of four employees, who are setting up a “On se les gele” group on corporate messaging.
“My Swedish is being stolen and I have to accept it without flinching? »
Certain messages posted on social networks by one of his colleagues say everything about the intensity of the conflict. “It turns out that Miguel turned off the heating purely on a whim,” says an employee in the group. Immediate response from the person concerned, integrated into the group to ensure their defense. “On pure whim then? My Swedish is being stolen and I have to accept it without flinching? »
Absent on Friday, Pascal* arrives on Monday in a damaged office, with a fresh atmosphere. Scarves and gloves are out for face-to-face soldiers, while other infantry soldiers have wisely opted for teleworking. By opening his computer with his “cold mouse”, he is entangled in an avalanche of messages.
“I went straight to see him, we usually tease each other, but here he was determined and angry,” confides the employee, contacted by 20 minutes. Miguel wants the person to report himself before turning the heat back on. He told me he did this to educate people. »
“The wise forgive, but do not forget”
The first threats do not seem to have any effect on Miguel. Are they being asked to turn the heating back on or risk notifying the hierarchy? Not even afraid. “It’s no longer time to negotiate, I can’t feel my fingers anymore,” warns another employee. “The CEO is traveling, he has been informed but that has not changed anything immediately,” explains Pascal. “Until the person denounces himself, come with gloves,” assures Miguel, who was careful not to turn off the heating in his own office.
“Normally, general services are there to help out others, he took it badly when someone attacked him,” analyzes Pascal. But, at the same time, there had already been a theft of food. He was asked to act, and at the time, he laughed. »
After two and a half days of negotiation, Miguel came to his senses and reactivated the heating on Tuesday morning. Not without a last stand of honor. A message of around ten lines tinged with cold anger like the famous Swedish snack.
“It is truly regrettable that we have come to this dispute,” he wrote first, before threatening to close the toilets in the event of a new incident. And here I wish you the courage to stop me. Wise people forgive, but do not forget. » We are betting that HR will also remember this initiative.