An issue came up at work and in the process of working it out and talking to a few different co-workers, I get a bad feeling about where it’s headed. The problem is that each of my coworkers has their own narrow view of the situation based on their speciality and I feel like I’m the only one who sees the big picture. I try to explain these other factors to them, but they dismiss it as unimportant (i.e. not my baliwick) and I’m starting to come across as Chicken Little. There’s a 99.99% chance that I am completely wrong, but if that 0.01% chance comes up . . . let’s just say it will be a national news story (and not one of those feel-good pieces either).
I will give my boss credit though. He took the most dangerous part of the situation and will make sure it’s dealt with. Safety first!
The responsibility of management is to make decisions that factor in all risks. Since you said that your scenario is very unlikely to occur (but has humongous consequences) and you have already laid this all out to everyone, it’s your superior’s decision on how to proceed. You’ve done your part in the process. So let it go. Now if you had said your doomsday scenario has a 50% chance of occurring, then that’s a different story.
Assuming the chances of occurrence you gave are legit (i.e. not pulled from thin air) then you’ve said your piece and management has decided.
If not, you need to quantify the risks by calculating the chances of failure as well as the costs associated with it. Without being able to provide some proof, you are Chicken Little.
The real trouble is I’m a mathematician so I view it as the expectation function so that if the probability is real low but the consequences are astronomical, it translates into a not-insignificant expectation. Plus we are dealing with human factors so the “failure” is not quantifiable like the Toyota fiasco would be.
Oh the CYA has already started. Emails and documenting the non-email conversations.
You’ve brought concerns to management, and you’re covering your own ass. Unless you’re talking about a public safety issue that’s being ignored and people who have no knowledge of the danger might be affected, I think you’ve done all you can.
That’s almost exactly what I was going to say. Take all your thoughts and ideas on how to handle this situation, everything you’ve already told them, put it in an email and CC it to everyone involved. Then you can sit back and let your boss take care of the rest. This way you never have to hear “Well if you had only mentioned…”.
Oh, and if you’re in the position to do so (and you feel it’s necessary and won’t get you fired), you may want to CC or BCC the company’s attorney or CPA.
My husband works as a safety officer; half of his job is creating policies and procedures to try to stop people from killing themselves, and the other half is making sure both his and the company’s butts are covered for when they do.
