# I quit my job and I end up in the cuckoo's nest! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 6, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069 "2009-07-06T13:29:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/121 "2009-07-08T02:54:29Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > We instruct our employees NEVER to give out their passwords to anyone - except the Chinese government when traveling to China or for our Chinese employees. just curious why your company has this view? Does your company consult for the government or womething? It’s not common practice that I’m aware of. It’s not like you are required to put passwords on the visa appilication or embarcation card 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/122 "2009-07-08T05:03:10Z")
> [@](#): > > **Ferret Herder** : **Shodan** picked up on that she seemed to be saying she was feeling better after taking meds there, which may indicate there was an actual reason for the commitment. It’s possible this was misinterpreted (even by me) but she didn’t correct his comment. Imagine for a moment that you had just lost your job, been arrested, accused of stealing thousands of dollars, and involuntarily committed to the mental health ward. You’d be pretty upset, right? Then someone comes along and gives you lovely tranquilizers – lots of them – to calm you down. You’d feel better too. That doesn’t mean that you were really in need of commitment to begin with. Annie, go for it! ---
**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/123 "2009-07-08T08:45:20Z")
Let’s go with some common sense here. You get committed? Drama alert. Whining that you have been railroaded by the boss and the cops and whoever else is out to get you is plain and simple crazy talk. You are undoubtedly one of _those_ people. ---
**Author:** ![Orr\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ee59a6/32.png) [@Orr\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orr_G)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/124 "2009-07-08T10:01:15Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > Let’s go with some common sense here. > You get committed? > > Drama alert. > > Whining that you have been railroaded by the boss and the cops and whoever else is out to get you is plain and simple crazy talk. You are undoubtedly one of _those_ people. ABORT/RETRY/ **FAIL** Yeah, yeah, if it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck… you need to check your perception because there are no ducks posting in this thread. On a slightly different note, I’m really impressed that even in the Pit, the Dopers here are, by and large, considering this situation from several angles, instead of just jumping on some simple-minded bandwagon. Many people have expressed doubts and concerns about various aspects, but have for the most part been thoughtful and respectful, and have been posing questions rather than engaging in base pontificating. Some few even have had the courage to express empathy. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/125 "2009-07-08T10:30:31Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > You’d be pretty upset, right? Then someone comes along and gives you lovely tranquilizers – lots of them – to calm you down. You’d feel better too. That doesn’t mean that you were really in need of commitment to begin with. But there are a lot more psychoactive drugs than tranquilizers, and we don’t know what she got or for what. Those would be more appropriate, I’d think, during an acute episode of panic, maybe for generalized anxiety. I suspect some kinds might be a bad idea if the patient is depressed - though it’s been ages since I’ve studied this stuff so I really can’t recall. There are other drugs that can be given - for anxiety, depression, psychosis, and so on. Also, as mentioned before, patients are supposed to be notified of what they are being given and why. Really, the only way to tell for sure what went on and why is to dig into the medical records, and that’s between the OP and legal counsel at this point. I’m just saying, as others have pointed out as well, there isn’t necessarily an either-or situation - it could be that the boss did frame her, **and** that she freaked out enough that the police and medical staff were potentially justified in their actions. Even if the boss had said “she’s freaked out hundreds of times over the years at the job, she’ll be OK soon” the police might have worried that this was not a “she’ll be OK” situation but a “there is something seriously wrong with her” situation and things proceeded from there. (And as for me personally? I doubt I would be in that situation - I’ve never “freaked out” in my memory, much less hundreds of times, and I’ve worked for some crappy bosses. Worst I’ve been driven to by a boss is some silent tears welling up, and venting later on in tones that might be mistaken for a “some jerk cut me off” complaint. But that just goes to show you the variability in people and why the people involved might have reacted as they did.) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/126 "2009-07-08T12:22:56Z")
> [@ghardester](#): > > The office manager/accountant was the owner’s wife hehe. Common practice, but it _always_ ends badly IME. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/127 "2009-07-08T12:32:20Z")
Makes me wonder if they’ve taken the $5K themselves and are trying to pin it on ‘the unstable one who just quit’ because she’s an easy target. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/128 "2009-07-08T13:07:40Z")
Annie, if you’ve ever accessed this site from work then you should ask a mod to delete the thread. There’s too much information on here that makes you identifiable, and your words could be twisted against you. I look forward to hearing the outcome and hope it goes well for you. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/129 "2009-07-08T13:41:15Z")
Maybe I missed it: where was the part where the original poster said she didn’t actually take the $5,000? :eek: I’m with some others here. There is more here than has met the light of day (though I’m not saying I think she really did take the $5,000). :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/130 "2009-07-08T14:02:52Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > But she also just said they asked for “passwords”, a phrase that’s meaningless on its own. And if they’re asking for passwords to a personal email account, she wouldn’t have to give it to them in the US either. Why would the company accountant be asking for the passwords to her personal (by which I take it you mean non-employer-provided) e-mail account? If you didn’t mean non-employer-provided, then you’re wrong, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/131 "2009-07-08T14:07:59Z")
**Annie** , today is supposed to be your hearing about the restraining order. Can you tell us how that went? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/132 "2009-07-08T14:09:28Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Why would the company accountant be asking for the passwords to her personal (by which I take it you mean non-employer-provided) e-mail account? That’s exactly my point. If it’s a personal email account, they don’t have a right to that information and if it’s a company email account, they shouldn’t have to ask because they should have the power to reset it themselves. Something’s fishy. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/133 "2009-07-08T14:46:07Z")
Depends on the size of the company and given the fact that the accountant is the spouse, I’m thinking it’s not that big. I used to work at a small company where I was, by default, the ‘IT person’ simply because I knew the most about IT. But I didn’t have a way of accessing other people’s laptops or email accounts, as I wasn’t set up as an administrator. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/134 "2009-07-08T14:59:08Z")
> [@VunderBob](#): > > **Annie** , today is supposed to be your hearing about the restraining order. Can you tell us how that went? She probably shouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/135 "2009-07-08T15:22:19Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > just curious why your company has this view? Does your company consult for the government or womething? It’s not common practice that I’m aware of. It’s not like you are required to put passwords on the visa appilication or embarcation card 😉 We have encrypted drives in our laptops and the Chinese government insists that when bringing things through customs they are allowed access. So its giving the password to the customs official if they ask. The Chinese government isn’t big on encryption. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/136 "2009-07-08T15:54:38Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > Depends on the size of the company and given the fact that the accountant is the spouse, I’m thinking it’s not that big. I used to work at a small company where I was, by default, the ‘IT person’ simply because I knew the most about IT. But I didn’t have a way of accessing other people’s laptops or email accounts, as I wasn’t set up as an administrator. But what I’m saying is, _someone_ has to be set up as the administrator and that person can retreive Annie’s password. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/137 "2009-07-08T16:08:15Z")
I’m sure the OP can clear this up, but there’s definitely some confusion over personal email accounts (accessing annie @ [hotmail.com](http://hotmail.com) at work) and personal work accounts (annie @ [workplace.com](http://workplace.com), rather than the general customerservice @ [workplace.com](http://workplace.com)). If it’s a very small place they can contact their provider or an IT person and reset passwords but it would be much easier to just have the passwords. But as mentioned before, still think it’s safest for her to not give them. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/138 "2009-07-08T16:38:19Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > I’m sure the OP can clear this up, but there’s definitely some confusion over personal email accounts (accessing annie @ [hotmail.com](http://hotmail.com) at work) and personal work accounts (annie @ [workplace.com](http://workplace.com), rather than the general customerservice @ [workplace.com](http://workplace.com)). If it’s a very small place they can contact their provider or an IT person and reset passwords but it would be much easier to just have the passwords. But as mentioned before, still think it’s safest for her to not give them. It could be other kinds of passwords–passwords to membership websites, for example, to networked databases, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/139 "2009-07-08T16:44:55Z")
Or the secret clubhouse. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069/140 "2009-07-08T16:48:05Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > It could be other kinds of passwords–passwords to membership websites, for example, to networked databases, etc. The office could be using an application created by Bozo the Consultant, who is long gone. Annie was the only one who took the trouble to figure it out; so she was useful, if a bit high strung at times. A little company may not have an “IT Department”–or an “HR Department.” (With not-so-fond memories of a little company where my paycheck bounced. Twice.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-quit-my-job-and-i-end-up-in-the-cuckoos-nest/502069.md?page=8)