The most recent sex scandal to hit the news is of course the Cathay Pacific pilot who copped a blowjob from a stewardess in a cockpit and unwisely took photos with his phone. The plane wasn't moving at the time, and most likely there were no passengers on board. Pilot and stewardess were promptly fired, and the ad campaign from Cathay "meet the team that goes the extra mile" has been delayed. Entirely predictable, and yet: does anyone actually think this pilot is incapable of doing his job because he got head? Would anyone feel less safe being flown by him? Should they both lose their livelihood for a consensual sexual encounter that happened in his workplace? Focus: sex scandals. Does getting busy in the workplace prove that you have terrible judgement and are a liability to your employer, or is it indeed just 'gossip made tedious by morality'?
I put on a better sales presentation/dog-n-pony show if I just got a blowjob from the secretary. Truth.
It's all about judgement. If your judgement is so poor that you would do something so brazen on the job, you're probably making poor choices in other parts of your job. You could also look at it from the perspective of them being stupid for getting caught and that speaking to other forms of bad judgement...in other words, if you're going to do dumb shit, at least be smart about it.
Of course you're a liability to your employer. It only takes one crazy bitch to get upset about a fling or relationship that goes awry. Crazy bitches who have been scorned or feel that they can manipulate and work the system, are capable of suing a company for allowing sexual harassment in the workplace. The stewardess could have easily claimed the pilot threatened or coerced her in some way. Companies care more about losing money and bad press than who or where their employees are fucking.
Sex scandals are like the tip of the stupidity iceberg. If you are stupid enough to do something like that, you are stupid enough to make other worse decisions that are going to cost your company a shitload of money. If I were the employer, I'd just count my blessings that my employee's idiocy revealed itself in a rather benign manner instead of when shit really hit the fan (like after not getting caught/strongly disciplined, they decided to take that blowy one step farther and do it mid-air). At a bare minimum, that one violation of company policy is going to cause a ton of negative press, and they should be fired or reassigned for that alone. What do you think it says about the company if the next headline is "Quickies Allowed, if the Plane is on the Ground"? Generally-speaking, workplace romances are a bad idea but they are do-able in some circumstances; as long as it's contained within the company and doesn't break any policies and/or doesn't cause obvious liability for the company, they should be allowed. The only ones that could get hurt in a basic workplace romance are the parties involved. It's when idiots document it and/or do private acts in inappropriate or illegal places that shit hits the fan. And when that happens, send them out on their ass. There's a line of employees waiting for the their job who have more than half a functioning brain.
See, to me, this is a problem with HR policies and public attitude. None of that actually affects whether the guy can land a plane, which is basically the only facet of his life I'm interested in. Would he be fired if the chick claimed harassment? Definitely. Should he? Personally I think fuck no. I think this whole 'bad judgement' thing is a convenient excuse for people who don't want to look at the puritanical ideals underpinning the witch hunts that start every time there's a hint of sex in the office. Do you genuinely believe that a guy who gets a blowjob in a cockpit will make poorer choices during the flying of a plane than the guy who isn't getting any? If you do fair enough, but I just don't see it. Pilots, by their very nature, enjoy risk. You don't fly what is essentially a large bomb with passengers unless you enjoy and thrive on risk in some way. The people who don't like risk are the scrubs on the ground writing the HR policies, firing the guy getting the glory and the blowjobs.
I've had some repercussions from workplace that didn't even involve sex. Probably my most interesting/fun/shit I learned a lot today job was cost me because of a woman who had a thing for me. Problem is that she was once morbidly obese, had gastric bypass, trimmed down and still had a bunch of hangy skin, thinning hair because of lack of nutrition, fat girl legs and stance and a since of entitlement. She was a nice enough person and I was in her office often because she and her staff liked to fuck up computers. We hung out a few times. When I decided that she called me way too often and her buying me extravagant gifts was a bit too much, I ended the relationship. I was let go from my job about a week and a half later. From then on I don't mix female friends and the work place. Fuck I loved that job. This was the entry way that I happily walked in to every morning: Spoiler
Yes, I do. And like I said earlier, it is less the fact that he was getting a blowie, and more that he let hormones get the best of him and threw caution to the wind. It was a totally unnecessary event. If he and the stewardess did the same thing in a more appropriate place, like a hotel room or one of their houses, I wouldn't give 2 shits. Think of some other profession, like medicine. Would it make you uneasy knowing some of the stupid things your doctor did when they were younger? No? Well what about 5 minutes ago in the supply closet? It's all about the surrounding scenario. It makes me think "what the fuck is wrong with that person?" and wonder if they are apt to do retarded and inappropriate things in other facets of their professional life. It also makes me think that the person doesn't give an iota about their job.
If it doesn't affect the quality of their job, I could give three shits if my doc just got done banging a nurse in an empty room. If anything it would make him more relaxed, I know I'm pretty damn relaxed when I get a skeet off. Does it affect the taste of your meal at a restaurant if you knew that your waitress just got done sucking a dick in the walk-in cooler or your chef just hit a few rails of blow off his cleaver? Not at all, but you can bet that's probably happening at some point during the night.
I'm talking about high pressure jobs. A mentally handicapped person could probably work as a waitress. Obviously we are simply of differing opinions, and debating the finer points of blow jobs and general unprofessional behavior isn't going to change that.
I was just about to amend it and say at McDonald's, and then PIMPTRESS repped me that. Sorry about the off the cuff comment, but I think you guys can see what I mean (even though my example was offensive at best). Ms P, please don't beat me up in Nawlins....
Well. The Guy and I worked together for three years, and have been dating (even though it's all wonky right now) for the past two... We literally lived together, worked together, slept together, ate together, for over a year...and never fought...pretty much ever. It was the damnedest thing. No friction. Our boss was initially unsettled about it and said so, but over time, he changed his opinion. It never caused us a problem.
We have everyone getting blowjobs, from presidents to priests to nuclear scientists. There are a million reasons why it is unsanitary and/or unethical. Thus the appeal, it's so naughty and risky. Does that mean the pilot would take risks with your life? Possibly.
It's hard to make a call on this one without knowing what they were supposed to be doing instead. Were they on a break? Then who cares. Was he supposed to be doing a safety check and then said fuck it and took off 5 min later anyway? Problem.
This is purely a political move, and has nothing to do with the quality of his flying abilities or decision making abilities when being in command of the aircraft.
Exactly. If the pilot had not taken photos of the event, or if they had not been "leaked" to the media, nothing would have come of it. When any employee of a company that spends a lot of money creating a public image of itself brings negative publicity to the company, you can expect that employee to be gone soon. It's not about being a bad pilot, it's about being a bad employee.