The Weird Workplace

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LONDON, U.K. — He may be the Bank of England governor, but Canadian Mark Carney recently fell prey to an email prank, according to Reuters. The hoaxer emailed Carney saying the depiction of the novelist Jane Austen on a new British banknote made it look as if the famous writer had just drunk a “bracing martini.” Thinking he was responding to a message from Anthony Habgood, the head of the bank’s internal oversight body, Carney replied: “I will drink the martini and order another two. Apparently, that was Eddie George’s daily intake… before lunch.” (George was a former governor of the Bank of England.) Carney quickly stopped the conversation when the emailer talked about “rather dashing bar ladies” at an event. “Sorry Anthony. Not appropriate at all,” said Carney in a final remark, according to a tweet posted by email prankster @Sinon_Reborn. The bank governor has warned of cyber risks facing the international banking system.

TORONTO — Office dwellers may want to consider taking the stairs more often after the release of new stats from the Technical Standards and Safety Authority. In the past six years, six people have been killed and 1,225 injured — 69 permanently — in elevator mishaps in Ontario, according to the Canadian Press. The number of incidents more than doubled between 2011 and 2016, rising at an average rate of about 14 per cent per year, while serious injuries have gone up by eight per cent. Many mishaps are related to levelling issues, when the elevator doesn’t stop at the right spot. This leads to people tripping, with noses, toes and thumbs broken, or more serious harm. While faulty maintenance or failure to follow the rules are part of the problem, 75 per cent of the incidents were caused by “user behaviour” such as trying to prevent elevator doors from closing.

NEW HAVEN, CONN. — Social media took another victim recently when a dean at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., was placed on leave after making several inappropriate online comments. June Chu, dean of the school’s Pierson College, was called out for Yelp reviews in which she called customers at local restaurants “white trash” and “low-class folks,” according to the Associated Press. She also called movie theatre employees “barely educated morons.” There were numerous “reprehensible” posts that represented a more widespread pattern, damaged trust and were “deeply harmful to the community fabric,” said Stephen Davis, head of the college. “No one, especially those in trusted positions of educating young people, should denigrate or stereotype others, and that extends to any form of discrimination based on class, race, religion, age, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation.”

CHICAGO — Chicago’s main jail had to be placed on lockdown recently after more than 200 employees didn’t show up for the day shift. The reason? It was Mother’s Day. Eighty-six employees at the Cook County Jail called in sick, while 120 took the day off under the Family Medical Leave Act, according to the Chicago Tribune. About 25 per cent of the staff for the second shift also called in sick. The “extraordinary” number of absent workers puts extra pressure on the other jail workers, said a statement from the sheriff’s office.  “We continue to find ways to curb the absenteeism, but we have very few tools in the toolbox,’’ said spokesperson Cara Smith. The same trend was seen last year on Mother’s Day, when 20 per cent of the workforce failed to appear.

BRADFORD, U.K. — A BBC presenter came under scrutiny recently when he appeared to touch a woman’s breast in pushing her away. Ben Brown was conducting a live, on-camera interview with another BBC employee when the woman stepped into the shot, looked at the camera and said, “Absolutely fantastic” with a thumbs up. Brown reached out to push the woman away, and appeared to target her breast. Looking surprised, the woman slapped his arm and walked away, according to the Guardian. “Unfortunate interruption of broadcast in Bradford — just tried to minimize disruption but (very) tricky live on air — completely unintentional,” said Brown on his Twitter feed. The BBC didn’t confirm if there had been any complaints about the incident but said it was “clearly an accident” and no further action would be taken against Brown.