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Am I missing something? Please help me to understand this.
Yoga Teacher Fired for Glaring
A yoga teacher who was contracted to lead classes at Facebook was fired for glaring at a participant who was texting while in the class. The first time the woman was on her phone the instructor asked everyone to please turn off their phones while in class. The second time the instructor saw the same woman on her phone she said nothing but must have given her one killer look. The texter stepped out briefly, and then returned to class.
Two weeks later the yoga instructor was terminated by the company that provides yoga teachers at Facebook.
Now comes the part that doesn’t make sense (I bet you thought we’d already fallen down the rabbit hole).
The instructor had been told previously that she couldn’t enforce a ban on cell phones in the class. Apparently Facebook wants their people on call 24/7, even while attending the classes the company provides so employees can find a few moments of peace in their hectic schedules.
So here’s the disconnect:
- Why offer these classes if employees are allowed and possibly expected to have their cell phones at the ready during class? Has anyone ever gotten in trouble for being unreachable while in one of these company sponsored sessions?
- Why did the employee go to the yoga class if she was planning on being on her phone? Doesn’t she recognize, or hasn’t anyone told her, that part of the point of the class is to create a small oasis of peace to re-energize before you go back to your desk? Or maybe someone did tell her but she was on her phone.
- Why was this instructor fired for doing her job? She was trying to teach yoga. This one woman’s texting may have reduced everyone else’s ability to get what they needed from the class.
I guess I have a hard time with hypocrisy. Facebook wants to present itself as this cutting edge company with foosball, yoga classes, and scooters in the halls. Then they act as buttoned up as IBM when someone tries to avail themselves of these benefits.
Maybe it’s me. Your thoughts, comments, and opinions are most welcome.
Only the best,
Ron
Ron,
As always, I appreciate your intelligent insights and agree with you. It seems that there is a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose of Yoga and hoped for outcomes of de-stressing and peacful re-centering. However, I am not sure you should insult IBM by describing them as “buttoned up.” I would not be surprised if they too offer on site Yoga classes and, more importantly, insist that their employees disconnect from the network while in class! Perhaps a comparison to a staid corporate giant, say, in Finance or Pharmaceuticals, would be better. Just a thought…
John,
Thanks for calling me on this! You’re right, I took the easy way out and targeted Big Blue, which is probably a far more nimble organization than it was in the past. So who should be the new simple of Corporate America? Maybe it’s time for a poll!
Thanks for your comment.
Only the best,
Ron
Ron – Thanks for blogging about this one. I had many of the same thoughts when I heard the story. I’m a clarity person; so I guess if they had posted “no cell phones” outside the classroom it might have been a different story. Or if FB had told the Yoga Instructor contractor that they had to be tolerant of occasional cell phone use… But doesn’t that kind of ruin the idea of yoga???
Remember the old days — someone generally knew where we were and if there was an emergency, they would call the front desk. Alas – I’m showing my age!