Bad Fit -- When Employers and Employees Collide

It's been an interesting week for employers who want employees to follow their -- the employer's -- rules.

First, there's "Grass Company Sued Over Firing Smoker" (love those double-entendre headlines!). Former employee Scott Rodrigues is suing lawn-care giant Scotts, because Rodrigues was turfed right after he was hired when a drug test turned up nicotine. Scotts' rules state employees can't smoke, period. Not on the job, not at home, not anywhere in between. Except, as this New York Press item highlights, if you're an executive and light up "a handful of cigars" each year. Columnist Russ Smith also muses on how often Scotts execs undergo drug screening. I wonder if the company's screening program also checks for the fun chemicals employees use to green up those lawns?

The second example is Wal-Mart's firing of their recently-arrived advertising expert, Julie Roehm for, so the story goes, failing to pay for the hors d'ouveres at an ad agency party to which she was invited. Wal-Mart has a strict policy forbidding any employee from accepting the smallest gift from a prospective supplier. According to AdAge.com, this "Unruly Julie and the Scandal That Rocked the Ad World" saga is much better than Britney's underwear woes [warning: spoof] when it comes to celebrity news in ad-land.

What links these two items? Employers demanding that an employee follow an employer's rules inside and outside the day-to-day workplace. In Scotts' case, the reasoning is economic -- the company self-insures for health insurance, so smokers cost them more money. In Wal-Mart's case, the longstanding "no gifts" rule dates back to founder Sam Walton's desire to make sure Wal-Mart customers get the best deal from a supplier, not the deal that's best for the internal buyer at Wal-Mart.

What else links these two incidents? Bad employee-employer fit. Scotts' employee Rodriques knew about their policies but thought he would have time to adapt. Similarly, Roehm knew she was bringing a brash personal approach to marketing to a very staid company. So a word to the wise: Make sure you check on how you will fit within a company before you sign on. Here are few resources on how to check for company fit:

• "Are You a Good Fit?"
• "Assess Company Culture to Find the Best Fit"
• "The Corporate-Culture Conundrum"
• "Why Do You Want to Work Here?"

More about the Scotts lawsuit:

• Employee Fired for Smoking Off the Job Files Lawsuit
• Great Scott! Fired for smoking on his own time

More about Roehm and Wal-Mart:

• Julie Roehm Confirms Wal-Mart Departure 
• Unruly Julie and Wal-Mart joined forces to rock the ad world

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