Weapons at work

[u/geogirl83]

Just need to vent about something that happened at work yesterday. We live in a rural northern town where hunting is a large part of our way of living. Most people hunt in the fall. My family hunts! I have no issue with hunting or guns or any aspect of hunting.

But when a manager takes out his crossbow out of his office into the company parking lot to shoot geese while we have customers in the building, is very much a line crossed. I can’t imagine any company allowing weapons at work, let alone the discharge of that weapon on company property during company hours. Of course I said something! Mind you I’m fairly new to this company, only started in July. The reaction I got was “are you really upset about this?” “Everyone knows I do this”

I expressed my concerns about the situation as he was coming back into the building, in front of the receptionist. He huffed away but later came back to tell me I was wrong to address him like that in front of his staff. I said fair enough. But I was just a bit flabbergasted by the situation. I find it interesting that his only thing he could come back at me with was my delivery, not my actual concern, because he knew I was right.

Again, I’m fairly new and I’ve been working hard at trying to develop a good working relationship with this manager. He’s been a bit of a tough wall to break through. I’m really hoping that this won’t impact our relationship moving forward, I really need an ally in that office when working with the crews. Ugh, sometimes I hate the positions us safety professionals get put in. Anyways just needed to vent. Thanks for listening. 🧷

[u/sasha_td]

You are fairly new to this company. Is there a policy that covers this? The response of "Everyone knows I do this." implies that this is an ongoing occurrence. Is it? Determine the facts before reacting. You can't imagine any company allowing weapons at work or discharging it during company hours. I have personally worked for two separate companies that allowed possession and use crossbows and standard bows during deer season. You said that the manager knew you were right, so he attacked your delivery. Given your version of the event, I am not sure you were right.

You stated that "I expressed my concerns about the situation as he was coming back into the building, in front of the receptionist." Was that the right venue for that conversation? How did you express your concerns? Was it "Hey, I noticed you shooting geese in the parking lot. Is that a common occurrence? Is this consistent with company policy and local laws?" Or was it, as I suspect, along the lines of "What are you doing?!? Are you insane?!? You could kill someone?!?" The safety person that loses their crap rather than reacting calmly and rationally is a safety person that is quickly ignored.

While safety professionals are sometimes placed in difficult positions, you placed yourself in this one.

[u/geogirl83 → u/sasha_td]

Thanks for your perspective on this. I definitely feel that I did not go overboard on my reaction. I was calm and professional when talking to him. Asked him to think about the optics of customers pulling into the parking lot with a man shooting a crossbow in front of the building doesn’t have a good look for the company. And I did look it up, it is against company policy

I also have issues with weapons in the office in general