Is it ok to cry at work?

I came across this story on my Facebook timeline a few days ago, and I just had to share it with you.

A gentleman was in a Shoprite and came across a cashier crying at the till.

Read the full story here:

‘’I am disgusted very disgusted about what I saw today at Shoprite Pimville. Your employee sitting at the till crying.Line was long and she jusy kept serving all the customers with tears rolling down her eyes.I asked why she was crying when I got there and she said she was not feeling well. 

I told her not to help me and called for a supervisor and I told him to help me and he bluntly refused. 

He told me he won’t do it as he does not work at the till , I asked him why if he is mighty and high for it and to that Monde responded "yes if you say so". 

He said he was getting someone else to help and I told him I will wait till the lady was removed as she was ill and those were bad working conditions. He told me to then wait and walked away.

He Monde the supervisor and your other employee were standing around doing nothing

None had name tags so you have to guess they are giving you their correct names.

I have photos and a witness contact number of how badly Thembisile was treated. 

My 7 yr old asked me if the lady had pink eye because her eyes were soo swollen from all the crying. 

Monde knew of this because another client before me called him to notify him of what was going on. Abuse in the work place Shoprite???????’’

I am absolutely disgusted that anyone would be treated this way at the workplace. 

Often I feel there are bosses out there who go out of their way to make work extremely difficult for employees and abuse their power.

We all have bad days and it is how everyone around us responds that can either help us feel better or make the situation worse.

I hope the employee is feeling better and it is always a good idea for employees and managers to support each other.

I am so happy that Shoprite South Africa has responded and is taking action against this manager.

Read their reply here:

Here is my advice to managers out there in general:

People cry at work because they are human. Sometimes it is difficult to check emotions at the door. 

1) You can support an employee by staying calm and asking questions

2) Don’t ignore an upset employee.

3) Whether the crying was prompted by business or personal issues, be sympathetic but always stay neutral.

Have you ever had a breakdown at work and what happened?