Intern sent a harsh email to HR regarding house party

Hey guys,

I'm doing an internship at a Foturne 50 company. Some of the the interns went out last night, and my roommate apparently sent an email to HR about the party. I'm not exactly sure what could be the worst care scenario, but it seems like HR would not care about personal conflicts with the interns. I'm freaking out because I dont want to be kicked out of the internship. Should I reach out to HR and ask if everything is okay? I'm talking to my roomate today after work, but I think he already sent the email.

46 Comments
 

A certain pejorative that starts with an “f” and ends with a “t” comes to mind for aptly describing people like your roommate.

 

SMH. I feel for you, man. This sounds absolutely ridiculous.

Just to clarify, you all went out together for a happy hour, he sat out that happy hour, and then a bunch of you came back to your place and had a party that kept him awake? That's his issue?

There's absolutely no excuse for him to send an email to HR even if you did keep him up late. Whoop-tee-doo! First of all, be a man and come out of your room and discuss it with the people partying and settle it like grownups. Secondly, If he's THAT worried about his super-important intern work duties, he should realize he's being benchmarked against the rest of you for full-time offers, so at a minimum, he'll have an advantage if he sits out the house party because he's just sleep-deprived instead of sleep-deprived and hung over.

That kid is definitely junior varsity.

"Now youse can't leave." -Sonny LoSpecchio
 
Most Helpful

HR has to take everything seriously. Especially when it involves interns in corporate housing. It sucks but it is what it is.

Just my 2c but it's probably best not to attempt to minimize to HR. Just say "I understand. I'll speak with him about the situation ASAP and resolve it." They know he's acting like a child so be the adult and you'll come off looking better than him. If he pulls some shit again then it's probably ok to put your foot down and say, "I've tried to be respectful and accommodate his requests but this is getting ridiculous. We're all adults here and I haven't broken any rules. It's just as much my room as his." Or something to that effect. Basically, if you show that you're making an honest attempt at accommodating your roommate and he still complains to HR then it's going to look like he's the real problem. If you respond to childish shit with excuses then you're going to look like the problem.

FWIW, I think your roommate is a douche and you did nothing wrong. You're going to have to deal with people like him your entire working life so best to learn to handle it in the best way possible now.

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As soon as you mentioned that "teeny tiny" caveat that you're in corporate housing, I think your argument blew up.

As a word to the wise, I think any direct confrontation is just going to look bad on you. Best case scenario you call the kid a bitch or something and feel good for maybe 30 seconds. Worst case dude goes to HR again saying you confronted him (I got news for you, if he does, you're for sure going to catch the axe). Suck it up, move on and get through the internship as judiciously as possible.

And to be clear while not super egregious, you're the one in the wrong here. Definitely better ways to handle the situation on the part of your roommate, but at the end of the day it's work housing.

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