would you give a stranger or new co-worker a ride home
By timhinyy
@timhinyy (1653)
United States
February 17, 2010 1:16pm CST
now i know this probably would run under a hypothetical situation, but imagine you worked a minimum wage job like at a restaurant when you have a lot of new workers come in all the time that you don't know and you end up working with one on their first night and they ask you for a ride home do you give them one being that you have only just met them?
this question occurs to me with everything that goes on nowadays with background checks just to get a job and all that, and this has happened to me in the past, cause i did have a job in a restaurant and you would end up working with a lot of people that you had never met.
would you be comfortable giving a ride home to someone you just met that just started working at your place of business?
1 person likes this
13 responses
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
18 Feb 10
I've done it before. I had a meeting with someone recently and when I discovered he came to the meeting without a car I gave him a ride to his next destination.
1 person likes this
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
21 Feb 10
I am very big on boundaries so it depends on the situation and how I've met the person.
@mylesnarvaez (5451)
• Philippines
17 Feb 10
first day at work can be very exciting or very intimidating to a newcomer. i don't want to dampen his/her spirits by declining their request for a lift. since a new co-worker isn't the complete stranger in my book anyway, i would think that it's safe enough to give them a ride. but i'd honestly say that i wouldn't go as far as going out of my way or taking a longer route just to give him/her a lift. i'd settle for somewhere i could drop him off that wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience (for me). but if my co-worker lives along my route or within the vicinity of where i'm staying, it wouldn't be a bother to get them home. i would imagine that after work, both of us will be equally tired, and with me on the wheel, i'd even be more tired.
@timhinyy (1653)
• United States
18 Feb 10
well the job i had in the restaurant not only would you be tired but most likely soaked by the end of the night, because you had to hose down the floor before you could leave for the night so that can be a little messy.
so by the end of the night I'd be pretty tired so its a good thing that i had a ride coming for me so it wouldn't be up to me, but usually my ride would give people a ride home.
as long as the weather wasn't bad and it wasn't too far out of the way home.
@mylesnarvaez (5451)
• Philippines
18 Feb 10
well it's a friendly gesture to give rides as long as it's not too far out of your usual route. i, for one, am not looking forward to be behind the wheels after a tiring day/night at work. hehe
i have never worked in a restaurant but i did help out in my sister's canteen/eatery on my free days (without pay hehe) and being in charge of the manual dishwashing is bone-tiring especially on the back. i don't think i can do floors. hehe
@terri0824 (4991)
• United States
18 Feb 10
Hmmm good hypothetical situation. I can't say that I have ever given a coworker a ride that I had just met, but I think I would be more likely to give them ride over a stranger that was walking down the road. Because their main concern is just to get home. The stranger you never know what their real intention may be. Sorry to say that, but the day and times we live in, you have to be careful and not put yourself in a possible harming situation for yoursef.
1 person likes this
@timhinyy (1653)
• United States
18 Feb 10
what made me think of this is the fact at my old job they would be a lot of turnover with employees so you would have new people come in all the time so i would end up having to train a lot of the new employees, which i didn't mind it is a good way to get to know them and see what kind of workers they are.
i always worked the dayshift unless someone didn't show up at night then sometimes i would stay and help out even though I'd already be tired from my shift.
so if i worked with someone all day even if i just met them i would probably help them out if i could.
@timhinyy (1653)
• United States
18 Feb 10
well where i live this time of year weather is always a factor in that decision, because if they lived far away or on roads that i never go on do you really want to be traveling on strange roads that you are not familiar with in bad weather for someone you just met?
as long as they were on the way and not on some dangerous winter roads i would probably say ok, but the weather would play a factor, especially this year.
@candyfairy21 (2039)
• Philippines
18 Feb 10
I'd trust my instincts about that especially when its a hitch hiker. There are those who really have no bad intentions and there are those who have. I don't mean to sound so cynical but there have been an increase rate of crimes committed from picking up hitch hikers. but as I said I'd listen to my instincts because your basic instincts seldom goes wrong. When it comes to a co worker I'd offer a ride but i'd let somebody know who I am dropping off especially if that person is new and its the first time we meet.
1 person likes this
@timhinyy (1653)
• United States
18 Feb 10
yeah when it comes to absolute strangers and hitchhikers you have to be very careful who you would give a ride to, cause you never know what their situation is and if they are in a desperate one they may do something that normally they would not.
if i worked a whole shift with a new worker by the end of that shift i would have a pretty good feeling about them and if they came to me and asked, because they may be as weary of you as you are of them you have to remember its the first time they have met you too.
if they were stuck and asked nicely i would probably try to help out as long as it wasn't too far out of the way home for me.
@ichigojuni (123)
• Philippines
18 Feb 10
i would definitely give my new co worker a ride home because i will be seeing him more often at work and i could make use of him in the future. and what if this person will be my new boss in the next 2years, right. or what if this person is destined to be my best friend or boyfriend in the near future??so i think i should give this person a ride home. and besides its a good karma that counts.
@timhinyy (1653)
• United States
18 Feb 10
that is a good point, but most people that worked where i did it was something if most of them stayed for a whole pay period, which was 2 weeks most didn't even last that long.
your reply gives me another thought what if the person was a man or a woman would this make a difference to you for me i am always nicer to a lady, because i consider myself a gentleman and i would go more out of my way for a lady then a guy i just met.
you never know what a new worker will become or will do or even how long they will be there, but it never hurts to be nice to someone, because someday you might need a favor in return.
@jpso138 (7851)
• Philippines
18 Feb 10
Yes, I will. I have done it so many times. There are even times that I give a ride to some people I do not know. Usually as I go home, I see some people along the road waiting for a ride, I stop and offer them a ride. Of course, I am careful and look at the profile before I offer the ride. I know that in this days, it is quite dangerous just pick up anybody. But as long as I see that there is not threat, then I go for it. Like for instance, a woman with a child, students in uniform. But if it appears suspicious, then I would not do so.
@timhinyy (1653)
• United States
18 Feb 10
yeah as far as complete strangers go i would be a little more careful, but as far as a co-worker this could be someone that you might see again and have to work with again and if you want them to do a good job when you work together being nice is never a bad thing to do.
@harshrosicky (626)
• India
17 Feb 10
i will most probably give my new co-worker a ridde home but it depends on his physical build. normally i am not shallow but when it comes to dropping them home alone on my ride then i thing then physique will be a big factor.... i wouldn't want him to kill me in a single blow...
@timhinyy (1653)
• United States
17 Feb 10
you would think the way it is now that just to get a job the worker would have to go through a background check so just in that way they would probably not be hiring anyone with a bad criminal record.
i would think if you spent the whole night working with this person it might make you more or less comfortable with them then it would be an easier decision.
@coolcoder (2018)
• United States
17 Feb 10
Honestly, I probably wouldn't. I'd have to be around them for a while to see what they're like before I'll do something like that. Trust is rather hard for me to give to someone.
1 person likes this
@MrKennedy (1978)
•
17 Feb 10
Of course I would
I would obviously be seeing a lot more of this person in the future, so the first thing I would want to do is get to know them and be on good terms with them. And what better way to do that than to give them a free ride home?
I would obviously be seeing a lot more of this person in the future, so the first thing I would want to do is get to know them and be on good terms with them. And what better way to do that than to give them a free ride home?1 person likes this
@timhinyy (1653)
• United States
17 Feb 10
this is an interesting one for me, as i probably would give them the ride home especially since i have done that in the past and i would probably not be alone in the vehicle so not a big deal there.
if this was someone i would be working with at my job station i would be more likely to want them to stay around so i would be more willing to take them home.
where i worked the turnover with employees was overwhelming in a bad way as anytime we had a good worker poof gone days later.
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
17 Feb 10
It really depends on where the person lives and exactly my mood that day. I mean, if the person is on my way home, then there is a pretty good chance that I might agree to give him or her a ride. I mean its on my way, so why not? I'm going that way that way. However, I might not agree to do so if it is out of my way or I am in a tired mood. It may be a day where I just want to get home, no questions about it. Also, there is that trustworthiness factor. The fact is while the chances of getting someone dangerous are slim, it is a gamble that I do not really want to take. Its best to be careful. It is an awkward situation in many ways, because you want to be careful but you do not want to come across as a jerk by saying no.
1 person likes this
@timhinyy (1653)
• United States
17 Feb 10
with that line of work however a lot of the people don't really want to be there and they won't stay in these jobs very long, because they realize very quickly that they actually have to work hard for their money.
most of the time the new workers wouldn't even last a week at the restaurant, because it was just too much work for them for what they got paid.
most of the time i worked there i was so exhausted by the end of the day i really just wanted to get home and relax get cleaned up and go to sleep or watch some television.
@timhinyy (1653)
• United States
17 Feb 10
i can definitely see that i mean if you are tired you probably just want to get yourself home and not have to worry about taking someone home that you just met.
i usually would arrange for a ride home for myself so it would not big that big a deal for me to take someone home as long as they didn't live a great distance out of the way of my way home.
