Two employees, Janet and Martha, work side by side as bank tellers. For several months, they relieved one another for their coffee breaks. Janet took the first break from (9:45 to 10 A.M., and Martha took the second one, from 10 to 10:15 A.M. However, a new supermarket opened in the shopping center, and there was suddenly a large influx of shoppers coming in to cash checks right after 10 A.M. Accordingly, Jack Smith, their boss asked Martha to postpone her coffee break until after 10:30 A.M. but told Janet she could continue taking the same break. Martha thought this request over, and when she came in the next day, she told Mr. Smith that the new arrangement was unfair. If anyone should postpone her break, it should be Janet, because she had the early one for a long time. When Mr. Smith asked Janet her opinion, Janet said that she had been handling the peak load alone from 10 to 10:15 A.M. for a long while. Now she ought to get the choice because she is still going to be on duty during the extended peak period.

QUESTION 1: Who should decide the conflicting coffee break times—the supervisor or Janet & Martha?

QUESTION 2: Why do simple things like break times sometimes blow up into serious human relations problems?