How to replace a light bulb in the workplace so that you are not fired?

For three years I have been living and working in Germany. Last December, one of the fluorescent tubes burned out in our office. But she didn’t just stop shining, but, as often happens with fluorescent lamps with a starter, she began to fade and turn on again with a characteristic click. My colleagues immediately called the secretary, she called an electrician. Three days later, the secretary said that the lamp will not change soon, since they are not in stock and must be ordered. This situation categorically did not suit me. This blinking was very annoying.

We have a pantry on the floor where exactly the same lamps stand. Only in this pantry people go once a week. The simplest solution is to replace the lamp in the office with a lamp from the pantry. And when new ones come, do it normally.

In general, this lamp is very easy to change. I had such lamps both at home and at work. I, being the admin, turned this trick with the replacement of lamps many times.

I took a bar stool and asked a German colleague to move up - the lamp was hanging right above his workplace. Nils asked what I had in mind, and I shared my idea with him. He happily exclaimed: “It's great, we will be very grateful to you, otherwise she’s already tired of everyone!” And then added in a whisper: “... but I wouldn’t advise you to do that!”

I asked to explain. And Nils laid everything out for me:

1. Consider the first scenario: tomorrow the lamp will fall out of the ceiling and hit me on the head. This is a work injury. They will call an ambulance and send me to the hospital. Pay my treatment and the hospital will be an insurance company. But not the one in which I insured, but the one in which the employer is insured. The fact is that each employer is responsible for injuries sustained by employees in the workplace, as well as on the way to work or on the way home. These risks are usually the employer insures in the insurance. Insurance organizes a workplace check and will find out how this could happen and who is to blame. She will try to shift her expenses in recourse to the company that installed the lamps or the one that repaired the ceiling, or any other scapegoat. And then it turns out that the lamp was replaced by a certain little fool on its own initiative, also without admission to work with electrical appliances. All expenses for treatment will be charged on you in full. And it can easily pull a few thousand euros. Plus you get fired with bad recommendations.
2. Option two: after a few days a fire will start in the building at night. The historic wooden building in the city center will burn down. To establish the true cause of the fire is likely to be impossible. One of the main versions that will be worked out is a short circuit of electrical wiring. They will begin to find out who carried out what work and manipulations with the electrician in the last year. Do firms have appropriate licenses, and workers who carried out work, tolerances, etc. And then you come up with your lamp. It may be possible to fight back with a good lawyer, but maybe not . The damage may already pull several million euros. Plus you get fired with bad recommendations.
3. Option three: no one will suffer and nothing will burn. Just someone will tell about your initiative director. You are not an electrician and you do not have a permit to climb inside electrical appliances. And this is a gross violation of safety regulations. In addition, this prohibition is expressly stated in your employment contract. Have you ever read your contract ??? Even if you had an education in this profile in Russia, but it was not recognized in Germany - it is all the same that it was not there. Yes, in order to change the lamp, it is not necessary to be an electrician, but you must in any case undergo training or safety instructions when working with electrical appliances and obtain permission. Without it, all you can do at work is to plug a desk lamp into an outlet and click the switch, but no more. And this is done in order to avoid situations from paragraphs 1 and 2. Such a gross violation of safety regulations with a probability of 99% will lead to your dismissal and bad recommendations.
4. Option four: no one and nothing will suffer, no one will know anything. We will thank you. But are you ready to risk it for thanks?

We had a little discussion on how I can change light bulbs in a rented apartment without admission. But the essence of the attitude of the employer in Germany to the initiative, I caught.

After this conversation, I went straight to the pantry in order to return the lamp to the place that I had already disassembled beforehand. It was necessary to do everything until no one saw and did not inform the director about it.

Throughout the following week, I thought a lot about this and remembered several cases from my life in which incompetence could lead or led to sad consequences:

• Situation one: many years ago. I work as an admin. Partners must arrive in the morning. For them, the CEO has prepared a presentation. For presentations, we used a huge plasma TV worth several thousand dollars. In the evening when checking it turns out that it does not turn on. All in a panic. I take a screwdriver and climb inside. Expectedly I find a blown fuse. The fuse is soldered to the board, but I do not have a soldering iron. Yes, and there is nothing to replace the fuse, so I wind it with several turns of copper wire on top. The TV has earned, the chef is satisfied, they gave me the award. I walk, proud of its versatility and resourcefulness. Here's a fool ... Well, fool ... And then it could also close. Could burn not only the TV, but the building in the center of St. Petersburg. People might have suffered. But then I was not aware of this.
• Situation two: a colleague rode a company car. I decided to save money and add my own brake fluid. But I mixed the covers and poured brake fluid into the engine. As a result: I had to do engine overhaul.
• Situation three: the tension in the office began to slump, computers began to reboot, and the equipment was hanging. We were advised to "sit down on another phase." The director found an ad for an inexpensive electrician. Instead of replacing one phase with another, he mixed up the wires and replaced zero with a phase. In sockets it became 380 instead of 220. As a result, a lot of equipment burned down.

The next day, an electrician came to us and pulled out a starter so that the lamp did not blink. And the lamp itself was replaced only ten days later.

After this event, I did not only draw the appropriate conclusions for myself. I also took out family insurance against damage to third parties with a liability limit of 20 million euros. So if my son, playing with a ball, accidentally scratches eight elements on the new Bugatti Veyron, now it will not result in the collapse of the family budget.

PS On the topic of safety in the workplace, the Germans shot several training videos that are now considered classics of the genre. Who has not seen - I advise (18+)

Three years ago I moved with my wife and three children to Germany. I write about life and work in my telegram channel @LiveAndWorkInGermany . Short and to the point. Interesting? - Join us.