Packard said:
...
Everyone in the office apologized and begged her to come back to work but she would not.
...
And she was smart too. At least on the emotional intelligence side.
Not coming back was the absolutely optimal choice on her part at that point. No point staying around people who do not respect you.
I am sure she did not cry because of the pieces not being in place. If the story is true, I am almost certain she was crying because she felt home there and now her world collapsed as she was told, in no uncertain terms, she is not respected there by the collective despite all her effors. She understood it and took appropriate action. Good move.
Moral of the story to me:
Respect people. Even, and especially, the ones which (seem) weird
to one. And the ones which (seem) stupid
to one.
If they are too weird to one's liking, go, ask why they do the stuff how they do. One may be surprised by the answers. And maybe will have a chance to educate the other party about his approach in turn.
My whole life, the most I learned was by talking to people who did things a way which seemed wrong, stupid and/or in other ways incomprehensible
to me. I rarely learned something new from people who did the stuff the way I do.