Should Have Been A Shrink...
I must have an understanding face.
My department happens to be populated, for the most part, by one family---a father, and two of his boys. One would think that this is a wonderful thing, allowing the father and his sons many opportunities to bond and strengthen their relationships. Unfortunately, in between the times of bonding and relationship building, there are long painful times of miscommunication, irritation, and annoyance.
Co-workers will always have issues with one another, but their issues usually originate and remain at work. What do you do when the co-worker's issues stem from prepubescent memories of emotional abuse? The phrase "he has been like this since I was born" is a bit unsettling to hear from a co-worker in reference to their boss.
And where do I find myself in all of this? In the freaking middle, that's where.
All three individuals have come by my desk today to talk about one of their co-workers (to which they are related). Each conversation followed the identical format. First, there is the "startling" revelation about the "idiotic" co-orders conduct, followed by the usual, and somewhat clichéd complaints.
After the complaining had come to a close, I was then asked to give insight into the actions of the offending individual. And I did, much to the chagrin of the questioning party, as I was honest, and told them exactly what I thought of the whole situation. I even went as far as instructing them in what I thought they need to change in order to improve their working relationship with the "offending party."
At the end of each tête-à-tête, I wondered if I had helped, or just added to the confusion.
What I do know, is that they all chose to come to me for a bit of advice and a lot of venting, and that just makes me wonder if I missed my calling.
Couches are so much more comfortable than office chairs, and Psychiatrists make so much more than Office Managers...
My department happens to be populated, for the most part, by one family---a father, and two of his boys. One would think that this is a wonderful thing, allowing the father and his sons many opportunities to bond and strengthen their relationships. Unfortunately, in between the times of bonding and relationship building, there are long painful times of miscommunication, irritation, and annoyance.
Co-workers will always have issues with one another, but their issues usually originate and remain at work. What do you do when the co-worker's issues stem from prepubescent memories of emotional abuse? The phrase "he has been like this since I was born" is a bit unsettling to hear from a co-worker in reference to their boss.
And where do I find myself in all of this? In the freaking middle, that's where.
All three individuals have come by my desk today to talk about one of their co-workers (to which they are related). Each conversation followed the identical format. First, there is the "startling" revelation about the "idiotic" co-orders conduct, followed by the usual, and somewhat clichéd complaints.
After the complaining had come to a close, I was then asked to give insight into the actions of the offending individual. And I did, much to the chagrin of the questioning party, as I was honest, and told them exactly what I thought of the whole situation. I even went as far as instructing them in what I thought they need to change in order to improve their working relationship with the "offending party."
At the end of each tête-à-tête, I wondered if I had helped, or just added to the confusion.
What I do know, is that they all chose to come to me for a bit of advice and a lot of venting, and that just makes me wonder if I missed my calling.
Couches are so much more comfortable than office chairs, and Psychiatrists make so much more than Office Managers...
posted by fearbaby at 6:52 AM
2 Comments:
Tell me, dear Fearbaby, how do you feel?
Completely disconnected from all that is reality...a feeling that I think goes back to when my brother used to terrorize the family pets, making me watch the whole sordid affair. I remember retreating inside myself during these traumatic times, and I believe this feeling of disconnection is directly connected to those events.
Now see, if you were a real Shrink, you could have charged me 200 bucks to listen to that load of crap, while you just sad their nodding and sighing in false empathy.
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