Late nights: thoughts on cooperative behavior
How come this continent is full of DIEs (diversity, inclusivity & equity) and I, on the same note, am feeling quite expunged? How so that, with a repugnant sense of irrelevance, I walk around and go about my days between 9 to 5? Does the concept, a celebratory notion mostly, venture out to solve any existing problem in the workplace or, inevitably gear up to create more complex ones?
My workplace has a Senior. There are more alike, but this one, I’m duty-bound to interact closely. She IS something of a horrific sort! With an archaic sense of self, she subordinates me with her every word, email and gesture, often simultaneously. True: she has vast experience of static workloads from romping through them for decades, but should that necessarily translate to such behavior? A snobbish exterior, ornamented with barbwires of loathing towards workmates (which includes everybody)? Her passionate resentment, detestation and metaphorical backhanded slaps…. could supply the running energy for a small colony of people and should that get channeled appropriately, which we all pray for, things could work out much better for the (office) environment. That’s my 2 cents to the senior management or whoever is listening.
I often try to rationalize the character traits, her ensemble of ruthless bickering and cacophony. Something I can’t help falling back on after a big day of stressed passing.
Might it be the result of plowing through some set of mechanical skills that had instilled within her over time, an artificial hollowness and formed a rigid sense of insecurity? And maybe now it’s too late for the said to come loose. Wouldn’t some form of intrusive consultation, a serious shakedown is required to bring things back to normal? Breakthrough the toxic monotony for the better? I’d like to think so.
This, henceforth, brings me back to my initial question. Would setting up yet another (too) broad and vague sounding department address issues like this? Certainly not in a direct manner. For a start, one has to form the case first; complex enough to fit into its purpose or mission statement (call in the lawyer, start a set of perplexing events). Doing so, the true incentive would start to divert and importance of the cause, dilute—until it gets dissolved to everyone’s disinterest. Eventually, a resolution gets reached to no one’s benefit, yet declared prodigally by the department.
The fact here is simple, as far as they go. All we need are careful and considered associations between the ranks and departments. Nobody wishes total harmony at a workplace, only an essence of a good culture. A gently provoked practice of professionally exchanged thoughts with promptness and mannerism — is what has been felt missing recurrently.
