Live High

Last week was a particularly frustrating and stressful week at work. The pettiness of office drama and the overt under-handedness among co-workers is becoming near intolerable. To me, the amount of work I have to do is not a matter of ego. But some people seem to think that because they work 8 hours of overtime a week they work harder, are more valuable, and more important than those of us who only work our mere 40 hours. So when I was confronted by a co-worker returning from 3 weeks out of the office about how I had handled her case-load while she was gone, I was happy to hand everything back over to her; until she quit. Now she's hovering over my shoulder, nitpicking every little detail, complaining to the client that she just doesn't know what's going to happen to their cases since she's leaving, etc. My only problem with the situation is that she is trying to hold me accountable to procedures that she never bothered to tell me in the two weeks I was available to train with her.

I reached the peak of my frustration when she lost one of the signed original documents required for the application and then accused me of being disorganized. I have to make a side note here that while to most people I may seem disorganized in my personal life (if you've ever taken a ride in my car, you know), but at work, I am meticulous. It's an army skill.

The real silver lining in all of this is the fact that in the midst of it all, I never bitched and moaned to my boss, my co-workers, or anyone else (though I graciously pointed out the source of my frustration in specific instances to the "higher-ups") I never said an unkind or impatient word to her. I never made made snide comments or argued with her. I know that while it is very important to be right and for justice to be served, it is even more important to be known as someone who is humble, cooperative, teachable, and patient in every circumstance. Besides, she's gone in two weeks and then it won't matter one bit if she lost the paperwork or belabored me with minutiea; what WILL matter is how my co-workers and supervisors remember how well I handled a diffcult situation. I'm very proud of the way I handled myself and completed my tasks. I hope I can say the same thing at the end of this week! Bring it on - a test of character is a challenge I can relish!