The Diary of Elaine: Substitutions

Work situation complicated by replacements

By Elaine Payne





W
ork situations, especially with a bunch a females, LOL, can be a very interesting experience.  Human nature and all that.  Men, I will give you equal time as well!

In my workplace, we currently have a substitute manager due to our regular one being out on medical leave.  This is a great time to see how personalities blend, how power struggles ensue, how everybody gets their routine changed.  Any time a new person joins a group, and for that matter a new pastor in a church could also be an example, it is very interesting after the dust settles!  You get an authority figure who knows how to do the job, but doesn't actually know all the people and back story involved and will surely have their own ways of doing things.  There's always the people who've been there for years, and things have always been done a certain way.  Now there's a person who's going to rattle things up!

So we don't currently know if our regular manager will return, and will the new one want to stay if she doesn't?  Will all the workers be able to adapt?  Jobs are getting more and more scarce, we often have to put up with stuff we'd rather not.  So many times over my years, especially in one priest parishes, people will come and go depending on how much they love/hate the new guy.  There are even people who leave the church completely.  Is a different or difficult personality worth disrupting you life in a major way?

In this Advent season, we just lost my husband's younger sister.  Life is so short and so precious!  I think it's very worthwhile to be loving, tolerant, and forgiving as much as we possibly can, and sometimes love our "enemies" with the Lord's help

Posted in: Advent, Christmas, Diary, Work