Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled : This Too Shall Pass

Every workplace in America most likely will share some similarity to my workplace. The workplace was eclectic. Many people with different values, ethnicity and experiences came together for a set number of hours each day. The objective should have been     teamwork to achieve a common goal, and achieving a common goal through cooperative teamwork was the objective. The military workplace was not any different. In the time of peace, the active duty members report daily for an eight–twelve hour workday. In my specific case, the workplace happened to have been a medical facility. As in most workplaces, we talked about our lives, hopes and dreams.

Many traits are needed to make the workplace a positive place. Trust is necessary for the smallest to the greatest tasks to be successful. My years of working for a military facility have taught me to regard most people with suspicion. I think my lack of trust was associated with several incidents that occurred in my workplace. The first incident occurred under the leadership of the OIC that I will call Mr. Traveler. He had no people skills but wanted to pretend that everything was wonderful. Mrs. Sanders, how are you today?  You would think if a direct question was asked, the individual asking the question would make eye contact. Mr. Traveler was a unique person when it came to leadership. He allowed his secretary to make too many decisions that affected other workers.

The staff said he was having an affair with his secretary. The workplace grapevine said the two were found on the floor in his office having intercourse. This supposedly happened after normal working hour when the custodian was cleaning the clinic. The secretary totally controlled the other civilian staff (me included). She decided what

information would be disseminated and to whom. She was allowed to

reprimand other staff members for things outside her line of authority. The memory of those events still makes me angry. One should never allow another employee to have that much control. Yes, hindsight is twenty-twenty!