Week 5 Social Systems Discussion

Week 5 Social Systems Discussion:

As you may recall, I have worked for my company for 30+ years and during that time I have worked with many different types of people makes for a very interesting day.  Some are amazing and ‘team players’ while others just barely do their job.  My team when I was in Connecticut, there were 8 of us, some of whom work hard while others just barely squeak by.  In Connecticut, one of my co-workers, I’ll call L, total felt that she could do anything because she helped make power point presentations.   And by anything, I mean anything.  She would watch videos at her desk, she was also listening and learning Polish when she should have been working.  When you asked her for help, we always got “I’m too busy.”  She could be a pessimist and irritable.  She was also very abrasive when she spoke.  (My mother would have called it diarrhea of the mouth.) Our book calls how she was negative affectivity (Newstrom, 2015. P233).  One of my other co-workers, who I will call B, when he was having a bad day, everyone knew.  There were times where you could hear him yelling at someone over the phone, hear a door slam or just hear him swearing up a blue streak.    He was stressed by the job as well as his home life.  The two worlds seem to spillover into each other.  Our manager would keep an eye on him to make sure he didn’t stroke out.  As time went on he and I became very good friends and I was just about the only one who could calm him down.  He and I became sounding boards for each other.  When my co-worker next door would be listening to Polish, I would go this B’s office with my lap top and work from there.  I write of these two people because of their differences in commitment to the company.  L would go from one extreme to the next.  Monday she would be all about work then on Tuesday work was the last thing she would think of.  Her work moods were all over the place.  She loved her job one day and hated it the next (Newstrom, 2015, p 237).   B always had the company’s best interest at heart, even if he was unhappy.

Fast forward to Florida and this team.  Interesting group.  I have mentioned before the work ethic of this group is very different than Connecticut but, in some ways, similar.  Some feel as they are entitled to everything and anything.     There are 8 of us, 9 including our manage.  While we all work together, 4 of us have similar jobs of reviewing contracts.  The other 4 have different positions.  Of those 4, it is almost as a couple feel they are more important, what they do is the most important than the rest.  They act as they are better than the rest of us.  The word that best describes them is entitled (Newstrom, 2015, p 232).   Since they act the way they do, it provides for negative feelings from the rest of us.  My co-worker who I will call D is very smart and very good at what he does, when he does it.  D takes a lot of time off, takes 2 hour lunches, calls out at least twice a month.  He was physically withdrawing from the job (Newstrom, 2015, p239).  On issue is D is the only person in our group that can do his job.  

As I sit here writing this assignment I can’t help to think about a current situation.  Just a little back story.  In the group, 4 like me, review contracts.  These contracts are from all over the US, US Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Guam and Canada.  I handle part of the northeast area (minus the Boston area) as well as all of Canada.  One of my co-workers handles the Midwest area and the Boston area.  This person has done nothing for the last few months but to complain how busy he is.  So, being a team player and getting a phone call from the district manager of that area, I make an offer.   “How about we split the Boston area?  We can let them know, if you are too busy, they can come to me and vice versa.”  At first, he didn’t want to but 2 days later he comes to me saying yes.  Fast forward 2 months.  One of the reps in Boston came to me with something which my co-worker started.  I’m not one to step on toes so I tell the rep via email (and cc co-worker) “Since he started this project, he should be finalizing it.”  If I had read the email, I would have seen something that I would have deleted.  The sales person in a round about way, slammed my co-worker.  He’s very slow when it comes to reviews, it can take up to 2 weeks for the reps to get something back.  Anyway, I did not catch their ‘comment’ and it went to him.  Fairly, he freaked out but he has been taking it out on me.  He hasn’t talked to me in 2 weeks.  If I ask him anything, he looks the other way.   I did NOTHING wrong but I get treated like this.  I tried a couple times to talk to him with no avail.  Before this, our group is tight.  We have gone out as groups together (with spouses) and have fun.  Now, there is a wedge in the group.  I continue being myself and talking with everyone but him.  (I’m tired of trying) But I do know there is a strain on the rest of the group.  Our supervisor is oblivious to it and I am NOT bringing to his attention (he doesn’t know us well enough yet).  I’ll be honest, this is really hurting our morale, (Newstrom, 2015 p233) but I am at a loss as to what to do.