Work Prompt #2: How did your emotions change throughout the day and what trigger those changes?
Hello everyone, I hope you are all taking it easy on yourself at work this week.
Last week we discussed: How does work stress impact your daily life? Thank you to all who participated and shared their thoughts for discussion. I enjoyed them. I hope you all did too. If you didn't share yours, please share them here and I look forward to reading and discussing them with you.
This week's prompt: How did your emotions change throughout the day and what triggered those changes?
I wanted to start a discussion on the emotions and triggers that impact our emotions at the workplace. I look forward to hearing and discussing with you all!
How did your emotions change throughout the day and what triggered those changes?
I go to work each day starting with a negative mindset. My work environment is negative to begin with and the people I deal with are emotionally draining. I found, that after many years, if I go in negative, there is no where to go but up.....Maybe it is the wrong frame of mind to start each day with, but it is where I am with my current employment situation. I'm just tolerating it until retirement. Which, for me, is OK. I've accepted it.
My emotions at work are up and down all day long. I rarely stay at my "baseline". I deal with people at work. They all have different types of personalities and backgrounds, different needs and wants, different life stories.....Most of these individuals have never had anything really "good" happen to them in their lives. Most live in the "fight" or "survival" mode of "fight or flight". They mostly have negative outlooks on their lives or life in general. I used to try to bring positivity to them while working. Try to make the environment they were stuck in a better place for them to be. I would offer them positive ways, tips, resources, to change their lives. Some would come right out and tell you they don't want to change, others would say that it was too hard for them. There were those who thank me for the advice, but their actions would say differently. After years of realizing that what I was doing wasn't really working, that I'm not really making a difference, I got tired of trying. I became a firm believer that unless a person wants to change, nothing you can do or say, will change them. That is not to say there aren't success stories. There are. The ones I see are just so few and far in between it is disheartening to me. Anyway, I kind of went off topic a bit there....My emotions change regularly throughout my day and the main trigger is people and how they are acting/behaving.
@CyclingThroughLife Thank you for opening up and sharing with us Cycling. Appreciate you for opening up with us.
It sounds like working in that environment day after day has taken a real emotional toll. Dealing with so much negativity from others while trying to help can be draining. I hear your frustration at feeling unable to make a difference, yet your compassion for wanting to help others is clear. Maintaining hope and positivity in such challenging circumstances is commendable. If I can ask you, what keeps you going through each day despite finding it so emotionally taxing?
Please know we are all here with you to listen to and to support, life. You are not alone in this
@ASilentObserver
"If I can ask you, what keeps you going through each day despite finding it so emotionally taxing?"
Unfortunately, I'm going to say the pay, benefits and retirement package. Like I said....I've found ways to tolerate the place by coming to 7Cups. I'm too close to give it all up right now. And to be able to have a check coming in at 55 years old, and be able to work when and where I want, will be a big deal for me. Its not really that far away, January of 2027....yet some days it seems so far away.....So looking at the big picture...the light at the end of the tunnel.....that is what keeps me going.....
@CyclingThroughLife I hear you and can relate, Life. Focusing on a brighter future can certainly help provide motivation. Your resilience in tolerating difficult situations until your goals are reached speaks to your strong commitment to take care of yourself. If I can ask you, what aspects of your work, if any, still bring you satisfaction or a sense of purpose?
@ASilentObserver
Honestly, I really can't answer that question. I guess I need to do some self reflection and dig deep to find out. I used to really enjoy being a trainer for our annual recertifications and for new hires and recruits in the academy but I rarely get to do that anymore, mostly because all our annual recert classes were made into modules and are done online now. They did this due to budget cuts and staffing. It was hard to back fill shifts for people to attend annual recert training without offering overtime. They also now have 2 full time training officers who take care of new employees and academy recruits. They were chosen by seniority so I can't really complain about that. I'm holding out one day if they retire before I do, I can slide in one of those slots....that is really all am looking forward to at work right now.
When I'm working an early morning shift, I usually start my day still sleepy. In the first 45 minutes of my shift, I'll be the only person in the department, so my mood is good. I play music from my phone as I do the morning tasks. Changes and triggers happen after the first 45 minutes of my shift, when my other colleague starts her shift. Because her work ethics are opposite of mine (meaning, she only does tasks strictly what is considered as her primary job, and doesn't help with any other tasks, even when it may seem like common sense to others). It gets on my nerves, especially, when I'm tired, have my own tasks, and not getting any help from her whatsoever. I'll feel annoyed and I often end up not even having any type of interaction with her. I can't stand working with someone so selfish, and still thinks it's A-Okay. Her Job Description does include helping me with tasks that should be shared amongst my team, but I have not seen her do any of it, and she only does her Primary tasks, then turns a blind eye to everything else.
So, throughout the day, at most times, she's the one that triggers all the different emotions in me. I can't wait until she retires next year, but then, someone else that I don't get along with at all might come replace her.. so, that's not good either. If that person ends up joining our team, my mental health will definitely take a hit.. So, I'll have to speak with my Manager if that time comes and it's that specific person joining our team. So, fingers crossed that someone with a higher seniority than her applies and gets the position instead. That way, I'd still have a job next year.. because if she comes, for the sake of my mental health, the worst possibility is to quit. Which I really don't want to, as I actually like my job (unlike all the others, who doesn't care about their job, and is only working because of the decent pay working as a Healthcare Worker).
@ASilentObserver
@Jaeteuk Hi Jae again, thank you for opening up! It sounds like starting your morning shifts feeling tired already makes the interactions with your colleague especially difficult. I hear you on feeling annoyed and not interacting when not receiving help must be challenging. You care deeply about your work and providing good patient care. I appreciate your work ethics and compassion. If I can ask what kinds of emotions come up for you in those moments?
A lot of frustration, being treated unfairly, feeling that I'm constantly being taken advantage of, stressed because everything is on my shoulder.. just gets on my nerves whenever I see the colleague. Knowing the way she works, and the lack of care she has for others, it's all very frustrating and it's not like she will change even if told about it.. she had always blamed that when she was in orientation of the job, she was never trained to do all the other "shared tasks".. but then, you should need to be trained to have common sense.
Sadly, I think that the team I work with, is only working because of the decent pay as a Healthcare Worker, and not exactly working with purpose and meaning in their job. This is how I differentiate between a "Job" and a "Career".. I used to tell myself, a job is like a stepping stone to landing that Career work. So, one person can have many jobs in their lifetime, maybe do some job hopping where they cannot stay with one company for long periods of time. Until they reach that Career or Dream Career, where they feel they have passion for and that it has a clear meaning and purpose of the chosen Career.
So, I think the staff on my team, they all treat this work as a Job, when I see it as a Career (although it's not considered entirely a Career because I'm not a permanent staff), but this type of work, is meaningful and has good purpose.
Others may laugh at me for thinking this way, but here is my take for the work that I do. Before I worked in the Operating Room, I took a Certificate Program to become a Tech in the department where we clean surgical instruments that are used by surgeons in the Operating Room. So, back then, the work was meaningful. I was cleaning and putting together these surgical instruments to help surgeons perform surgeries that are for the better of patients coming for procedures to help cure some type of ailment. So, the cleanliness of the instruments are crucial. Now, in another position where I'm working in the OR, although I'm not dealing with instruments directly, the tasks at hand are still meaningful. We are called the OR Aides. So, if you think plainly about the word "Aide", what comes to mind? Probably something about helping others. So, my definition is, as Aides, our job is to make others' job easier. Others, includes, Nurses, Surgeons and Anesthesiologists. The tasks that we perform is not just for the sake of doing it and finishing our primary tasks, but we need to be mindful of everybody else. Not only with these doctors and nurses but also amongst the team of Aides. Each day, there are 3 Aides that have hours overlapping. So, there are tasks that should be shared amongst us. But it seems that whenever I'm working the first early morning shift, I don't get help with those supposedly "shared tasks". Then, I get in trouble or blamed when some things are missed, well, if I had help with those shared tasks more, maybe the chances of missing things will lessen too? It's like, the others expect me to do everything, and if something is not done, it's my problem.
I've mentioned to my Manager and our Educator that how it's not fair.. but nothing has changed, and I don't think it will ever change. Can't really change people's personality and attitude they have towards their jobs, so, I just need to force myself to accept the unfairness and bulldoze through each shift. But it is difficult working with others who do not have the same standards and expectations of their work, it just results in more stress on my shoulders and that no one really cares.
One more thing I'll mention. My shifts are given to me to cover vacation time of the permanent staff. So, I never get Christmas time off or the summers. As that is when all the others want to take their vacation. So, no one is mindful or considerate how maybe I would like some time off. Weeks prior to Christmas, they all want that time off. Yes, I don't have my own family (spouse and kids) to spend Christmas with, but I do have family traditions with relatives to have Christmas dinners with. But, because I never get the weekdays off because I'm busy covering vacation, relatives are forced to make the dinner over the weekends. But having work weekdays, over the weekends, I'd rather be home resting than having my energy drained with socializing. With Chinese Restaurants, deals and quality of food is different weekdays versus weekends. Weekends are usually not as good, as the main chefs usually work weekdays. So when the staff book their vacation, they are all just thinking about themselves. *Sigh*
I techinally don't have paying job. Its a Volunteer job- but my church (where the volunter job is)- our janitor ("Jack" let's call him)- decided to leave this year after 10 years in the job. Jack was the one person who didn't think of warning me about when he was going to have what I believe is the vaccum on in actually church part (as opposed to in the Upper Hall or in the Lower Hall)- if another person in the congration is needing to do something loud like doing the tech related stuff including sounds-they at least warn me if I'm in the church part of the overall church. I literally told my Mom this afternoon that People at church are better at warning me(?) that something loud is happening then my own *** father and all Mom sais is "I'll live/surive".. its like Mom doesn't even care about the fact -I can't prepare myself for a louod nose like the *** leaf blower- I don't give a hoot that's its electric-if I can hear it upstairs through closed windows and a closed door- IT IS TOO LOUD and I'm SENSTIVE to loud nosies-
Pre-covid I had an issue with what I can only describe as a "collague". If I couldn't come in on Wednesday to work I would come in on Thursday- I can't remember what the situation is- but my coworker basically told me to "go home" or something on Thursday I came in but yet I had already started the job when she came in to the church part of church. But my then-boss (boss changed before I went back to my job in 2022) the boss's substiue claimed that "collague" came in because she wanted too? '
@Disneywoman Thank you for sharing your experiences Disney. I sense this situation with noise sensitivity and unexpected loud sounds is frustrating. Having your needs disregarded can feel invalidating.
@ASilentObserver
They started out kinda down, it was cold out and I haven't been sleeping well. But my internet started working and I was able to come to cups and that helps me cheer up.
@SystemFireSkye I'm glad to hear coming to 7 Cups has helped cheer you up. It sounds like you have had a challenging time lately with not sleeping well and the cold weather. We are here with you, sky.