Expectations
So I have had my (wonderful) holidays and returned to work. I was greeted by an email from Denise saying how terrible it had been without me and telling me about all sorts of problems that had occurred. I had several people say to me before the end of the day 'Thand God you're back' in fervent tones. The same people then went on to complain about this and that. Now, while I am willing to concede it's very flattering to have people act like you're indispensible, the flip side of this is that it's something like a hell of a lot of pressure. I mean, I'm getting reps, other specialists, and TLs all telling me about each other and how terrible they all are. What exactly am I supposed to do about it? I wish I was one of those sanguine people who could just go, 'oh well, I can't help you', but unfortunately I'm not. I'm the type of person who, when people are expressing distress to me, that makes ME distressed! I want to fix it, I want everyone to be happy and just get along. But there's nothing I can do, and in the end it just makes me feel like I'm being ripped apart. I am looking to find a balance, really, between doing what I ought to be doing to the best of my ability, and somehow being all things to all people. Because I can't walk on water and cure all ills, and I'm just hurting myself trying to. It's increasingly difficult because I really have no one at work that I can confide in about these issues - there are a few I can trust but they can't help me, so I don't want to burden them. The senior people who would be in a position to assist are not trustworthy, the causes of at least some of the problems, and wouldn't give a shit about my problems anyway.