A Story

This is a difficult one to tell. Not because it’s sad or disturbing, but because although it’s true, I still have a hard time believing it myself. This story is about 4 people in my department: the Management Trainee (Sandy); Madam Boss Lady (Meany); and Big Boss (The Big Spin) and Me (Mingle).

It started almost 2 years ago, when Sandy first rotated through my department (before I was here) and met THE BIG SPIN. Sandy loved this department and wanted to stay. At the time they weren’t hiring, but THE BIG SPIN told her that if she would rotate through all these other areas then she could come back to the department later and be hired. So Sandy went away and kept working, eager for the day she would return.

THE BIG SPIN in the meantime hired MEANY and others, including myself, and the department changed drastically. And then Sandy came back four months ago. She was put in my group reporting to MEANY and basically told by THE BIG SPIN that she would be hired at the end of this last rotation. MEANY on the other hand did not like this idea at all. So, she basically made Sandy report to me and stopped talking to her altogether. This put me in a very awkward position where I would often find myself in the middle of the two of them trying to smooth things over. I was the mediator for the last 4 months. Balancing on one side - a young woman who was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and on the other side - an uncaring angry person.

I like Sandy a lot, she’s a very nice girl, but she’s also very high strung and unfortunately told everyone in the office about her job woes and her worries that she would not be hired. She told me over and over (and over) again about her concerns, and over and over (and over) again I told her that she would be hired and she should try not to get herself so worked up. One day during this time she made me so upset I actually got angry and yelled at her. This was the “dark period”. MEANY in the meantime continued to treat Sandy like a POS and I continued to be stuck in the middle.

I’m happy to say, that as of yesterday, this story has been resolved. However the ending to this story is different depending on whom you talk to. First MEANY talked to me and said that Sandy had been offered a job in our department, however she would not be reporting to MEANY – she would be reporting to another lady, in a different group. She said that she had told THE BIG SPIN that Sandy is not yet ready to work in our group because she doesn’t have enough experience and that MEANY and I are too busy to take her under our wing and mentor her. (This was right after I walked into her office and said things are very slow for me right now and I was looking for work that I could begin for next year.) She said that THE BIG SPIN was very angry when she told him this.

THE BIG SPIN then came into the office and started to tell me that Sandy was hired, but would now be reporting to another lady. He then started to explain that this was no reflection on MEANY and I, at which point I smirked. He then went on to explain that Sandy needs more guidance, she needs to be “nurtured”, at which point I literally had to turn away my head and laugh out loud. MEANY explained to THE BIG SPIN that I was already very aware of all of this. THE BIG SPIN did not listen, but continued to explain the situation, during all of which I was not able to wipe off the smirk on my face.

Next comes Sandy…she asked me to go to coffee with her in the afternoon so she could share her “good news!” She didn’t know how it happened, but one day THE BIG SPIN told her she would have a job and would be reporting to MEANY, but then the next day he talked to Sandy and said, “I’ve been thinking about this more, and I believe it would be better if you reported to this other lady because...blah, blah, blah” Apparently, this is the work that she wanted to do all along (which was news to me). She was giddy with excitement – “I can’t believe this has all worked out so perfectly!” she exclaimed. “I really like the people in our department and it would make me sad to leave” (Fortunately, I was able to control my smirk when she said this – because I do not enjoy the people in our department.) She was concerned however, that MEANY would be upset when she learned that Sandy would now be reporting to another lady. To which I wanted to reply, “Are you #$@& kidding me?! Do you remember the hell of the last 4 months?? She has never said a nice word to you!” However, the diplomatic side took over, and instead I assured her that it probably works out best for MEANY too because she doesn’t have time to mentor Sandy. Sandy was “super relieved”, and went away happy.

I however went away shaking my head, amazed that I had heard 3 different versions of the same story. And all I really wanted to hear was, “Mingle, I’m sorry for the hell you have been put through for the last 4 months, we promise we will all grow up now.”