I hate drama; it has been a very rough week at work, and while the problems have not been my own, I have come home these last three nights more worn out than I have been since starting this job. I have tried to keep my work life and home life separate since I started this job, because I was very intimately involved with my last job and it consumed my life. I have come to realize, however, that one cannot completely separate any aspect of one's life from the rest- most especially, work.
This week our department's shift rotation schedule came out, and the world came crashing down around our employees in a catastrophe of epic proportions. Admittedly, there were lots of errors, and needless panic and grief from several individuals was the result. These issues were resolved today, and now many people's issues are over. However, many people got schedules that are going to make their lives difficult, to say the least. This is where my stress begins; there is absolutely nothing wrong with my schedule, as it has not changed at all, but some people that I care about very much have gotten just awful schedules and have openly shown their distress and discomfort.
I told myself when I started this job that I was not going to make friends with people at work, as it tends to cause drama and needless pain. I thought I had done a fair job of keeping my promise until this week. I have had knots in my stomach and chest and an almost constant headache for three days because of someone else's problems! Because I care about these people and I cannot do anything to help them except for tell them that everything is going to be OK and they should be happy just to have a job in today's economy.
Some of these people are going to have graveyard shifts thrown into the middle of their workweek, and some are going to all graveyards or are going to be working with supervisors they absolutely do not get along with. The most troubling part of this is that these shifts were assigned unfairly and seemingly based on politics. I hate politics. Lame excuses were given for better shifts being given to less seasoned officers instead of seniors, and some really great officers got shoved to the shifts that would keep them from stirring the pot on a regular basis.
Anyway, all I can say is that I am sorry for what these guys will have to go through for the next six months, and I am most sorry because all of my friends are going to be on completely opposite shifts from me, so I will not see them for six months. Will they still be my friends? I hope so, and I wish everyone peace and happiness with their new assignments, since there is nothing that can be done to change the situation further. I am glad to get this off my chest, but I suppose I will not feel better until the dust settles. Good luck, guys, I will miss you! I guess I will just have to work lots of overtime graveyard shifts so I can keep in touch with everyone!
